Laurent Barotte, Nico de Rooij and Edouard Meylan are the 2022 laureates of the award considered to be the “Nobel of watchmaking”. Respectively in the categories “Craftsmanship and Creation”, “History and Research” and “Entrepreneurship”.

Shaniah Asha Gibson’s selection / @TRP, Public Relations Cabinet
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The 2022 edition of the Prix Gaïa pays tribute to watchmaking talents and once again confirms its international significance. Since 1993, this award has been presented in recognition of extraordinary careers in the field of watchmaking, as well as its art and culture. And for the third consecutive year, the Musée international d’horlogerie de La Chaux-de-Fonds (MIH) is awarding its “Horizon Gaïa” fellowship.

Official ceremony on Thursday 22 September 2022 at the MIH

The unique Prix Gaïa honours the very best: those contributing to the reputation of watchmaking, its history, its technology or its industry. An institution of global renown, the Musée international d’horlogerie in La Chaux-de-Fonds – a city whose economic and social history is closely linked to watchmaking – awards this prize in recognition of the spiritual heirs of watchmaking culture embodied in the museum’s collections, and in the city itself.

This year, the Gaïa Prize jury, composed of personalities active in the field of watchmaking, has designated:

Horizon Gaïa grant

Alongside the three categories used to honour leading figures in the watchmaking world, Horizon Gaïa, an incentive grant made possible thanks to the generosity of the Watch Academy Foundation, is being awarded to encourage new talent in the fields recognised by the Prix Gaïa: Craftsmanship – Creation, History – Research, and Entrepreneurship. The grant will finance all or part of an individual project.

The Horizon Gaïa scholarship has been awarded to Julien Gressot, a PhD student completing his doctoral thesis in the History of Technology at the University of Neuchâtel. His thesis project aims to give an overview of the scientific and technological heritage of the Neuchâtel Observatory and is entitled “Inventorying, preserving and sharing an exceptional heritage of science and technology. Retracing the history of the Neuchâtel Observatory through the history of its scientific instruments“.

Le Jury 2022

Régis Huguenin
conservateur du Musée international d’horlogerie, président du jury

François Aubert
président du comité du Musée d’horlogerie du Locle-Château des Monts

Patrick Dubois
président, Laboratoire Dubois

Estelle Fallet
conservateur en chef, Musée d’art et d’histoire de Genève

Philippe Fischer
directeur de la Fondation Suisse pour la Recherche en Microtechnique (FSRM)

Joël A. Grandjean
journaliste, éditeur et rédacteur en chef JSH Magazine

Serge Maillard 
journaliste, éditeur Europa Star

Nathalie Marielloni
conservatrice adjointe, Musée international d’horlogerie

Nathalie Tissot
professeure de droit de la propriété intellectuelle, Université de Neuchâtel

Kari Voutilainen
horloger indépendant

Silas Walton
fondateur et CEO A Collected Man