Watchmaking talents take note: The application phase of the Cartier Young Talent Competition 2025 is open

For 30 years, Cartier has awarded the Prix Cartier Talents Horlogers de Demain to "watchmaking talents of tomorrow." The theme of this year's edition is "Changeons d'équilibre": Toward a new kind of balance: Let us read and perceive time differently.

Picture left: The winning objects of the Cartier Competition 2024: Marta Maziers (La Reine du Temps), Yann Mayer (Inverso), Coline Riondet (Présentoir à parfum), Hugo Mandrillon (Œil du Temps), Samuel Pauly (Nefertum) and Simon Girard (Ballet floral)

Watch competitions in short supply

There are many jewelry competitions where experienced and aspiring goldsmiths and designers can present themselves to the critical eye of the jury and the interested public. Things are different in the watch sector.

There is the renowned Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG), which is definitely several sizes too big for young talents. Inhorgenta Award has the category "Design Newcomer of the Year," for which watches can also be submitted. This year's Geneva Watch Days will feature the COSC competition CalibershipHere, amateurs and professionals can demonstrate their regulatory skills.

Cartier Prize for tomorrow's watchmaking talents

The “Prix Cartier Talents Horlogers de Demain” was created in 1995 by the Cartier Institute Horlogerie and honors watchmaking apprentices in the 3rd and 4th years of their basic vocational training as well as students in the 1st or 2nd year of higher vocational training from Switzerland, France, Belgium and Germany.

Under the motto "Toward a new kind of balance: Let us read and perceive time differently," this 28th edition aims to inspire us to explore new ways of viewing our relationship with time from a fresh perspective. The award winners will be recognized for their technical virtuosity and creative courage.

Cartier Competition 2025: In the Sign of Change

"The 28th edition, under the motto 'Changeons d'équilibre', invites candidates to propose a resolutely innovative interpretation of time. True to the Maison's pioneering spirit, this competition is a place of free expression where technique, innovation, and creative courage converge to shape the watchmaking of tomorrow," explained Karim Drici, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Cartier.

This year's motto is intended to encourage participants to transcend traditional approaches to understanding time. The goal is to create a personalized clockwork.

Cartier itself demonstrated how time can be interpreted in a different way at Watches & Wonders 2025 with the reinterpretation of the “Tank à Guichets” from the “Cartier Privé” collection.

Inspired by a 1928 model, this clock has neither hands nor a dial. Instead, it features an openwork plate with two apertures and a novel digital time display. The 17th-century mechanisms of the "jumping" hour and "trailing" minutes are given a modern interpretation.

Prix Cartier Talents Horlogers de Demain: The task, the application, the jury, the award ceremony

For this year's Cartier competition, candidates must work on a pendulum clock movement, a timepiece that has been a symbol of Cartier watchmaking for over a century.

From 8 September to 31 October, interested parties can register at the Website and submit their documents. These must consist of a presentation video and a project description, including a sketch.

At the beginning of December, after reviewing the application documents, the jury selects six candidates each from the apprentices and technicians. These candidates will then have three months, with a total of a maximum of 80 working hours, to complete their project.

During this period, participants will receive individual support from a mentor of their choice who is not affiliated with Cartier. Following this phase, they must submit the finished object and a project portfolio containing sketches and photos of the development steps. The awards ceremony will take place in spring 2026.

Top-class jury

The jury of the “Prix Cartier Talents Horlogers de Demain 2025” is composed of:

• Roy Davidoff (watch collector and co-founder of Roy & Sacha Davidoff SA)
• Pascale Lepeu (Director of the Cartier Collection)
• Nathalie Marielloni (Deputy Curator at the International Horological Museum)
• Pascal Ravessoud (Vice-President of the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie, watch specialist and collector)
• Kari Voutilainen (independent watchmaker)