Business News Philippe Dufour, Rexhep Rexhepi, Kari Voutilainen, And Other Luminaries To Judge The Inaugural Louis Vuitton Watch Prize

As we covered previously, applicants can be watchmakers, designers, entrepreneurs, recent graduates, and creatives from all around the world.

We also mentioned back in November (when the prize was announced), that there'd be a special committee to select the winner of the prize. We knew at the time that our own founder (Benjamin Clymer) and CEO (Jeffery Fowler) were members of that committee.

Now we know the entire list. It runs the gamut from watch media to watchmakers to a few wild cards.

The watchmakers should be familiar to regular Hodinkee readers. We're talking names like Philippe Dufour, Kari Voutilainen, and Rexhep Rexhepi, as well as La Fabrique du Temps founders – and master watchmakers to boot – Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasini. Famed enameler Anita Porchet is also among the members. So are designer Kim Jones of Dior and a couple of Hodinkee alums.

According to Louis Vuitton, the rest of the selection phase will go like this: The committee will meet in September 2023 to review submissions for the Prize and whittle applicants down to a shortlist of 20 semi-finalists, which will be revealed online.

Then, in December, five finalists will be selected based on the following criteria: Design, Creativity, Innovation, Craftsmanship, and Technical complexity.

Similar to the GPHG, the committee will designate a five-member jury from its ranks to perform the final round of selection, with the winner announced at a ceremony in Paris and awarded a grant of €150,000 plus a one-year mentorship by La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton, tailored to their project. You can find full information  about the prize right here.

And so the process is officially underway. We'll be ready to see who the winner is in just nine short months. The LV Watch Prize will be announced in January 2024.