The Prix Gaïa 2023 honours three watchmaking talents

Three watch industry figures respectively nurturing a passion for guilloché work, art history and movement manufacturing were honoured with a crystal dome on 21 September at the heart of the Musée international d’horlogerie (MIH). Régis Huguenin-Dumittan, curator of the museum and president of the Gaïa Prize jury, presented the trophies to the following winners:

• Georges Brodbeck, winner in the Craftsmanship and creation category, self-taught master of guilloché who, through his love of mechanics, succeeded in reviving this endangered art of watch decoration and who has helped to salvage and restore many machines whose workings he was able to master and convey to others.
• Hans Boeckh, winner in the History and research category, for his exceptional career, characterised by his humble approach, his capacity to combine the rigour of historical research with knowledge of the subject matter, as well as his ambition to bring together private and public institutions active in the conservation of collections and heritage.
• Miguel Garcia, winner in the Entrepreneurship category, for his entrepreneurial vision driven by his exceptional values and strength of character, for his industrial approach which has challenged the established order in the field of movement-blank production, as well as for the phenomenal growth of his company.

Carftsmanship and creation: Georges Brodbeck
Born in 1951, Georges Brodbeck trained at the Technicum in La Chaux-de-Fonds where he obtained his diploma in precision mechanics in 1971. Having started out at Voumard Machines, Georges Brodbeck entered the watchmaking world in 1973, when he began working for dialmaker Natéber SA in La Chaux-de-Fonds. In 1981, he was appointed Head of Production for the Malaysian market with the dialmaker Precima, where he was also responsible for training mechanics and for servicing and upgrading the production tools. On his return to Switzerland in 1987, he began working for Imhof, Fehr, Union Carbide.

One day, an uncle offered Brodbeck an old machine, which he managed to restore and get working again. At first, he kept the machine in his living room, considering it purely decorative. But, over time, it became a source of inspiration, firing in him a real passion for guilloché work and the restoration of ancient machines.

In the 1990s, he focused on guilloché work at Lemrich Cadrans, Stampfli Gravure and, finally, Stern.

In 1995, the takeover of Pierre Rosenberger’s guilloché workshop in La Chaux-de-Fonds gradually set him on the path to independence. He would restore all guilloché machines to ensure the production of decorative designs and guilloché work.

In 2001, Georges Brodbeck went freelance, dedicating himself fully to his passion. His skills in restoring old machines are particularly sought after in his field, as the tools used for guilloché work stopped being produced decades ago. Georges Brodbeck works for some of the biggest names in the luxury watch sector.

Guilloché is no longer simply a technique, but rather an art in itself. Georges Brodbeck is also a big motor-bike fan, and he occasionally works as a guide at the Musée de la boîte de montre (Museum of Watch Cases) in Le Noirmont.

In 2023, the guilloché master retired from what had been his life’s work and his passion for many years. But this ending is, in fact, the start of a legacy, as Georges Brodbeck has passed on his tools and skills to his successor who will, in turn, develop and bring to life the art of guilloché.

History and research: Hans Boeckh
Hans Boeckh was born in Heidelberg, Germany on 4 July 1937. His parents were both painters. On leaving school in 1955, he undertook professional training in Pforzheim. It was here, at this centre renowned for the high quality of its watchmaking and jewellery production, that he completed his apprenticeship as a jeweller-goldsmith. After his military service, he continued his training in art, engraving and enamelling at the Ecole des arts appliqués, graduating in 1962. The following year, he obtained his diploma in the specialist art of engraving.

He then went on to work in Geneva, Lucerne and Rio de Janeiro, creating watch and jewellery designs. In Brazil, he set up a foundry for mass producing jewellery, and exhibited his work at the São Paulo Biennial. During this period, he received many awards both in New York and Geneva, where he was five-time winner of the Prix de la Ville de Genève.

