Having masterminded some twenty original movements for Cartier Fine Watchmaking, plus two concept watches and a base calibre, also for the “king of jewellers”, Carole Forestier-Kasapi is the only woman, in this early twenty-first century, to have made it into the small circle of leading movement designers, and one of the few to have risen to the top of what is still very much a male-dominated industry. And this statement is based on just one aspect of a career - her work for Cartier’s remarkable and much talked-about contemporary collection - that leaves no doubt about her exceptional talent. Born in Paris in 1968, Carole Forestier-Kasapi was 15 when she announced her decision to follow in her father’s footsteps and become a watchmaker. Papa of course approved – on condition she study in Switzerland, a country synonymous with quality watchmaking. Off she went to watchmaking school in La Chaux-de-Fonds, rounding out her diploma as a “horlogère-rhabilleuse” with two further years of classes in movement design.
Carole Forestier-Kasapi
Celebrities
With more than twenty original movements to her credit, Carole Forestier-Kasapi is the only woman, in this early twenty-first century, in the small circle of leading movement designers and one of the few to have risen to the top of this male-dominated industry.
Having masterminded some twenty original movements for Cartier Fine Watchmaking, plus two concept watches and a base calibre, also for the “king of jewellers”, Carole Forestier-Kasapi is the only woman, in this early twenty-first century, to have made it into the small circle of leading movement designers, and one of the few to have risen to the top of what is still very much a male-dominated industry. And this statement is based on just one aspect of a career - her work for Cartier’s remarkable and much talked-about contemporary collection - that leaves no doubt about her exceptional talent. Born in Paris in 1968, Carole Forestier-Kasapi was 15 when she announced her decision to follow in her father’s footsteps and become a watchmaker. Papa of course approved – on condition she study in Switzerland, a country synonymous with quality watchmaking. Off she went to watchmaking school in La Chaux-de-Fonds, rounding out her diploma as a “horlogère-rhabilleuse” with two further years of classes in movement design.
After a management reshuffle at Cartier, and a subsequent change in strategic direction, meant that fine watchmaking was no longer a priority, Carole Forestier-Kasapi embarked on the next leg of her professional journey, first at Valfleurier, a movement manufacturer supplying all the Richemont brands, then with another luxury behemoth: LVMH and specifically TAG Heuer where she was appointed movements director in 2020. As the successor to Guy Sémon, the physicist behind some of the most groundbreaking technological advances in watchmaking, Carole Forestier-Kasapi has again found fertile terrain for her creative genius, acknowledged by the Prix Gaïa in 2021.
1989
Graduated from École d’Horlogerie in La Chaux-de-Fonds.
1990
Joined Conseilrey, a movement design studio in La Chaux-de-Fonds.
1993
Hired by Renaud & Papi, becoming head of the development studio.
1998
Stint at Ulysse Nardin. Winner of the Breguet Foundation Prize for innovation in mechanical watchmaking.
1999
Hired by the Vendôme group (soon to become Richemont) for its movement development studio.
2005
Appointed Director of Movement Creation for Cartier.
2012
Best Watchmaker award at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève.
2017
Joined Valfleurier as part of the Richemont research division.
2020
Appointed Movements Director at TAG Heuer.
2021
Prix Gaïa in the Craftsmanship-Creation category.
