Cartier Launches the Cartier Talents of Tomorrow Prize

Cartier has launched the Cartier Talents of Tomorrow Prize, comprising two independent awards that celebrate and encourage outstanding emerging talent in watchmaking and jewellery. Evolving from the Cartier Watchmaking Prize for Talents of Tomorrow, founded in 1995, the programme now bears a new name and adds a dedicated jewellery prize — a tribute to the Maison's twin crafts and its commitment to supporting the next generation of artisans.

Each year, the watchmaking prize invites emerging talents focused on horological craft to reinterpret a movement around a given theme, honouring apprentices and students from Switzerland, France, Belgium and Germany — with participation extended this year to Sweden, Denmark and Finland. The new jewellery prize is open to students in France, Italy and Switzerland who have completed at least two years of formal education, apprenticeship or work-study training in a jewellery-focused programme.

For this edition, both fields share a common theme: the Cartier Animal Kingdom. From the panther and tiger to the crocodile, animal totems have long been emblematic of Cartier's creations, echoed recently in the Panthère high-craft watch presented at Watches and Wonders and the new high jewellery exploring the Maison's animal world. Watchmaking entrants will build on the Cartier 1847 MC calibre to reinterpret animal forms, while jewellery entrants must capture the spirit of an animal in a brooch. Submissions are open from 1 October to 30 November 2026.

Eight candidates will be shortlisted in each field, given three months and up to 80 working hours to create their piece, supported by personal mentoring from a tutor of their choosing outside Cartier. Each finalist then submits the finished work together with a logbook documenting the creative journey, complete with sketches and photographs. Three young winners will be selected in each craft, with the awards ceremony to be held in spring 2027.

The 2027 watchmaking jury brings together antique watch expert and Roy & Sacha Davidoff SA co-founder Roy Davidoff, Director of the Cartier Collection Pascale Lepeu, Musée international d'horlogerie curator Nathalie Marielloni, Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie Vice Chairman and watch expert Pascal Ravessoud, and independent watchmaker Kari Voutilainen. The jewellery jury comprises Director of Cartier's High Jewellery Ateliers Alexa Abitbol, Christie's Chairman for Europe and jewellery expert François Curiel, jewellery journalist Hervé Dewintre, Musée des Arts Décoratifs curator Mathieu Rousset-Perrier, and Cristofol CEO Laurent Laroche.

Behind the prize lies a long-standing commitment to passing on craft. The Cartier Watchmaking Institute, founded in Switzerland in 1993, has trained nearly 200 apprentices in watchmaking, polishing, microtechnology and mechanics, with some 100 employees furthering their expertise through dedicated programmes each year. The Cartier Jewellery Institute, established in the heart of Paris in 2002, trains more than 170 Cartier artisans annually, preserving techniques without formal curricula — from stringing to animal wax sculpture.

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