Dear friends of IWS, on November 10, 2022, the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) took place in the city of Geneva, one of the most anticipated events of the whole year in the world of watchmaking.
Equivalent to the “night of the Oscars”, to make a comparison with the film-making world, this year’s appointment represented the twenty-first edition. Indeed, as the President of the Jury Nicholas Foulkes pointed out during the ceremony, they are not the Oscars of watchmaking … those in Los Angeles are the GPHG of cinematography.
Born with the aim of highlighting and annually rewarding the most remarkable contemporary creations, the GPHG promotes the art of watchmaking all over the world. As for the competition, the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie provides for the awarding of a watch for each of the 15 official categories in which the different watches compete.
These are hundreds of models marketed during the year that compete for the various category awards in addition to the most coveted “Aiguille d’Or” (Best in Show) award. In addition to the 15 categories, finally, we find a further 4 “unofficial” in which the timepieces in competition always take part.
Without further ado, we can finally reveal all the GPHG winners of 2022.
Aiguille d’Or
Winner: MB&F Legacy Machine Sequential EVO
The most coveted award of all was won by MB&F with its Legacy Machine Sequential Evo, conceived for the Maison by Stephen McDonnell, to which Max Busser gave his heartfelt thanks during the award speech. As tradition requires, the prize was handed over directly by Bulgari’s CEO Jean-Christophe Babin who won it last year.
Returning to the watch, it is an innovative double chronograph that goes far beyond the limits of this category of watches.
Challenge
Winner: M.A.D.1 RED Edition
This category saw the M.A.D. Edition “M.A.D.1 Red”, also created by the founder of MB&F, Maximilian Büsser, but with the aim of making their “watch machines” accessible to all.
Petit Aiguille
Winner: Trilobe Nuit Fantastique Dune Edition
The Trilobe Nuit Fantastique Dune Edition triumphed in this category, a titanium watch with a unique way of marking time.
Divers
Vincitore: Tudor Pelagos FXD
The divers watch category was conquered by Tudor with its Pelagos FXD, a watch created in collaboration with a specialized unit of the French Navy. Here we could have expected otherwise perhaps.
Men’s
Winner: Rexhep Rexhepi Chronometre Contemporain II
The award for best men’s watch was won by Atelier AKRIVIA with their Chronomètre Contemporain II, a watch that took shape after the Chronomètre Contemporain, winner of the “Men” category at GPHG 2018.
Iconic
Winner: TAG Heuer Monaco Gulf Edition Calibre Heuer 02
Dominating this category was the Tag Heuer Monaco Gulf, a legendary watch linked to the world of motorsport since its inception. As in previous years, we keep wondering on the basis of what a Monaco is more iconic than a Royal Oak or a Big Pilot. All the watches in the category are certainly iconic. In the end, however, we stop asking ourselves too many questions and focus on the fact that this division allows us to admire beautiful icons of the sector.
Ladies’
Winner: Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Automatic 36mm
The Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Automatic, a 36 mm diameter rose gold timepiece, with a guillochè Grain d’Orge dial enriched with brilliant-cut diamond indexes, won the prize for best women’s watch. This award confirms the excellent work that the Parmigiani watchmakers are carrying out.
Ladies’ Complications
Winner: Hermès Arceau Le Temps Voyageur
In this category, also dedicated to women’s wrists, the Hermès Arceau Le temps voyageur triumphed, a 38 mm diameter steel watch with an exclusive “Traveling time” mechanism, developed exclusively for Hermès. Remember this watch well, because we will find it later with a few millimeters in diameter more. To be honest, I wanted so much to see Andersen Geneve triumph but
Artistic crafts
Winner: Kari Voutilainen Ji-Ku
The Voutilainen Ji-Ku, a watch that contains the work of one of the greatest lacquer artists in Japan, Tatsuo Kitamura, and the creations of the Swiss haute horlogerie by Kari, won the prize of this artistic competition. Voutilainen. This work of art really leaves you speechless and we totally agree with the jury’s choice.
Jewellery
Winner: Bulgari Serpenti Misteriosi High Jewellery
In this category dedicated to “jewel watches” Bulgari impressed with its Serpenti Misteriosi High Jewelery animated by the Piccolissimo micro-caliber, one of the smallest mechanical movements ever made.
Men’s Complications
Winner: Hermès Arceau Le Temps Voyageur
Similarly to the “Complications for women” category, this challenge also saw the Hermès Arceau Le temps voyageur as the winner but in a male version. Hermès, ladies and gentlemen, has managed to win two prizes with the same watch!
Chronograph
Winner: Grönefeld 1941 Grönograaf Tantalum
The award in the “Chronograph” category was won by Bart and Tim Grönefeld, known to all as “The Horological Brothers”, with their Grönefeld 1941 Grönograaf in tantalum. At first I was a bit surprised by the choice considering that competing in the category was the MB & F Legacy Machine Sequential Evo, but then everything came back.
Tourbillon
Winner: H. Moser & Cie. Cylindrical Tourbillon
This category saw as the winner H. Moser & Cie’s Pioneer Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton equipped with a flying tourbillon.
Calendars and astronomy
Winner: Krayon Anywhere
The prize of this competition, which saw multiple complicated watches challenge each other, was won by Krayon with its Anywhere, a timepiece capable of indicating the exact time of sunrise or sunset anywhere on the planet.
Mechanical Exception
Vincitore: Ferdinand Berthoud FB 2RSM.2-1
It is Ferdinand Berthoud with his FB 2RSM.2-1 to have triumphed in the whole of this category. Equipped with a spindle and chain driven tourbillon, this regulator watch incorporates an independent dead seconds and dead seconds stop mechanism, a system developed by the Maison in synergy with a young watchmaker’s apprentice who dedicated his graduation project to it.
Mechanical Clock
Winner: Van Cleef & Arpels Fontaine Aux Oiseaux Automaton
This category, with several non-wrist watches competing, saw Van Cleef & Arpels triumph with their Fontaine Aux Oiseaux automaton, a musical table clock with retrograde hours and retrograde minutes. Although we were fans of BCHH’s Celestial Infinity, it must be admitted that this work by Van Cleef is truly sublime.
Horological revelation
Winner: Sylvain Pinaud Origine
Sylvain Pinaud won the first “open” category prize with “l’Origine”, a watch defined by himself as a tribute to the most beautiful achievements of watchmaking science.
Chronometry
Winner: Grand Seiko Kodo Constant Force Tourbillon
Although I love Moser, when they announced the winner of the tourbillon category I felt a little bitter taste in my mouth. It wouldn’t have been fair if Grand Seiko hadn’t taken home an award thanks to this masterpiece. The Kodo Constant Force Tourbillon is a watch that, for the first time in the history of watchmaking, combines a tourbillon and a constant force mechanism on a single axis.
Innovation
Winner: Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Arpels Heures Florales Cerisier
With the victory in this category, Van Cleef & Arpels took the second prize of this edition of the GPHG with its Lady Arpels Heures Florales Cerisier watch, a women’s watch with a particular way of indicating the hours by means of an opening module at flower.
Audacity
Winner: Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra 10th Anniversary
Last year Bulgari won the Aiguille d’or thanks to its Perpetual Calendar so there was some expectation for this watch. In the end it didn’t work out and the Octo Finissimo Ultra 10th Anniversary earned the second prize of the evening for Audacity.
And you, what do you think of the winners of this edition? Let us know in the comments.
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