The 84 pre-selected watches of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie Genève 2020 are competing for the “Aiguille d’Or” Grand Prix or for one of the prizes in the 14 categories that reward contemporary watchmaking excellence. In this very unusual year both the roadshow of the watches and the jury were “swissified” and the Gala is not open for the public, but you can follow the live broadcast.
UPDATE – GPHG 2020 Winners by category:
Ladies’ – Bovet 1822 Miss Audrey
Ladies’ Complication – Charles Girardier Tourbillon Signature Mystérieuse « fleur de sel »
Men’s – VOUTILAINEN 28SC
Men’s Complication – Greubel Forsey Hand Made 1
Iconic – Bulgari Aluminium Chronograph
Chronometry – Chronométrie Ferdinand Berthoud FB 2RE.2
Calendar and Astronomy – Vacheron Constantin Overseas Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin Skeleton
Mechanical Exception – Bovet 1822 Récital 26 Brainstorm Chapter 2
Chronograph – H. Moser & Cie. Streamliner Flyback Chronograph Automatic
Diver’s – Breitling Superocean Automatic 48 Boutique Edition
Jewellery – Van Cleef & Arpels Frivole Secrète watch
Artistic Crafts – Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Arpels Soleil Féerique
‘Petite Aiguille’ – Breitling Superocean Heritage ’57 Limited Edition II
Challenge – Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight
“Aiguille d’Or” Grand Prix – Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Concept
The Grand Prix d’Horlogerie Genève is not only a competition and the celebration of fine watchmaking every year but also a great occasion to meet, chat and mingle with people in the industry. In 2020 we will certainly miss this event in real life, but the organisers wanted to make sure that the GPHG does actually take place despite the global pandemic.
Academy of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève
For the first time the Academy of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) has been established and already has 350 registered members worldwide – including company CEOs, watchmakers, experts, retailers, avid collectors and media members; both online and offline. An important task of this Academy was to propose eligible watch models to the GPHG 2020, then vote for the pre-selected ones in two rounds. A newly developed, certified digital platform serves the needs of the new selection mechanism. It offers Academy members a completely secure environment, designed to preserve the anonymity of the votes and the confidentiality of results.
The jury and the roadshow
In order to ensure the physical presence of all the 30 jury members in the current public health circumstances, the 2020 jury is composed of Swiss and foreign personalities residing in Switzerland. It means that we have a less diverse jury in several ways, but they are serious industry insiders so the highly professional approach should be ensured.
The jury is headed by the well-known vintage timepiece expert Aurel Bacs (Co-Founder and Partner with Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo). Régis Huguenin-Dumittan (doctor in history, curator-director of the MIH, Musée International d’Horlogerie, La Chaux-de-Fonds) acts as jury commissioner, he has no voting rights but he is there to ensure compliance with the rules and that competing watches meet admission criteria.
The jury is announcing winners from the 84 pre-selected contestants in 14 categories at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, 12 November 2020. The roadshow of the watches before the ceremony also stayed in Switzerland because of the travel restrictions – the stations were the Musée International d’Horlogerie (MIH) in La Chaux-de Fonds, the Bucherer boutique on Zurich’s Bahnofstrasse, the Bellevue Palace in Bern and finally the Geneva Musée d’art et d’histoire (MAH).
Categories
The categories of 2020 include: Ladies’, Ladies’ Complication, Men’s, Men’s Complication, Iconic, Chronometry, Calendar and Astronomy, Mechanical Exception, Chronograph, Diver’s, Jewellery, Artistic Crafts, “Petite Aiguille” (watches with a retail price between CHF 4,000 and CHF 10,000), Challenge (watches with a retail price under CHF 4,000). The “Aiguille d’Or” Grand Prix appreciates the top watchmaking excellence – the winning brand is automatically ineligible for the competition the following year, and its founder or CEO is invited to sit on the jury for one year (this year François-Henry Bennhamias, CEO of Audemars Piguet joined the jury).
Check out a few from the pre-selected timepieces in different categories below (see the full list on the site of GPHG).
Photo credits: GPHG, Loupiosity.com
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