Raúl Pagès wins the first edition of the Louis Vuitton Watch Prize

The acclaimed award recognises innovation, audacity and savoir-faire with the aim of supporting independent watchmaking.

The first edition of the Louis Vuitton Watchmaking Prize for Independent Creatives was held yesterday, with Raúl Pagès emerging as the winner at an exclusive ceremony held at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris. It was preceded by a cocktail party attended by watchmaking experts and enthusiasts from around the world, who were also treated to an extraordinary live performance by Sofiane Pamart.

Pagès, a native of Neuchâtel (Switzerland), started in the trade as a restorer of watchmaking masterpieces at a young age to become an independent watchmaker in 2012. Today he makes a total of four watches a year by hand, imagining every aspect of the timepiece, from the design and development of the mechanism to the manufacture and finishing. His winning design, the RP1 – Régulateur à détente is a hand-wound stainless steel wristwatch of unique construction.

“To be awarded by the jury of the Louis Vuitton Watchmaking Prize for Independent Watchmakers is the best possible recognition of my work as an independent watchmaker,” he says.

And speaking of the Maison… LV Diamonds offers new pieces of fine jewellery.