LVMH SELECTS A WINNER FOR ITS INAUGURAL WATCH PRIZE
Established in support of independent watchmaking, the prize awards a one-year mentorship with La Fabrique du Temps to the winner.
In February, a week after the LVMH Group’s watch brands showcased their 2024 novelties in Miami, watch journalists and affiliated industry participants rushed back across the Channel to attend the inaugural Louis Vuitton Watch Prize for Independent Creatives award ceremony. At the Fondation Louis Vuitton, Jean Arnault, the youngest son of LVMH chief executive Bernard Arnault, announced the winner, Raúl Pages, to the 250 guests in attendance.
Along with a bespoke trophy, Pagès wins a €150,000 grant as well as a one-year mentorship from La Fabrique du Temps. With the guidance of Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasini, Pagès intends to develop a new chronometer movement that would be a follow-up to his winning timepiece, the RP1.
The RP1 is an impressive watch with a regulator display and a manually wound movement featuring a pivoted detent escapement, originally meant for use in marine chronometers. Pagès is the only independent watchmaker developing this today, producing just four pieces a year by hand.
An Encouraging Competition
The LVMH Watch Prize for Independent Creatives is the brainchild of Jean Arnault, who hopes to inspire new and young watchmakers who have a vision of their own to step forward.
The competition received over 1,000 entries, which were whittled down by 45 watch experts to 20 semi-finalists from France, Canada, and the United States. The final decision-making went to a five-member jury, which included Michael Tay, group managing director of The Hour Glass and Carole Forestier-Kasapi, Technical Director at TAG Heuer.
The five finalists included three well-known independents: Andreas Strehler, Petermann Bédat, and Simon Brette. Raúl Pagès and JohnMikaël Flaux are two lesser-known names. But even if they did not win, the finalists gain the sort of visibility only a brand like Louis Vuitton can command. For the rest, they’ll have to wait till 2025 for the next round.