33 unique pieces only: Each of the dials in this ‘Sơn Mài – Cotton Candy’ limited edition of just 33 is unique and subtly different from the one that follows or precedes it. Inspired by the color codes of the TickTockBelles and the sweets of our youth, each dial is a compendium of pleasure and emotion celebrating the 3rd anniversary of this community of women (but not only!) passionate about watchmaking.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!10 hours of work by hand: Each dial in the ‘Sơn Mài – Cotton Candy’ edition requires 10 hours of meticulous handwork from the Master Laquerers of Hanoi, guardians of the Sơn Mài techniques. Each one specializes in a different, meticulous stage of the process, demonstrating exceptional precision, skill, and a profound respect for the Son Mai tradition, in order to bring to life the wishes and desires of the TickTockBelles and turn each dial into a unique work of art celebrating their third anniversary.
AWAKE x TICKTOCKBELLES co-creation: ‘Sơn Mài – Cotton Candy’ is a horological and artistic project, co-created to celebrate the 3rd anniversary of TickTockBelles, under the sign of softness and femininity. Inspired by the sweets of our childhood and the signature colors of their community – united by a shared passion for watches and things that last – ‘Sơn Mài – Cotton Candy’ has been imagined with the sole aim of bringing pleasure, joy and sweetness to all TickTockBelles around the world.
Brilliance and Profoundness combined with natural pigments: AWAKE has embraced a technique never before used in watchmaking for the ‘Cotton Candy’ limited edition’s dials: Sơn Mài or Vietnamese sanded lacquer. This ancient art involves meticulously layering and polishing dozens layers of natural lacquer to achieve a lustrous, mirror-like finish, elevating Vietnamese lacquerware to an unparalleled level of prestige. Natural pigments are subsequently airbrushed to enrich the visual dimension of the dial and to produce a range of vibrant shades, inspired by the cyan and pink colors of the TickTockBelles logo. This intricate, time-intensive process requires exceptional skill and unwavering precision, ensuring that every dial in the Sơn Mài collection emerges as a true work of art.
Mastery of Luminescence: ‘Sơn Mài – Cotton Candy’ features our innovative luminous “cap signature’’, inspired by the poetic aesthetics of Japanese chiaroscuro. Designed to reveal the beauty of our dials in interplay between light and shadow, this luminous signature blends elegance, legibility, and respect for the material. This exclusive design offers a discreet and refined reading of time, never detracting from the richness and the sweetness of this dial. In the darkness, the glow spreads gently, creating a poetic halo that reveals the deep reflections of the lacquer and the soft hues of the natural pink and cyan pigments specially created for this limited edition ‘Cotton Candy’.
Manufacture La Joux – Perret (La Chaux de Fonds) for Awake: This ‘Sơn Mài – Cotton Candy’ edition is equipped with the LJP G101 automatic calibre, developed by the Swiss Manufacture La Joux – Perret. Reliable and high-performance (68-hour power reserve), it features a tungsten rotor designed exclusively for AWAKE, with elegant contrasts between raised and recessed surfaces, and a bead-blasted ring laser-engraved with the name of the limited edition, the Swiss Made designation and the limited series number.
The TickTockBelles
TickTockBelles is a watch community founded in August 2022 by Stephanie Soh and Deborah Wong, with the aim of supporting women’s passion for watch collecting.The platform provides a gender friendly environment where like-minded collectors can come together to discuss their watch interests. Since it was founded, the community has garnered followers from across Asia and other regions worldwide to now federate more than 4,000 people.
“We are very excited to meet and put together more and more female watch collectors and have a horological discourse with them on a daily basis ! The Sơn Mài – Cotton Candy symbolizes the celebration of friendship, just like the bond we encourage amongst our watch community friends.” Stephanie & Deborah
Portrait of Deborah Wong aka @luxecoffer
An unexpected win of a Quartz watch in a quiz competition at teen age had started Deborah’s interests in watches. She has been a novice watch collector over the years but only turned serious less than 10 years ago. Deborah favors two-hands movement timepieces because they are effortless and uncomplicated. Most often when being consulted on timepiece selection, Deborah recommends to consider 3 main philosophies that we wanted to respect throughout the creation of this « Cotton Candy » limited edition – Simplicity , Classic and Versatility –
Co-founding TickTockBelles in 2022 has been an exciting journey for Deborah who often could be seen advocating for gender diversity and building female friendly watch communities amongst the brands.
Portrait of Stephanie Soh aka @bubbasteph
Stephanie aka @bubbasteph loves watches from a young age. Her first watch was a Bradley Mickey Mouse which she still holds dear today ! Stephanie has a diverse watch collection ranging from vintage to modern timepieces. Each timepiece is carefully curated for their movement and craftsmanship. Stephanie shares the same hobby with her husband whom she met at a watch shop over an IWC Pilot Chronograph ! The rest is history…
In recent years, she has noticed growing numbers of women who have become interested in horology; starting with her own fashionista friends seeking opinions about watches rather than fashion. With that in mind, she co-founded @ticktockbelles, a platform to support women’s interest in watch collecting, with Deborah Wong, another female watch enthusiast.
The Vietnamese Art of “Son Mai”: Lustrous Brilliance and Profoundness
AWAKE has embraced a technique never before used in watchmaking for the ‘Cotton Candy’ limited edition’s dials: Sơn Mài, or Vietnamese sanded lacquer. This ancient art involves meticulously layering and polishing coats of natural lacquer to achieve a lustrous, mirror-like finish that elevates Vietnamese lacquerware to an unparalleled level of prestige.