Hans Boeckh’s interest in art history and the role of Geneva in this field inspired him to study art history alongside Classical and Christian archaeology, earning him a PhD from the University of Freiburg im Breisgau in 1980. His doctoral thesis, entitled La peinture sur émail genevois sur les montres du XVII^e et du XVIII^e siècle (Genevan enamel painting on watches from the 17th and 18th century), became the topic of a cultural exchange exhibition between Switzerland and the Soviet Union, held in St Petersburg (Moscow) and in Tbilisi (Georgia).

He has since gone on to research the iconographic sources of European enamel from the 17^th and 18^th centuries, drawing on major collections, particularly those in Geneva, Paris, London, Stockholm, Dresden and Vienna.

In 1997, Hans Boeckh helped to set up the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva (inaugurated in 2001), where he held the post of curator until his retirement on 1 January 2008.

Spirit of Enterprise: Miguel Garcia
Miguel Garcia Segovia was born on 15 November 1966 in Madrid, Spain. He arrived in Switzerland’s Neuchâtel mountains in 1971.

In 1987, he began working as a production employee at Sellita Watch Co SA, which was founded in 1950 in La Chaux-de-Fonds by Pierre Grandjean. Gradually working his way up the company, he took charge of production and then sales, before being appointed Managing Director in 1997.

In 2003, Miguel Garcia acquired Sellita Watch Co SA, the cornerstone of the Sellita Group. Over time, he transformed the enterprise from a simple movement-blank manufacturer, initially employing around a hundred staff, to an integrated mechanical movement manufacture with nearly 600 employees in La Chaux-de-Fonds and a workforce of 900 across the whole group.

In 2005, Miguel Garcia co-founded Gurofa GmbH (Glashütter Uhrenrohwerkefabrik) in Altenberg, Germany. In 2007, he would become the sole owner of this company specialising in movement-blank production. Gurofa has enjoyed remarkable growth: after three major extensions to its production site, it now spans 5,000 m² and employs around 100 staff.

In 2008, Sellita relocated from its historical site in the heart of La Chaux-de-Fonds to a new state-of-the-art facility (Sellita I) in Le Crêt-du-Locle.
In 2013, Sellita saw further expansion with the construction of the Sellita II building, also in Le Crêt-du- Locle. The following year, Miguel Garcia acquired Technicor SA, based in Les Breuleux. This company specialising in watch decoration and electroplating employed around 30 people.

In 2018, Miguel Garcia launched the brand Manufacture AMT. This operates as the technology arm of Sellita, offering a broad range of high-end custom watch movements. Alongside this, Sellita continued to grow in La Chaux-de-Fonds. In 2019, it inaugurated the Sellita III building in Le Crêt-du-Locle, increasing its production space from 12,000 m² to 17,000 m².

In 2020, Miguel acquired the turning company Helios A. Charpilloz SA, founded in 1882 in Bévilard. In 2023, Helios inaugurated its new facility in Court. With a footprint of 10,000 m², Helios now boasts an ultra-modern infrastructure reconnecting with its prestigious past and providing a pleasant workspace for its 120 employees.

Horizon Gaïa grant: Etienne Curtil
Alongside the three categories used to honour leading figures in the watchmaking world, Horizon Gaïa, an incentive grant made possible thanks to the generosity of the Watch Academy Foundation, is being awarded to encourage new talent in the fields recognised by the Prix Gaïa: Craftsmanship and Creation, History and Research, as well as Entrepreneurship. The grant will finance all or part of an individual project.

The Horizon Gaïa grant has been awarded to Etienne Curtil, a recent graduate of the Department of History & Philosophy of Science at Université Paris Cité. His Master’s thesis, entitled Mouvement perpétuel et flèche du temps: héritage de la thermodynamique (Perpetual movement and the arrow of time: the heritage of thermodynamics) aims to develop public communication tools designed to highlight the importance of thermodynamics in the field of watchmaking and timekeeping.

September 28, 2023