he winners of the Prix Gaïa 2022 have been announced. This year, the jury, composed of personalities active in the field of watchmaking, has rewarded Laurent Barotte in the Craftsmanship-Creation category, Nico de Rooij in the History-Research category, and Edouard Meylan in the Entrepreneurship category.

The 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 (MIH) 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.

Laurent Barotte, winner in the Craftsmanship-Creation category, was rewarded for his expertise in the field of clock restoration, for his contagious passion and for the ambition shown in the projects he has led with his students in restoring monumental clocks in public spaces.

Laurent Barotte

Nico de Rooij, winner in the History-Research category, was rewarded for his outstanding career dedicated to research in micro-technology, for the pioneering role he has played in the processes of producing miniaturised silicon-based sensors and actuators, and for his contribution in sharing these technologies with the watchmaking industry.

Nico de Rooij

Edouard Meylan, winner in the Entrepreneurship category, was rewarded for his bold career and the entrepreneurial approach he has taken with the brand H. Moser & Cie. while defending fine mechanical watchmaking and exercising complete independence in component and product development and communication.

Edouard Meylan

The public ceremony will take place at 6 pm on Thursday 22 September 2022 at the Musée international d’horlogerie (MIH) in La Chaux-de-Fonds. On this occasion, the MIH will once again award the Horizon Gaïa Fellowship, intended for the next generation of researchers, too.

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”.

THE JURY 2022

• Régis Huguenin, conservateur du Musée international d’horlogerie, président du jury
• François Aubert, président du comité du Musée d’hor- logerie 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
• Joël 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