the 2026 winner at the F.P.Journe Manufacture in Geneva

Shin Ohno, for his creation “Fuyu-Geshiki”

From left to right: Michael Tay, Shin Ohno and François-Paul Journe.

Since 2015, the Young Talent Competition allows discovering the next generation of most talented young watchmakers in the world, supports them in their route to independence by identifying their achievements and putting them under the spotlight. F.P.Journe organises the Young Talent Competition with the support of The Hour Glass, luxury watch retailer in the Asia Pacific region. Both Maisons aim to perpetuate and support the art of haute horology and cultivate the appreciation of extensive horological craftsmanship.

The selection criteria are based on technical achievement, the search for complexity in their realisation, the quality of craftsmanship as well as their sense of design and aesthetics. Applicants must have independently designed and created a timepiece or an horological construction. The Young Talent Competition winner receives a diploma and a CHF 50,000.- grant from The Hour Glass and F.P.Journe, which will allow him to purchase watchmaking tools or finance an horological project.

Shin Ohno, 27, a graduate of the National Institute of Technology, Toyota College in Japan, won the 2026 edition with his creation, “Fuyu-Geshiki”. He received his prize from Michael Tay, Managing Director of The Hour Glass, and François-Paul Journe during a reception at the Manufacture, in the presence of jury members and former winners who came to support him and share their experiences.

Inspired by the winter landscape of Nagano, his piece brings together a grande and petite sonnerie, a quarter repeater and a tourbillon. Shin Ohno personally carried out the entire development process, from designing the movement to manufacturing the components in his workshop, without using a base movement. The strength of this creation lies as much in its high level of technical demand as in the clarity of its intention, expressed through the architecture of the movement, the work on the acoustics, and the care devoted to the materials and finishes.

The jury of the Young Talent Competition 2026 is composed of key personalities from the international horological scene: Andreas Strehler, Giulio Papi, Marc Jenni, Michael Tay, Elizabeth Doerr and François-Paul Journe.

Fuyu-Geshiki (Winter landscape)