by Ian Skellern
Welcome to the 2016 edition of Quill & Pad’s early Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève predictions in which the team picks favorites and explains why. Please enjoy the opinions of the following panelists:
Ian Skellern (IS), co-founder and technical director
Joshua Munchow (JM), resident nerd writer
GaryG (GG), resident collector
Martin Green (MG), resident gentleman
Nancy Olson (NO), resident pen expert and watch writer
Ryan Schmidt (RS), author of The Wristwatch Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Mechanical Wristwatches and contributor
As a jury member, editor-in-chief Elizabeth Doerr is excluded from these early predictions.
The Jewellery category is defined by the GPHG as, “watches demonstrating exceptional mastery of the art of jewellery and gem setting, and also distinguished by the choice of stones.”
Pre-selected Jewellery watches in the 2016 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève
JM: The Jewellery category is always a tough category to judge given that it is so subjective compared to other categories, so I tend to focus on the sheer awe factor of these timepieces. I am one that likes creativity, uniqueness, and playfulness when it comes to jewelry designs, and the watches in this category definitely check the right boxes. Since I don’t make jewelry, I end up looking at the individual pieces and asking myself what inspires me for things I would like to make. Once those factors are considered, I find the ones that stand out above the rest.
IS: One thing to bear in mind with my comments is that I’ve got a strong bias for mechanical movements over quartz movements and, according to the rules of the category, the type of movement is of little consideration compared to the execution and choice of the gems.
Audemars Piguet Diamond Fury
GG: I saw the Audemars Piguet Diamond Fury at SIHH, and photos don’t really do it justice. It is a real dazzler! In many ways it’s the opposite of the Graff’s airy form, but in its own brutal way it’s quite a beautiful piece.
Audemars Piguet Diamond Fury
IS: I agree that the Diamond Fury is a dazzler, Gary, but I suspect that the fact that last year’s winner of the Jewellery category was the Audemars Piguet Diamond Punk, which bears more than superficial resemblance to the Diamond Fury presented this year, will rule this watch out of contention this year. It’s a very striking piece of jewellery, but it’s too soon.
JM: There can only be one jewelry watch that provides the most awe, and that one is, without a doubt in my mind, the Audemars Piguet Diamond Fury. Just look at the thing, seriously. Its design resembles what would happen if you turned a dragon into a snowflake and then wrapped it around your wrist. The two different versions are spectacular, one featuring 3,452 diamonds and 56 onyx pieces, the other fully paved with 4,841 individual diamonds. This is simply a ludicrous number of diamonds, and that is before you take into consideration the wild scale design.
Audemars Piguet Diamond Fury
But the best part of the Audemars Piguet Diamond Fury is that it is also a secret watch with a flip-open door activated by a subtle button on the side of the bracelet. Functioning a bit like a release on a pushbutton watch clasp, the door opens to expose a perfectly integrated dial, something that feels purposeful and not in any way an afterthought after designing the bracelet.
This watch simply is something that I wish I could wear as a suit of armor, it looks that cool. I imagine it would go perfectly with some scaled gauntlets and my dragon hide shoes. It’s just incredible.
For more information, please visit www.gphg.org/horlogerie/en/watches/diamond-fury.
Quick Facts Audemars Piguet Diamond Fury
Case: 40 x 30 mm, white gold set with 4,635 brilliant-cut diamonds
Movement: unspecified quartz
Functions: hours, minutes
Price: 529,200 Swiss francs
Chanel Secret Watch Signature Grenat
JM: Secret watches are a bit of a favorite among jewelry designers since it allows women (and perhaps some men) to wear a beautiful piece of jewelry that makes no compromises in watch-related features, thereby serving dual purposes. It can simply exist as a beautiful bracelet, brooch, or ring, and only when needed does it open up to reveal a beautiful, yet functional, watch display.
The Chanel Secret Watch Signature Grenat is a great example of a bracelet with a secret watch. A bangle of gorgeous construction, it features a variety of setting styles and colored stones creating a rich texture when combined with the squared or triangular sections. On top is an enormous 52.61-carat carmine garnet that opens to reveal a diamond-studded watch dial. The Chanel Secret Watch Signature Grenat is a showstopper in any setting (see what I did there?).
The large garnet of the Chanel Secret Watch Signature Grenat “opens” to reveal a watch
IS: I quite like the autumnal colors of the gems selected for the quartz-powered Chanel Secret Watch “Signature Grenat,” so I’ll award full marks for ” . . . distinguished by the choice of stones.”
And that 53-carat carmine garnet must be one of the most impressive watch covers ever! However, I can’t help but feel, whether true or not, that I’ve seen too many Chanel Secret Watches in this category.
