A' Watch Design Awards opens 2026 nominations

A' Design Award & Competition has opened entries for the 2026 A' International Watch Design Awards, a global contest for watch designers, brands and horology professionals. Eligible work includes timepieces developed in the past 10 years, with entries due Sept. 30, 2026 and winners announced May 1, 2027.

Why it matters: - The competition gives watch designers and brands a global platform to benchmark work in craftsmanship, engineering and aesthetics. - Winners receive promotional support that can help surface designs to media, retailers and industry peers. - The awards cover both traditional horology and newer categories such as smartwatches, broadening the field beyond luxury mechanical watches.

What happened: - A' Design Award & Competition released its call for entries for the 2026 A' International Watch Design Awards. - The program is open worldwide to watch designers, luxury goods manufacturers, industrial designers, product designers, fashion designers, jewelry designers, mechanical engineers, micro-mechanical experts, brand strategists, marketing firms, watch brands, watch manufacturers, material science specialists, horology experts, design consultants and R&D companies. - Timepieces and watch designs developed within the last 10 years are eligible. - Entries can be submitted through the awards entry page.

The details: - The competition uses a two-phase process. - Applicants start with a complimentary preliminary evaluation of their watch design. - Projects that pass the preliminaries can move to nomination, which carries a nominal fee. - Entries are judged anonymously by an international jury of more than 300 academics, industrial designers, horology experts, engineers, luxury product specialists and design professionals. - Judging focuses on innovation, craftsmanship, performance, aesthetics and design quality. - Eligible categories include chronographs, dive watches, dress watches, quartz watches, automatic watches, smartwatches, luxury watches, sports watches and more. - Sub-category descriptions are available at the competition category page. - The entry deadline is Sept. 30, 2026. - Results will be announced on May 1, 2027. - Professional-edition laureates will receive the A' Design Prize. - The prize package includes a Design Excellence Certificate, lifetime use of the winner logo, a yearbook of best designs, exhibitions in Italy, an award trophy, an invitation to the Gala-Night, foreign-language translation of awarded works, entry to Prime Clubs, and inclusion in World Design Rankings, Designer Rankings, Watch Design Classifications and Design Legends platforms. - Winners also receive an interview on the Designer Interviews website and in press kits. - A press release will be prepared for each winning entry. - The winner press kit includes design images, designer photographs, logo files, dozens of high-resolution images and a portfolio with previews of other projects. - Press kits will be distributed to thousands of accredited press members. - Dozens of press partners have already confirmed they will publish a selection of winning projects. - The press-kit service and A' Design Prize are free for laureates. - Past winners are listed at the watch awards winners page.

Between the lines: - The awards are structured to do more than name a winner; they are built to convert recognition into publicity, rankings and media distribution. - By including everything from bespoke wristwatches to smartwatches, the competition is positioning itself as a broad watch-design showcase rather than a niche luxury-only program. - The anonymous jury format is designed to emphasize design merit over brand reputation.

What's next: - Designers, brands and other eligible entrants can register now and submit projects for preliminary review. - Qualified projects will advance to nomination before the final selection cycle. - Winners will be announced in May 2027 and then receive the prize package, interview placement and press distribution support.

The bottom line: - A' Watch Design Awards 2026 is now open, with a September deadline and a promotion-heavy prize package aimed at giving winning watch designs global visibility.