Judging Panel Confirmed for Louis Vuitton’s First-Ever Watch Prize

The Louis Vuitton Watch Prize for Independent Creatives was first unveiled back in November 2022. Earlier this week, the Maison announced its Committee of Experts, who will pose as the judging panel for the inaugural event.

A total of 42 judges have been confirmed to be part of Louis Vuitton’s Committee of Experts, this includes notable industry heavyweights such as Ben Clymer, founder and CEO of Hodinkee, Tim Mosso from WatchBox to watchmakers like Denis Flageollet from De Bethune. Followed by an extensive selection of artisans, enthusiasts, journalists, specialists, and collectors from all around the world.

In September 2023, the committee will come together to review all submissions. During this period, a shortlist of 20 semi-finalists will be decided, then revealed on the competition’s official website. By December, the list will be narrowed down to five finalists based on creativity, design, craftsmanship, innovation, and technical complexity.

For the final round, five members from the committee will be elected to form a special jury, who will decide on the first-ever winner for the inaugural competition. The winner will be announced at a Paris ceremony in January 2024, where they will be awarded €150,000 EUR in cash prize, on top of a one-year mentorship at La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton in Switzerland.

Check out the Louis Vuitton Watch Prize for Independent Creatives Committee of Experts list below:

Ariel Adams, founder and owner of A Blog to Watch Media
Hajime Asaoka, CEO of Precision Watch Tokyo Co Ltd & independent watchmaker
George Bamford, founder of Bamford Watch Department and Bamford London
Enrico Barbasini, Master watchmaker at La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton
Cara Barrett, founder of Parchie Inc.
Carol Besler, specialized journalist in Watches & Jewelry
Antonio Calce, CEO, executive board member and shareholder of Greubel Forsey
Austen Chu, founder and CEO of Wristcheck
Ben Clymer, founder and CEO of Hodinkee
Adam Craniotes, founder and president of RedBar Group
Frank Declerck, journalist
Elizabeth Doerr, journalist and co-founder of Quill & Pad
James Dowling, collector, author and journalist
Philippe Dufour, Master watchmaker
Denis Flageollet, Master watchmaker
Carole Forsestier Kasapi, movements director, Tag Heuer
Jack Forster, global editorial director, Watchbox
Nick Foulkes, author, journalist and editor
Jeffery Fowler, CEO, of Hodinkee
Maxime Frédéric, pastry Chef at Cheval Blanc Paris
Frank Geelen, founder and editor-in-chief at Monochrome Watches
Frank Gehry, architect and designer
Evelyne Genta, ambassador of the Principality of Monaco to the UK and to the Republic of Kazakhstan
Rémi Guillemin, head of Europe watches department at Christie’s Europe
Sam Hines, managing director of Loupe This and Senior International Consultant to Patti Wong & Associates
Kim Jones, artistic Director of Dior Men’s, Fendi womenswear and couture
Wei Koh, founder and group editorial director of Revolution & the Rake
Eric Ku, co-founder of Loupe This
Carine Maillard, director of the GPHG
Shawn Mehta, founder of Watch4Moi
Auro Montanari, CEO of Aurel Spa and Teko Spa
Tim Mosso, director of media and watch specialist at WatchBox
Michel Navas, Master watchmaker at La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton
Marc Newson, industrial designer
François-Xavier Overstake, watch enthusiast
Laurent Picciotto, owner and director at Chronopassion
Anita Porchet, Master enameller
Justin Reis, co-founder and CEO of WatchBox
Rexhep Rexhepi, Master watchmaker at Akrivia
Mike Shanlikian, VP of finance at Lear Corporation
Dick Steenman, Master engraver
Jiaxian Su, founder of SJX Watches
Michael Tay, specialist watchmaker at The Hour Glass
Kari Voutilainen, Master watchmaker
Suzanne Wong, editor in chief at WorldTempus

For more information, visit the competition’s official website.

In other watch news, Hublot and Maxime Büchi reunite for the Spirit of Big Bang Sang Bleu limited-edition collection.