The Chanel Secret Watch Signature Grenat with its garnet cover “closed”
NO: My vote for third place, not surprisingly, is a secret watch: the Chanel Secret Watch Signature Grenat, which is also a cuff watch—another favorite style of mine. This is really a bold piece, and according to Chanel, it’s designed to honor the House’s quilt motif, which I think is a nice touch of historical reference.
I find the mosaic-like placement of the stones to be quite attractive, and it appears that no two “squares” are exactly like, making it that much more interesting.
It must have been a challenge for the stone setters given the various shapes and sizes of diamonds and sapphires. I also like that the dial is in a diamond shape, while the 52.61-carat garnet that closes over it is fit horizontally via diamond-set prongs.
For more information, please visit www.gphg.org/horlogerie/en/watches/secret-watch-signature-grenat.
Quick Facts Chanel Secret Watch Signature Grenat
Case: white gold set with a carmine garnet (52.61 ct), no case size specified
Movement: unspecified quartz
Functions: hours, minutes
Limitation: one unique piece
Price: 759,000 Swiss francs
Chopard Precious Chopard Watch
IS: What I like about the unimaginatively titled “Precious Chopard Watch” is that as extravagant (in a good way) as it looks, it is a watch set with jewels rather than being a piece of jewellery set with a watch like half of the pre-selected watches here.
Chopard Precious Chopard Watch
I wasn’t aware of that distinction before and have unilaterally decided to favor watches set with jewels as that seems more in keeping with the nature of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève. It loses points from me for having a quartz movement, though.
Chopard Precious Chopard Watch
For more information, please visit www.gphg.org/horlogerie/en/watches/precious-chopard-watch.
Quick Facts Chopard Precious Chopard Watch
Case: 35 mm, white gold
Movement: unspecified quartz
Functions: hours, minutes
Price: 349,800 Swiss francs
Graff Princess Butterfly
GG: Despite my general inclination to pass on quartz-movement watches, I’m drawn in by the Graff’s combination of lightness, sculptural shape, and mechanical inventiveness. The airy bracelet is a delight to look at, and for me the three-dimensional butterfly is the most impressive implementation of the jeweler’s art among the pre-selected watches. Finally, there’s that quick-release clasp: clever, difficult to execute properly, and, I am sure, a delight for the owner to operate to reveal the timepiece below.
Graff Princess Butterfly
IS: What distinguishes the Graff Princess Butterfly for me is that it is one of the only timepieces here that doesn’t wrap around the wrist cuff style. The butterfly design and gem setting look to be impeccable, and I can see how easy if would be to wear the Princess Butterfly in a wide variety of occasions, admittedly they would be occasions where $200,000 dollars worth of diamonds don’t look out of place.
While I would not be at all surprised if the Graff Princess Butterfly took first place in the Jewellery category, it is my runner-up.
JM: The Graff Princess Butterfly takes a different approach to the secret watch with a fun and playful butterfly attached to intertwining strands of diamonds that make up the bracelet. The butterfly wings are spectacular with round and baguette-cut diamonds gently curving around the wrist. The butterfly opens carefully in the center to expose the fully paved case and mother-of-pearl dial of the watch. Other versions of the Princess Butterfly utilize yellow diamonds or a variety of colored sapphires. Those also feature satin straps instead of the strands of diamonds in the bracelet version. The butterfly is definitely a delicate and elegant symbol to have on your wrist, and the Princess Butterfly represents this perfectly.
Graff Princess Butterfly
NO: I must have had an enviable secret watch collection in a prior life, because I’m drawn to secret watches of every shape and size. So my choice for second place is the Graff Princess Butterfly, which is a dazzling timepiece that is very feminine in its appearance and also very complicated in its construction, though not in its movement. The butterfly’s wings are flawlessly sculpted in white gold and set with diamonds on the contour — not an easy feat — while tapering vertically set baguette-cut diamonds frame them, again following the graceful curve.
The pairs of wings, when actuated by an invisible button, slide to either side to show the diminutive pearl dial inside, making the watch a real showstopper in every sense of the word. I like the way the segmented body of the butterfly perfectly parts on cue to reveal the time, while the diamond-set bracelet appears like delicate floral tendrils upon which the butterfly has perched. Gorgeous.
RS: When I think of jewelry, I picture this: elegant, feminine, and concealing a secret. The tapered baguette-cut diamonds around the wings give a touch of definition to an otherwise very organic form. I am disappointed that the movement is quartz, but pleased that the mechanism revealing the watch is jeweled. I suppose with something so dainty, and presumably not worn as a daily beater, it would be good to know it was ready for you at a moment’s notice.
