Established at the heart of the Swiss watchmaking industry, the Cartier watchmaking Manufactures have been committed to preserving, sharing and developing the excellence of watchmaking expertise since 1972. This led the Maison to open the Cartier Watchmaking Institute in Couvet, Switzerland, in 1993 and, two years later, to inaugurate the Cartier Prize for Watchmaking Talents of Tomorrow, aimed at rewarding students of watchmaking, whether apprentices or microtechnology technicians at an école supérieure.

The awards ceremony for the 27th edition took place on 14th January, 2025, at the prestigious Musée international d’horlogerie in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. The winners, from Switzerland, France, Belgium and Germany, were tasked with reinterpreting a small clock movement - an emblematic Cartier creation - around the theme ‘The Magic of the Senses’. After being initially selected based on sketches, texts and video presentations, the eleven finalists were given eighty hours over two months to turn their vision into reality, accompanied by their mentor. Their creations, which reflect their technical expertise and creative boldness, evoke themes of nature, automation and enhanced everyday objects.

Six winners received prizes across the competition's two categories: ‘Apprentices’ and ‘Technicians’.
Marta Maziers, from the IATA school in Namur, Belgium, won first prize in the ‘Apprentices’ category for her project La reine du temps (The queen of time), a watchmaking creation that pays tribute to the world of bees and captivates all the senses. Hugo Mandrillon, from the Lycée Edgar Faure de Morteau, France, came first in the 'Technicians' category for his creation Œil du temps (Eye of time), a telescope inspired by the sixth sense that plays with optical effects. Finally, for the first time, the Jury gave a special mention to their favourite creator at this year’s contest. Valentine Gredzynski, also from the Lycée Edgar Faure de Morteau, received this acknowledgement for Tree, a creation of striking realism.

The jury was made up of leading figures in the watchmaking world: Nathalie Marielloni, Vice Curator of the Musée international d'horlogerie; Roy Davidoff, vintage watch specialist and co-founder of Roy & Sacha Davidoff S.A.; Pascal Ravessoud, Vice President at the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie and watchmaking specialist and collector; Pascale Lepeu, Director of the Cartier Collection; and Kari Voutilainen, independent watchmaker.

For Karim Drici, Cartier's Manufacturing Director, "this pioneering prize (...) represents the Maison's desire to support those who want to pursue these métiers of passion, as they will be the ones shaping the watchmaking of tomorrow".

The next Cartier Prize for Watchmaking Talents of Tomorrow event will take place this autumn, as applications open for the 2025 edition.