Awake Sơn Mài “The Deadly Watch”
Awake Sơn Mài “The Deadly Watch”
A long-term artistic tribute, through the Métiers d’Art, to the cult films that marked our youth with Quentin Tarantino’s most iconic films Kill Bill Vol 1.
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Following the success of the
‘Jurassic Watch’ editions, Awake unveils
‘The Deadly Watch’, the second opus of the
‘A Tribute To The Seventh Art’ project, which consists of a long-term artistic tribute, through the
Métiers d’Art, to the cult films that marked our youth and will always resonate in our adolescent hearts.
‘The Deadly Watch’ is limited to
88 pieces and draws inspiration from the graphic and aesthetic codes of one of Quentin Tarantino’s most iconic films, released in 2003:
Kill Bill Vol 1. - Opus N°2 of the ‘Tribute to 7th Art’ project: ‘The Deadly Watch’ pays tribute, through Métiers d’Art, to Quentin Tarantino’s graphic and aesthetic masterpiece, released in 2003: Kill Bill. A limited edition full of details, perfectly in tune with Awake’s creative and unbridled spirit, revisiting this masterpiece of the Seventh Art;
€ 1,650 excluding tax.
- Only 88 ‘crazy’ pieces: which will soon adorn the wrists of watch and film enthusiasts around the world, for whom wearing a watch is a true statement of style and personality. 88 pieces as a nod to the hysterical Yakuza of ‘Crazy 88’ and one of the most iconic fight scenes in modern cinema.
- Unique handcrafted dials: taking inspiration from the graphic and aesthetic codes of the cult film, master lacquer artists have created new colors exclusive to this special edition. Using the ancestral techniques of Vietnamese Sơn Mài lacquer, the dials offer unique brilliance and hues thanks to multiple layers of lacquer and natural pigments. This work combines precision and creativity, is entirely handmade, and requires around ten hours per dial.
- A compendium of details for enthusiasts: from the name of this edition itself, to the colors of the dial, leathers for the strap, Katanas applied at 6 o’clock and engravings on the case back: everything in this ‘The Deadly Watch’ edition has been designed and crafted to satisfy the thirst for detail of both watch and film enthusiasts.
- Awake luminous signature: based on a complex and exclusive construction of hour markers and hands coated with Super-LumiNova® BGW9, this limited edition offers a subtle play of light and dark that magnifies the brilliance and reflections of the lacquer, transforming the space between the sapphire crystal and the dial into a veritable chamber of light reflection.
- Handcrafted bracelets: inspired by the famous leather outfit worn by Beatrix Kiddo, the heroine played by actress Uma Thurman.
- Reliability and Accuracy: ‘The Deadly Watch’ is equipped with our automatic La Joux-Perret G101 calibre offering 68 hours of power reserve and standing out thanks to its tungsten rotor, custom-designed for Awake. The whole is elegantly encircled by a polished and micro blasted ring, engraved with multiple symbols and nods to Quentin Tarantino’s cult film.
2 of the 88 future owners of a
‘The Deadly Watch’ will be drawn at random and win an exact replica of the legendary Japanese sword from
‘The Bride’. Forged, in the film, by Master Hattori Hanzo in his Okinawa forge, this katana embodies the purity of traditional craftsmanship and the relentless determination of its user!
Since the brand was created in 2019,
art and cinema have always been at the heart of our approach and are part of a constant desire to push the boundaries of creativity. The brand’s positioning in the fascinating world of
Métiers d’Art takes Awake’s vision to a whole new level: that of traditions and craft techniques that elevate the craftsman to the rank of artist, part of a cultural heritage whose beauty and poetry we want to pass on.
Awake’s ambition is to be a bold and contemporary new approach to exceptional craftsmanship, reinterpreting ancestral techniques to draw out their essence in the service of creativity. For the second time and after the ‘Jurassic Watch’, we put the expertise of our artisans at the service of the 7th Art, to pay tribute to movies that shaped our childhood, marked our adolescence and nourished our imagination and creativity!
Reminiscence, you’ve got us.. again!
‘The Deadly Watch’ is a collaborative project, peppered with references, bringing together craftsmen and technicians to offer you an artistic and horological interpretation of a film that left its mark on millions of viewers in the 2000s. This highly exclusive edition is inspired by the multiple film genres that KILL BILL explores - kung fu movies, gore, epic films, spaghetti westerns and anime - and appeals to both the watch enthusiast and the film fan in us, allowing us to delve into the past and stir our nostalgia!
Our master lacquerers made countless attempts to mix pigments and reinterpret, within the tiny space of our dials, the graphic and aesthetic codes of Q.Tarantino’s cult film, this edition pays tribute to. An exclusive and, it must be said, a bit crazy edition to celebrate in our own way a masterpiece of cinema that tackles themes of revenge and personal justice, betrayal and loyalty, power and female autonomy, ethics and morality.