MG: Nobody knows diamonds like Graff does. Therefore, the Princess Butterfly is not a watch set with diamonds, but rather a three-dimensional diamond sculpture that just happens to be a watch. The settings are immaculate, and the baguette-cut rail setting at the edge of the wings is sheer brilliance (no pun intended) because it gives the whole design so much depth.
Further reading: Graff’s Princess Butterfly Gracefully Opens Wings To Reveal A Secret: The Time.
For more information, please visit www.gphg.org/horlogerie/en/watches/princess-butterfly.
Quick Facts Graff Princess Butterfly
Case: 33.3 x 42.5 x 16.13 mm, white gold with incorporated pushbutton mechanism to open the secret watch
Movement: unspecified quartz
Functions: hours, minutes
Price: 180,000 Swiss francs
Hublot Big Bang Impact Bang
JM: Wow is the first thing that came to my mind when I saw the Hublot Big Bang Impact Bang. It started life as a respectable tourbillon with power reserve and received what feels like an explosion of diamonds to the case. Made up of 484 differently shaped baguette-cut diamonds on the case, dial, and clasp, the overall impact is like broken crystal. The diamonds have been assembled in a patchwork style, meaning that none of the 50 pieces in the limited edition are the same and each model required more than 600 hours of research and development, production, and setting.
This watch is definitely not for everyone, but the extreme nature of the setting and the visceral feeling emanating from this watch is undeniable. It deserves recognition for its awesome implementation and boundary-pushing idea!
Hublot Big Bang Impact Bang
IS: While this Hublot isn’t to my taste at all − and why should it be as I’m not the intended market? − I found myself quite liking the apparently random (though I’m sure it’s anything but “random”) haphazardness in the shapes of the diamonds, which have been so skillfully set.
And who would have thought that a darkened tourbillon cage and bridge would stand out so well against a dial and case entirely set with 484 scintillating baguette-cut diamonds? But it does.
The Hublot Big Bang Impact Bang, or to use its full name (as journalists being paid by the word no doubt will) “Big Bang Tourbillon Power Reserve 5 Days High Jewellery Impact Bang,” is an impressive watch but it will need to be as this in an extremely hard-fought category. But it is mechanical.
NO: “Impact” doesn’t even begin to describe this watch, and while I could never wear a timepiece of this size and effect, I can appreciate it for the workmanship that went into it. The use of a mechanical tourbillon movement obviously adds points in my book, and Hublot invested in a new stone-setting technique for which a patent has been applied, developed with Salanitro in Switzerland — another plus. I like the precisely random placement of the hundreds of diamonds, which results in a cracked-ice look I find very appealing. It’s amazing to me that no two stones are exactly alike, according to Hublot, and that each watch took about 240 hours to set using the “invisible” technique.
In keeping with the beautifully irregular display of the diamonds, the tourbillon at 6 o’clock is framed by a unique craggy window that is perfectly in keeping with its surroundings, I think. The only touch of color, red, was saved for the power reserve indicator at 9 o’clock, adding an interesting splash. The skeletonized central hour and minute hands artfully meld into the background, but not so much that it’s hard to tell the time. This watch never veers too far from its Big Bang cues, but I think this iteration proves that there’s still a lot of life in the Big Bang.
Hublot Big Bang Impact Bang
RS: I doubt this watch will win over jewelry purists; however, there is something simple yet innovative about the presentation of this watch. The more I think about it, the more I love it. Presenting the diamonds in their “original and unconventional forms” is perfectly suited to the overall image of shattered glass. And the tourbillon, with its kinetic violence, appears to have burst through the dial.
It’s all very evocative stuff. My two quibbles: I want to love the reserve indicator, but I think the color used brings forth an image of cutting one’s finger on a shard of glass. The five-day manual movement deserves the indicator, but I say put it on the back. Secondly, in this category an alligator strap, much less one sewn onto rubber, just seems off. The Jewellery category should specifically not include watches that you might play squash wearing. So I can’t quite believe it, but I am looking at this watch and thinking, “it needs more diamonds on a bracelet!”
MG: While I often think that Hublot goes too far in its diamond-set watches, it has often helped push the boundaries of diamond-set watches a bit further. This Big Bang Impact Bang is an excellent example of that, making the entire watch look like a cracked river of ice with only the tourbillon showing. It is a very expressive watch, combining a bold design with bold use of unique diamond cutting and setting techniques.
For more information, please visit http://www.gphg.org/horlogerie/en/watches/big-bang-impact-bang.
