GAÏA Prize 2016

The Gaïa Prize was created in 1993 by the Musée international d’horlogerie with an aim to honour prominent figures who have contributed and who contribute to the reputation of watchmaking – through its history, its technology and its industry. The only one of its kind, this Prize has the particularity of honouring the best of the best (F.P. Journe, P. Dufour, G. Daniels, N.  Hayek, J.-C. Biver, K. Voutilainen, A. Porchet).

Gaïa Prize trophy

By awarding this Prize, the Musée international d’horlogerie, a worldwide recognised institution of La Chaux-de-Fonds, a town whose economic and social history is closely linked to watchmaking, wished to express its appreciation to the spiritual heirs of the watchmaking culture which impregnates the collections of the museum, as well as the town.

Prix Gaïa trophy

This year, the jury for the Gaïa Prize has recognised:

Vianney Halter
laureate in the category Craftsmanship-Creation

for his contribution to the renewal of aesthetic and technical codes in contemporary watchmaking, showing a respect for craftsmanship, without ever making concessions to conformism.

Roger Smith
laureate in the category History-Research

for his major contribution to our knowledge of the watchmaking world of 18th-century London and Anglo-Swiss exchanges through his expert knowledge of timepieces.

Giovanni Busca and Pascal Rochat
laureates in the category Entrepreneurship

for the fundamental role which they have played in repositioning the Neuchâtel Observatory and in developing the industrial applications of their atomic clockmaking research.