News For the eighteenth consecutive year, the magazine Montres Passion has awarded its Watch of the Year prize. The outright winner: Hermès, followed by Vacheron Constantin and Audemars Piguet.
On 11 November, the magazine Montres Passion invited more than 500 guests to the Intercontinental Hotel in Geneva to announce the winners of the 2011 Watch of the Year. In first place on the podium, Hermès with its Arceau model Le Temps Suspendu. Developed in collaboration with the Geneva firm Agenhor and more precisely with its founder Jean-Marc Wiederrecht, this timepiece gives pride of place to originality, poetry and bold creativity. One member of the jury neatly summed up its appeal: «This watch offers punctuality to some; to all the rest it makes amends for their delay…»
Second prize went to Vacheron Constantin for its Patrimony Traditionnelle Heure du Monde. A complication with 37 time-zones accurate to the hour, half-hour and quarter-hour, it offers a wealth of information while remaining balanced and aesthetically pleasing. Audemars Piguet came third with its Millenary 4101. The Ladies Watch of the Year was the Excalibur Lady by Roger Dubuis.
Each year, the jury has the possibility of awarding a special merit prize. With some manufacturers having several watches in the running, it was decided for the first time to distinguish a brand and not just a product. Breguet won the accolade for its incredible comeback on the luxury watchmaking scene over the past twelve years. As usual, the public also made its voice heard through a special online poll. It chose the Carrera Mikrograph 1/100th of a second by TAG Heuer. And to round off the list of nominees, Romain Jerome received an award for its advertising campaign.
Consisting of watch industry professionals unrelated to the magazine Montres Passion, the members of the jury selected new products appearing on the market between September 2010 and December 2011 which met three criteria: a production run of more than 200 pieces, retail price below 50,000 francs and Swiss made quality.
After revealing the names of all winners of the 2011 edition, Didier Pradervand, the editor in chief of Montres Passion, unveiled the magazine’s new format, the fruit of long and laborious work to give this publication a new lease of life.
November 21, 2011