Quick Facts Hublot Big Bang Impact Bang
Case: 45 x 15.4 mm, white gold, 30.55 ct diamonds
Movement: manually winding skeletonized Caliber HUB6016 with 115 hours’ power reserve and one-minute tourbillon
Functions: hours, minutes; power reserve indication
Limitation: 50 pieces
Price: 650,000 Swiss francs
Voutilainen Scintillante
IS: I really did not want to like the Voutilainen Scintillante so much and definitely did not want to predict yet another Voutilainen win, but I couldn’t help it. To my eyes, the Scintillante is quite simply the best Jewellery watch in this category because it has by far the best watch (mechanical at that) as the canvas for the gems, and the selection of shapes and colors of the stones is just impeccable. This watch can look a bit garish in some photos, but in real life it is simply sublime.
Voutilainen Scintillante
The ubiquity of Voutilainen’s Caliber Vingt-8 in recent years plays against the watch, but it’s just soooo good. And the artists, jewelers, and gem setters Voutilainen works with are all at the top of their games. This is a sensational timepiece and my winner.
GG: I had a chance to handle the Voutilainen a couple of times earlier this year, and while the quality of the gem setting is absolutely beyond reproach the overall look seems less than harmonious to me. A bit of the “too many notes” phenomenon, if you get my drift. The underlying watch is of course the splendid Vingt-8, but in this category I’m drawn much more to the pieces that are designed and fabricated as jewelry pieces from the start than to those that adorn existing watches with stones.
Voutilainen Scintillante
RS: The watch guy in me chose the Voutilainen immediately, and the jewelry guy in me either agrees or has been coerced on account of his inferior competence. For me, seeing those teardrop lugs expertly adorned with rubies is the single image that lingers out of this category. The closed-set ruby bezel, the gorgeous ruby cabochon in the crown, and that “grey enameled central rosacea” are icing on a “gem cake” (I actually consider Kari to be something of an horological cake maker – there is something almost edible looking about most of his creations, and it goes some way to explain the involuntary salivation every time I see a Vingt-8). I actually think Kari should have gone “full ruby” with this one, for full marks, but it is still my top pick.
Intricately and colorfully gem-set case band of the Voutilainen Scintillante
MG: Voutilainen shows off the incredible rich colors that sapphires can have, but doesn’t stop there. He also uses rare shapes like the navette and pear cuts into the center part of the case as a kind of snow setting. The lugs are a tour de force and setting them alone qualify it for taking first place. But to me, it was the combination of not only showing the different spectacular colors that sapphires have to offer, but also integrating them in such a unique way in a watch so that it remains a very recognizable and true product of Kari Voutilainen.
Voutilainen Scintillante on the wrist
For more information, please visit http://www.gphg.org/horlogerie/en/watches/scintillante.
Quick Facts Voutilainen Scintillante
Case: 37 x 11.6 mm, white gold with 423 precious stones (9.65 ct sapphires, 0.55 ct diamonds, ruby cabochon in crown)
Movement: manually wound Voutilainen Caliber Vingt-8 with 65-hour power reserve, 2.5 Hz frequency
Functions: hours, minutes
Limitation: one unique piece
Price: 285,000 Swiss francs
Predicted Winners
Ian: Voutilainen Scintillante
Ryan: Voutilainen Scintillante
Martin: Voutilainen Scintillante
Nancy: Hublot Big Bang Impact Bang
GaryG: Graff Princess Butterfly
Joshua: Audemars Piguet Diamond Fury
And the winner of best Jewellery watch at the 2016 GPHG went to the Chanel Secret Watch “Signature Grenat”.
For more of our predictions in the 2016 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG), please see:
Tourbillon Category
Ladies’ High-Mech Category
Artistic Crafts Category
Sport Category
Calendar Category
Travel Time Category
Mechanical Exception Category
Petite Aiguille
Aiguille d’Or
Trackbacks & Pingbacks
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[…] Category Ladies Category Ladies’ High-Mech Category Artistic Crafts Category Chronograph Category Jewellery Category Sport Category Calendar Category Mechanical Exception Category Petite Aiguille Aiguille […]
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[…] de Genève (GPHG), please see: Tourbillons Ladies Ladies’ High-Mech Artistic Crafts Chronographs Jewellery Sports Calendar Travel Time Mechanical Exception Petite […]
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[…] watch for Hisui 2015 Best Men’s watch for GMR 2016 Two watches are currently pre-selected: Scintillante in the Jewellery category and Triton et Sirène in Artistic Crafts. Winners to be announced on November […]
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[…] For more of our predictions for the 2016 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Geneve (GPHG), please see: Predictions For The Men’s Category Predictions In The Tourbillon Category Predictions For The Ladies Category Predictions In The Ladies’ High-Mech Category Predictions In The Artistic Crafts Category Predictions In The Chronograph Category Predictions In The Jewellery Category […]
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Voutilainen! Oh so precious, my precious. A real watch and a gem, all in one!