Cover Victor Monnin and Alexandre Hazemann of Hazemann & Monnin, winners of the Louis Vuitton Watch Prize 2026
Victor Monnin and Alexandre Hazemann of Hazemann & Monnin, winners of the Louis Vuitton Watch Prize 2026
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The Louis Vuitton Watch Prize for Independent Creatives aims to raise the profile of independent watchmakers
Whoever said that creativity in the watch industry is on life support should take a look at the entries for the Louis Vuitton Watch Prize for Independent Creatives. The five finalists alone presented a fascinating set of horological masterpieces that push the limits of design and mechanics.
The brainchild of Jean Arnault, the director of watches at Louis Vuitton, the Louis Vuitton Watch Prize is a biennial award organised by La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton. It was established to celebrate and support the creative talent and audacity of independent watchmakers and entrepreneurs worldwide, offering the winner a €150,000 (about RM688,000) grant and a one-year mentorship. The winner is selected based on these criteria: Design & Aesthetics, Creativity & Audacity, Technical Innovation, Details & Finishings, and Complexity.
The first edition of the Louis Vuitton Watch Prize was held in 2024, with the winner being Raúl Pagès for his Régulateur à Détente RP1. The watch featured separate displays for the hour, minute and seconds, and was powered by a movement with a pivoted detent escapement that improved energy transmission.
Read more: Tag Heuer’s new CEO—and the Audemars Piguet blueprint
Above Victor Monnin and Alexandre Hazemann of Hazemann & Monnin are the winners of Louis Vuitton Watch Prize 2026 for their School Watch
Victor Monnin and Alexandre Hazemann of Hazemann & Monnin are the winners of Louis Vuitton Watch Prize 2026 for their School Watch
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The 2025-2026 edition, which actually began its search in November 2024, has just announced its winner: Hazemann & Monnin’s School Watch. Hazemann & Monnin are Alexandre Hazemann and Victor Monnin, two friends who met at the Morteau watchmaking school.
Their first watch, the School Watch Subscription, was a GPHG 2025 nominee in the Mechanical Exception category for its reimagination of the chiming and jumping hour complications. Driven by HM01 calibre, an entirely original movement without relying on any existing base, both complications are activated and perfectly synchronised at the top of the hour.
Hazemann & Monnin’s submission for the Louis Vuitton Watch Prize is a new interpretation of the School Watch, complete with a skeletonised dial that offers a completely uninterrupted view of the chiming mechanism at work.
See also: GPHG 2025: Why Greubel Forsey’s Nano Foudroyante was named Mechanical Exception
Above Hazemann & Monnin’s School Watch declared the winner of the 2025-2026 edition of the Louis Vuitton Watch Prize
Hazemann & Monnin’s School Watch declared the winner of the 2025-2026 edition of the Louis Vuitton Watch Prize
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The winner was decided by a five-member jury led by Carole Forestier-Kasapi, Tag Heuer’s movements strategy director. The other four finalists were:
Fam Al Hut’s Möbius
Above Xinyan Dai, founder of Fam Al Hut
Above Fam Al Hut’s Möbius
Xinyan Dai, founder of Fam Al Hut
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The Möbius features a compact tourbillon rotating on two axes fully on display on the dial. Below it is an original combination of double retrograde displays and a jumping hour.
Read more: COSC levels up its chronometric requirements
Lederer’s CIC 39mm Racing Green
Above Bernhard Lederer, founder of Lederer
Above Lederer’s CIC 39mm Racing Green
Bernhard Lederer, founder of Lederer
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The CIC 39mm Racing Green houses a groundbreaking movement with twin escapements and dual remontoirs d’égalité for constant energy transmission.
See also: Meet Bernhard Lederer, the German watchmaker who perfected Breguet’s natural escapement
Quiet Club’s Fading Hours
Above Norifumi Seki, head of watchmaking of Quiet Club
Above Quiet Club’s Fading Hours
Norifumi Seki, head of watchmaking of Quiet Club
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A fascinating mechanical timepiece with an alarm function, with a hammer that directly strikes the dial. The rotating bezel sets the alarm time.
Read more: A guide to Japan for watch enthusiasts
Daizoh Makihara Watchcraft Japan’s Beauties of Nature
Above Daizoh Makihara
Above Daizoh Makihara Watchcraft Japan’s Beauties of Nature
Daizoh Makihara
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The Beauties of Nature displays dual-time via two animated petals—24 hours at 10 o’clock and 12 hours at 2 o’clock. The traditional Japanese cutglass technique of Edo Kiriko was employed to create the magnificent dial.
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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.
