The prize was won by Thomas Aubert, a graduate of the Lycée Edgar Faure Morteau school in France.

Next year, the well-established Young Talent Competition initiated by F.P. Journe will mark  its first double-digit date. The competition for watchmakers aged between 18 and 30 who are students or graduates of watchmaking schools (or indeed possibly self-taught) was set up in 2015.

Thanks to its sponsors, the competition has managed to grow significantly over the years: back in 2016, the winners received a grant of CHF 3,000 from the company Horotec to go towards purchasing watchmaking tools.

But now the creator of the most interesting watch can expect a CHF 50,000 cheque from Asian retailer the Hour Glass and F.P. Journe. The names of winners and educational institutions where future stars of watchmaking have studied is almost a geography lesson.

Over the years, the jury has awarded prizes to Tyler John Davies from Birmingham City University, Mario Scarpatetti from Zeit Zentrum Grenchen, Maciej Misnik from Gdańsk University of Technology, Anton Sukhanov from Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, and Theo Auffret from Lycée Polyvalent Edgar Faure.

This year, the point where a dart hit the map was the Lycée Edgar Faure Morteau school in France, where Thomas Aubert studied. The 23-year-old French watchmaker entered his Séléné model, inspired by shooting stars — the moment when you need to make a wish.

Stars fall on the caseback side of the watch when the movement is wound. This extra movement on the watch was made possible thanks to support from John-Mikaël Flaux, Aubert's teacher.

Flaux specializes in automata himself — his L’Abeille Mécanique (mechanical bee) was shortlisted for this year's Louis Vuitton Watch Prize for Independent Creatives.

Séléné is equipped with a 6407 movement, where the watchmaker has completely redesigned the bridges, plate, balance, and system for winding and adjusting readings.

He has housed it in a 43-mm steel case without any lugs. The watch also has an unusual dial: hours and minutes have been shifted off-center to exhibit the movement.

The cosmic theme extends onto the star-like dots used as markers, and the circular-grained outer portion around the dial reminds you of the tails of falling comets.