Independent Designer Raúl Pagès Takes Home Inaugural Louis Vuitton Watch Prize

The inaugural Louis Vuitton Watch Prize for Independent Creatives was awarded to Raúl Pagès. The award ceremony took place at the Frank Gehry-designed Louis Vuitton art foundation, located on the edge of Paris' Bois de Boulogne. Many distinguished watchmakers and numerous LVMH executives were present at the event, including Bernard Arnault, the chairman and CEO of LVMH.

Raúl Pagès' groundbreaking approach to watchmaking won him the coveted award, along with a cash prize of €150,000. He was also awarded a twisting silver trophy presented in a signature Louis Vuitton printed monogram box. Pagès' winning creation was the RP1 - Régulateur à Détente, a hand-wound stainless steel wristwatch with an original design and in-house caliber, exuding a fresh Brutalist vibe.

Following his victory, an emotional Pagès dedicated his win to his fellow finalists and thanked Louis Vuitton and Jean Arnault for the prestigious award. Among the other finalists was Petermann Bédat, comprised of Gaël Petermann and Florian Bédat who have been independent watchmakers since 2017. Also in the running was Simon Brette, an indie watchmaker known for his Chronometre Artisans watch, which combined neo-classicism and art nouveau elements, and John-Mikaël Flaux, whose L’Abeille Mécanique (mechanical bee) watch featured a one-of-its-kind figurative mechanism and a poetic hours indicator known as the "stinger".

The fifth entrant, Andreas Strehler and Enrico Santoni, introduced their “time object”, the Tischkalender Sympathique, which is a perpetual mechanical desk calendar in gilded brass with lapis lazuli. Despite an intensely competitive field, it was Pagès' understated RPI watch that took home the prize.

All five unique individual timepieces were showcased in the lobby of the Gehry building. A 45-member semi-finalist jury, comprised of eminent individuals including designers Kim Jones and Marc Newson, master engraver Dick Steenman, enameller Anita Porchet, master watchmakers Philippe Dufour and Denis Flageollet, and Evelyne Genta, had the task of reducing over 1,000 applicants to 20. Eventually, a smaller jury selected five based on design, creativity, innovation, craftsmanship and technical complexity, with technical complexity taking precedence in the final decision.

The award ceremony was hosted by renowned watch editor and enthusiast Wei Koh, who referred to Jean Arnault as a 'once in a generation leader'. Having expressed his gratitude towards Arnault for creating the awards, Koh brought attention to LVMH's plans to hold the ceremony on a biennial basis with an aim to appreciate emerging talents. It is organized by La Fabrique du Temps, the Time Factory of Louis Vuitton, based in Switzerland. Pagès can now look forward to a year of mentoring by La Fabrique du Temps, covering areas such as communications, copyright, legal, marketing, industrial strategy and financial management.

It should be noted that Jean Arnault is the youngest child of Bernard Arnault, Chairman and CEO of LVMH, controlling shareholder of the luxury giant and Europe's wealthiest individual.