We attended the Louis Vuitton Watch Prize Award Ceremony held on March 24, 2026 at the Foundation Louis Vuitton in Paris, and bring you this report.
Louis Vuitton Watch Prize Award Ceremony
The ceremony was held at the Foundation Louis Vuitton in Paris, graced by the community of experts, enthusiasts and key figures from the global watchmaking scene. Five outstanding independent watchmakers from around the world made the shortlist of 5 finalists, a selection from 20 semi-finalists.
The 5 Finalists
Daizoh Makihara submitted his entry – the Beauties of Nature. The watch is a hand wound mechanical movement, which features a dial showing flowers with automatic petal opening and closing and a perpetual moon phase (1 day error in 122 years). White gold case.
Chinese independent Fam au Hut entered their Möbius. A watch which has already won accolades from the 2025 GPHG Audacity Prize. The brand was represented by co-founder Xinyan Dai. This is an extraordinary watch featuring Retrograde Minutes, Jumping hours, Bi–Axis tourbillon with a mechanical hand winding movement.
Alexandre Hazemann and Victor Monnin submitted their entry, entitled the School Watch. This is a fully in-house HM01 movement synchronising a passing strike with an instantaneous jumping hour – defining a contemporary mechanical rhythm.
Bernhard Lederer submitted his Central Impulse Chronometer 39mm Racing Green, a watch powered by a manual winding mechanical movement Dual Detent Escapement with two remontoirs d’égalité. Lederer is known for his ground breaking work on escapements.
And last but certainly not least, The Quiet Club, an independent from Japan submitted their Fading Hours. Represented by Norifumi Seki, the watch features handwound movement with mechanical alarm function, dial gong and vertical hammer, monopusher operation of set/start/cancel functions, rotating bezel to set alarm time, dedicated alarm hour and minute hands that are hidden when not used (rattrapante).
Announcing the winner!
The winner receives a €150,000 grant along with one year of personalized mentorship by La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton.
Hazemann & Monnin is an independent watchmaking company based in Switzerland. It was founded by Victor Monnin and Alexandre Hazemann, whose workshop has been officially operating since 2024.
Their partnership, however, took root a decade earlier in the watchmaking program at the Edgar Faure high school in Morteau, France.
Since establishing their company, the two watchmakers have gradually expanded their in-house capabilities in design, prototyping, machining, finishing and assembly, with the aim of achieving true technical independence.
Their first creation, the School Watch, features a movement with an instantaneous jumping hour and a passing chime, and comes in two distinct interpretations that each reflect the sensibility of its creator.
Hazemann’s version emphasizes technical expression with blue accents, while Monnin’s interpretation explores a more artistic approach, notably through the use of natural stone dials such as malachite and opal.
“We wanted to create finishes that had real import, so that people can take the time to appreciate the entire mechanism,” notes Hazemann.
“Winning the second edition of the Louis Vuitton Watch Prize represents a profound recognition of what our atelier is — and what we want it to become. From the conception of movements to the decoration of every component, this honor affirms an approach we believe in. It also gives us the means to go further: to strengthen an independent house and transmit new ideas about watchmaking to those who will carry it forward after us.”