The name of this limited edition
‘The Deadly Watch’ is a first nod to the team of assassins working for the cruel Bill, who is relentlessly pursued by the heroine Beatrix Kiddo:
The Deadly Viper Assassination Squad! A
‘deadly’ name for a truly badass watch that features a dial crafted entirely by hand in our Hanoi workshops, using traditional Vietnamese Sơn Mài lacquer techniques. Its unique colors, inspired by the aesthetic codes of the film
KILL BILL and the world of Q.Tarantino in general are obtained from organic materials and create an intense ensemble with striking reflections and powerful symbolism:
- Yellow: is associated here with happiness, energy and purity of the soul. All these things were torn away from the heroine Beatrix Kiddo, plunging her into a blind quest for vengeance.
- Red: is associated with danger, anger, revenge, the heroine’s extreme passions, whether love or hate, and of course blood. Our master lacquerers came to smear the dial by hand with small splashes of blood using red pigmented lacquer.
- Black: on the dial’s outer rim refers to the overall atmosphere of the film, the smell of gunpowder lingering in the air after the initial shootout, the absence of light in Beatrix Kiddo’s heart, and the mystery surrounding her character, also known as ‘Black Mamba’.
- The Awake logo s stamped in black pad printing to contrast with the yellow of the dial, and uses a ‘Western’ font, a recurring feature in Tarantino’s works and inspired by a genre dear to the American director: the ‘spaghetti western’.
- At 6 o’clock: another applique, also in pad printing, refers to the two iconic katanas used by Bill and “The Bride” and takes us back to the cult scene in the Okinawa forge, where Hattori Hanzo agrees to come out of retirement to forge a blade ‘destined to kill Bill’, embodying the purity of traditional craftsmanship and the relentless determination of its user.
A case-back
full of details
‘The Deadly Watch’ is equipped with our La Joux-Perret G101 automatic calibre, a guarantee of excellence and performance offering 68 hours of power reserve, distinguished by its tungsten rotor featuring elegant contrasts between recessed and raised surfaces, and refined finishing techniques. The whole is encircled by a ring with polished and micro-bead-blasted finishes and engraved with multiple details that will delight both watch enthusiasts and film lovers:
- The name of this edition ‘The Deadly Watch’ as well as the brand’s motto ‘Artisanship, Awakened’ are engraved at 12 and 6 o’clock respectively, in a ‘Western Spaghetti’ font, inspired by a genre dear to Q.Tarantino and omnipresent in his cinematography, echoing the logo on the dial.
- The quotation “I’m gonna kill Bill” borrowed from the strong and independent heroine Beatrix Kiddo, who is betrayed and left for dead, then embarks on a quest for vengeance to regain control of her life, is subtly engraved at 9 o’clock.
- The numbering of this edition: for even more fun, we have chosen to number 88 copies and precede the number with the word ‘Crazy’! A playful nod to the ‘Crazy 88’ wearing black masks and black suits typical of the Yakuza.
- Finally, we also engraved four M16 bullets, recalling the film’s opening shootout in a small chapel lost in the middle of the desert. Only ‘The Bride’ survives her injuries and has only one goal: to take revenge!
inspired by The Bride’s outfit
Handcrafted by master saddlers at Bouveret in Franche-Comté, France, the straps used on
‘The Deadly Watch’ are inspired by the famous yellow and black leather outfit worn by the heroine Beatrix Kiddo, itself inspired by Bruce Lee’s cult films, dear to Q.Tarantino. For the sake of realism, we have selected a supple, durable, fine-grained matte black Barenia calfskin leather and paired it with a yellow calfskin lining – yellow topstitching on the top and red on the bottom. Each strap requires 60 steps to ensure comfort and durability. Equipped with
‘presto’ pumps and mounted on our hollow pin buckle made from recycled 316L steel.
Dimensions: 115x70 or 115x80 / 20x16mm.
In
Kill Bill, Quentin Tarantino pays tribute to
Japanese sword cinema by featuring a katana forged by the legendary
Hattori Hanzo. This sword, wielded by the heroine, becomes the symbol of her quest for vengeance. To prolong the pleasure of this limited edition and play the nostalgia card to the full, two of the 88 owners of a copy of
‘The Deadly Watch’ will be randomly selected and will win an exact replica of the legendary Japanese sword from
‘The Bride’: - Maru 1045 sharpened & engraved steel blade
- Sharkskin & black synthetic leather handle
- Laser-cut, blackened metal guard
- Lacquered and gilded wooden scabbard.
Founded in 2019, Awake is an independent watch brand whose mission is to reveal the beauty of the world through the object that symbolises time. To achieve this, the brand has embarked on a unique initiative to revitalise and modernise ancestral crafts and forgotten national treasures around the world. An inspiring and committed vision, an expression of talent and passion, reflecting Awake’s relentless pursuit of excellence, creativity and innovation. A tribute to the passing of time and to things that last, with the aim of offering ever more pleasure and emotion in a poetic and inspiring approach to time, contrasting with the frantic pace of our era!