Cover Watchmaker David Candaux was a semi-finalist of the 2025/26 edition of the Louis Vuitton Watch Prize of Creative Independents
Watchmaker David Candaux was a semi-finalist of the 2025/26 edition of the Louis Vuitton Watch Prize of Creative Independents
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David Candaux is a rarity in the industry, possessing all the skills necessary to complete an entire luxury timepiece—from designing and movement engineering to giving the watch the final flourish of exquisite finishing
Operating from his secluded workshop in Vallée de Joux, David Candaux is a fiercely independent voice in contemporary watchmaking. Born to a watchmaking family, Candaux spent years honing his craft before going fully independent in 2017. He immediately defined his singular vision: titanium as the key material, an inclined tourbillon, and innovation that honours tradition.
Candaux, 46, was a semi-finalist of the 2025/26 edition of the Louis Vuitton Watch Prize of Creative Independents for his DC6 Titanium, a striking timepiece featuring a “Pointes du Risoux” guilloche dial flanking two sapphire domes, one housing the tourbillon, the other a semi-spherical titanium silver hour-and-minute subdial with conical and curved hands. With only his father assisting, his solitary practice yields only a handful of timepieces annually, granting them a rare and exclusive character.
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Above David Candaux creates in his workshop in Vallée de Joux
David Candaux creates in his workshop in Vallée de Joux
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Why did you choose this path of independent watchmaking?
For me, independence is not an escape towards freedom. It is a commitment. I needed a space where I could fully assume every decision: aesthetics, mechanics, proportions, finishing, ergonomics, and overall coherence. Independence gave me the possibility to take the risk of my own truth, and to carry it all the way to excellence.
Vallée de Joux is the heart of traditional Swiss watchmaking. Which aspects of that tradition do you embrace, and which do you deliberately challenge?
Vallée de Joux is my foundation. I was born here, I live here, I see it every morning at the foot of Mont Tendre. The tradition I embrace is the tradition of truth: the hand, the time, the rigour, the mechanical logic, the beauty of detail and coherence.
But I challenge the idea that tradition should be a cage. For me, tradition is not repetition; it is a responsibility. One honours heritage by extending it. I deeply respect the codes, but I refuse déjà-vu. So I keep the valley’s level of exigence while unsettling its habits. In short, I speak the language of the valley, but with today’s grammar.
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Above DC6 Titanium features “Pointes du Risoux” guilloche dial
DC6 Titanium features “Pointes du Risoux” guilloche dial
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Your inclined movements and unconventional ergonomics are instantly recognisable. How do you decide when to break classical design rules?
The moment I decide to “break a rule” is only when I have a stronger reason than the rule itself. Inclination and ergonomics are not stylistic effects; they are solutions. I always start from real experience: how the watch lives on the wrist, how light falls, how the movement “breathes”, how the object tells its mechanical story
I model everything, calculate everything, and imagine each component within the coherent whole. Then I return to the simplest question: does it serve emotion? If a classical rule prevents the object from being right, then I transgress it. But I do so with respect: every rupture must feel obvious, almost natural, like something that had always needed to exist.
Do you design your watches for collectors or to start a conversation with the wearer?
I design for the human being. Above all, I want the watch to create an intimate dialogue with the person who wears it. A watch is not a trophy; it is a presence. It must accompany, carry energy, strength, and emotion. I do not create objects to be stored away. I create objects to be lived with, and to remind us that time is not a measurement but an experience.
Above The new DC6 Night Forest pairs black titanium with carbon
The new DC6 Night Forest pairs black titanium with carbon
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What emotion do you hope your watch communicates?
I want to convey a very simple emotion: presence in the moment. Precision is the foundation, emotion is the reason.
How would you define haute horlogerie in 2026?
In 2026, haute horlogerie is no longer about price, complication, or labels. It is a rare convergence, a genuine mechanical invention or intention, total aesthetic coherence, flawless execution, and above all, authenticity. In a world saturated with images, it must be able to move without shouting. For me, haute horlogerie is silent excellence.
You paraglide. Is that how you relax?
Paragliding is total contact with nature. It is where I become fully aware of what is simple, pure, and yet deeply essential to life. When paragliding, all my senses are awake. I must be entirely present, focused on what is essential. And I believe this demand to be fully present with simplicity, precision, and humility directly shapes how I design a watch.
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Brian Cheong leads the watch (Tatler GMT) and jewellery content at Tatler Malaysia, combining sharp editorial insight with years of luxury lifestyle experience. A seasoned journalist in luxury watches based in Kuala Lumpur, Brian had previously helmed World of Watches, Men's Folio and Prestige Malaysia.
