The twentieth edition of the GPHG did take place

Although the 20th edition of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) was held as scheduled, it was nevertheless marked by the absence of an audience, due to pandemic restrictions. The prize-winning timepieces took centre stage, as did the CEOs of the winning companies.

One year ago, the organisers of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) promised novel features and surprises for 2020, the year of the event’s 20th anniversary. They could never have imagined what this edition had in store for them. From the very beginning, the event was marked by the coronavirus crisis. This year, the jury was specially “Swissified” so as to enable it to meet in Geneva a few days before the ceremony. The roadshow featuring the nominated watches also took on a Swiss accent, passing through the cities of La Chaux-de-Fonds, Bern, Zurich and Geneva. The tenacity of the GPHG organisers made it possible to maintain the awards ceremony despite the very drastic restrictions in force at the time in Geneva, enabling only a maximum of 50 people to attend. 

As initially planned, the event took place on November 12th at the Théâtre du Léman. The 1,300 absent spectators were symbolised by red balloons, witnesses to this crisis edition. True to tradition, the Vieux Grenadiers of Geneva marked the start of this event with beating drums. Edouard Baer masterfully hosted the evening, a tough challenge in front of such a small audience.

Eighteen prizes were awarded to the timepieces nominated by the new GPHG Academy, composed of some 350 watchmaking experts from all over the world. Piaget, which had entered five timepieces in the competition, won the supreme distinction – the “Aiguille d’Or” Grand Prix – for its Altiplano Ultimate Concept. Chabi Nouri, CEO of the Geneva-based company, was handed the trophy by François-Henri Bennahmias, CEO of Audemars Piguet, the 2019 winner of the same prize.

The heads of four brands were pleasantly surprised to step up on stage twice. Edouard Meylan, CEO of H. Moser & Cie, was proud to see the Streamliner Flyback Chronograph Automatic win the Chronograph Watch Prize; and the Endeavour Cylindrical Tourbillon H. Moser X MB&F the Audacity Prize which rewards a non-conformist and offbeat approach to watchmaking. Georges Kern, who was appearing on the GPHG stage for the first time as CEO of Breitling, expressed at length his gratitude upon receiving the Diver’s Watch Prize for the Superocean Automatic 48 Boutique Edition and the “Petite Aiguille” Prize – involving watches with a retail price between 4,000 and 10,000 Swiss francs – for the Superocean Heritage ‘57 Limited Edition II. Bovet, represented by its CEO Pascal Raffy, won the Ladies’ Watch Prize for Miss Audrey, as well as the Mechanical Exception Prize for the Recital 26 Brainstorm Chapter 2. Van Cleef & Arpels, represented by Eric de Rocquigny, Operations & Métiers Director, won the Jewellery Watch Prize for its Frivole Secrète and the Artistic Crafts Watch Prize for its Lady Arpels Soleil Féerique.

The Special Jury Prize, which rewards a personality, institution or initiative that has played a fundamental role in the promotion of high-quality watchmaking, was awarded this year to Antoine Simonin, watchmaking expert and teacher, publisher and former director of the WOSTEP Foundation.

The Best Young Student Prize is awarded each year to the next generation of watchmakers. Romain Labat, from the Geneva Watchmaking School, received this 2020 distinction.

New Academy
Created in 2020 in a unifying spirit and on the basis of the GPHG’s founding values, the Academy aims to be neutral, independent and universal. The mission of its members is to propose eligible watch models (according to the Grand Prix rules) in parallel with the traditional brand entries. They also take part in the various rounds of voting in order to determine the prize list. In 2021, new members will join the Academy by sponsorship.

November 26, 2020