All begins with the careful extraction of sap from the Rhus verniciflua tree, which grows in northern Vietnam and is renowned for producing the finest and most radiant lacquer. Each tree, after a decade of growth, yields a mere 200 ml of sap, harvested only during the early mornings of June and July. Once collected, the sap is processed to remove moisture and impurities, then filtered and dehydrated to create a transparent lacquer.
A Time-Intensive Process
The process begins with a base coat of lacquer, which is dried, sanded, and polished to achieve a flawlessly smooth surface. Natural pigments are then subsequently airbrushed to enrich the visual dimension of the dial and to produce a range of vibrant shades, inspired by the cyan and pink colors of the TickTockBelles logo. Finally, a dozen layers of lacquer are applied to provide protection, brilliance, and durability. This intricate, time-intensive process requires exceptional skill and unwavering precision, ensuring that every dial in the Sơn Mài collection emerges as a true work of art.
Mastery of Luminescence
‘Sơn Mài – Cotton Candy’ features our innovative luminous “cap signature’’, inspired by the poetic aesthetics of Japanese chiaroscuro. This refined effect took a full year to perfect. Designed to reveal the beauty of our dials in interplay between light and shadow, this luminous signature blends elegance, legibility, and respect for the material. Rather than overpowering it with light, we chose to elevate it with subtlety—a philosophy reflected in the unique and complex construction of our hands and indexes, shaped through multiple machining stages.
The hands and hour markers are composed of a slim yet robust base of Luminova BGW9, topped with faceted, polished steel inserts, each finished to a fine glaive point. This exclusive design offers a discreet and refined reading of time, never detracting from the richness and the sweetness of this dial. In the darkness, the glow spreads gently, creating a poetic halo that reveals the deep reflections of the lacquer and the soft hues of the natural pink and cyan pigments specially created for this limited edition ‘Cotton Candy’.
Timeless Elegance and Contemporary Flair.
‘Sơn Mài – Cotton Candy’ limited edition is housed in our 39 mm case, crafted from recycled 316L steel, that perfectly marries modern aesthetics with timeless elegance and comfort. Inspired by the finest elements of classic watch design, the case strikes a refined balance between heritage and contemporary style.
Its sleek silhouette is enhanced by polished bezel and lugs, including a striking chamfer that stretches elegantly from one lug to the other. In contrast, the case sides are brushed horizontally, adding a discreet and modern touch. The crown combines alternating polished, brushed and sandblasted finishes for a sophisticated feel and a better grip, and is crowned with the polished ‘Genesis’ symbol, an emblem of the four elemental forces—air, earth, water, and fire— that reflect our commitment to harmony between innovation, tradition, and environmental consciousness.
Reliability and Mechanical Excellence
The screw-down case back of the ‘Cotton Candy’ limited edition – rendered in subtle grey tones – reveals a generous view of the reliable and precise Swiss Made G101 movement, developed by the prestigious manufacture La Joux-Perret. Renowned for its 68-hour power reserve, the movement is distinguished by a custom-designed tungsten rotor, sculpted with alternating reliefs and hollows to create a captivating play of light and depth, all protected by a sapphire crystal. Our signature water-resistance hallmark (the fish) and recycled 316L steel hallmark (the anvil) are discreetly engraved within the lugs — a playful reminder that one can take watchmaking seriously without taking oneself too seriously. Encircling the movement is a custom sandblasted ring, where the inscriptions specific to this limited edition are subtly laser-engraved.
Exclusive strap for TickTockBelles
To sublimate this limited edition of 33 pieces, we selected a white grained calf leather strap (20/16mm), with a soft, luxurious texture and embellished with light grey topstitching. Comfortable and resistant, this 105x65mm (S size) strap has been designed by Awake and TickTockBelles to complement each dial in this new collection to perfection and adapt elegantly to slimmer wrists. This strap is mounted on a recycled 316L stainless steel pin buckle and equipped with presto spring bars.
The bracelets for this limited edition have been handcrafted in France by master saddlers at the Bouveret factory in Franois, Franche-Comté. Each of the bracelets in this edition has passed through expert hands forged by years of experience, breathing soul into the material. From the rigorous selection of the noblest skins, to cutting, assembling, trimming, threading and sewing, a total of nearly 60 operations are performed by the expert hand of the master saddler, demonstrating perfect mastery.
Technical Specifications
Reference: ’Sơn Mài – Cotton Candy’ – Limited Edition of 33.
Case: Recycled 316L stainless steel
Diameter: 39mm
Lug to Lug: 45,6mm
Lug width: 20mm
Thickness: 11.80mm (including crystal) / 10,90mm (excluding crystal)
Métier d’Art dial: Handcrafted using the ancestral Vietnamese technique of sanded lacquer “Sơn Mài’’, combined with cyan and pink exclusive colors made from natural pigments and inspired by the TickTockBelles color codes and the sweets of our childhood.
Indexes and hands: Super-LumiNova® BGW9, with AWAKE’s luminous « cap » signature
Water resistance: 5 ATM (50m)
Crystal: Anti-reflective sapphire crystal
Case back: Screw-down sapphire crystal case back
Movement : Automatic La Joux-Perret G101 – Power reserve : 68 hours
Decorations: Customized tungsten rotor featuring alternating hollows and reliefs, with brushed, bead-blasted, and polished finishes. Sand-blasted matte-finish ring, laser-engraved with the inscription 1 of 33, and other inscriptions specific to this limited edition.
Strap: Hand Made in France, white grained calf leather strap (20–16 mm), grey topstitching, mounted on a recycled 316L stainless steel pin buckle. Equipped with presto spring bars. Dimensions (105x65mm).
Warranty: 3 years international warranty.
