The Red Dot is inarguably the most important and widely recognized of all design awards.

The Red Dot organization awards prizes for design in a multitude of categories, from refrigerators to lawn mowers and everything in between. Prizes are also awarded on many levels: Best of the Best, Design Prize, and Honorable Mention.

Until the 2015 edition of the competition, there was no dedicated watch category. That thankfully changed, and now the prestigious German prize counts a three-man jury dedicated exclusively to watches, including Rüdiger Bucher, editor-in-chief of German watch magazine Chronos and head of editorial for the watch division of the Ebner Verlag publishing house; freelance journalist Gisbert Brunner; and Swiss-based designer Simon Husslein, who has been responsible for the designs of a few Nomos and Ventura watches among others.

Rüdiger Bucher (left) and Simon Husslein at the Red Dot jury meeting

See The 2015 Red Dot Has A New Watch Category. And The Winners Are  . . . for a full interview with Bucher on the creation of the new timepiece category and what goes on behind the scenes at the Red Dot.

The Red Dot Best of the Best winner in 2019

“We orient ourselves primarily on the nine assessment criteria that Red Dot created,” Bucher explained in answer to my question about how the small team judges design. “We try to be as objective and impartial as possible.”

So what do the jurors look for in particular? “Alongside a successful overall design, it is important to look for elements that bring a new aspect to watch design and that offer an emotional added value above and beyond the coherent shape,” he answered.

The Red Dot Best of the Best winner in 2019: Porsche Design 1919 Chronotimer Flyback Brown & Leather

The Best of the Best is the highest honor, and in 2019 only one traditional watch from the hundreds entered achieved this status: the Porsche Design 1919 Chronotimer Flyback Brown & Leather.

Porsche Design’s 1919 line got a new flyback chronograph at Baselworld 2018, making it the first unlimited timepiece to be outfitted with the Porsche offshoot’s own Caliber Werk 01.200, which you can see in Porsche Design Introduces First In-House Chronograph Movement, But This Timepiece Is Exclusively Available For Owners Of Porsche’s New 911 Turbo S Sports Car.

One of the lovely things about this unlimited timepiece is its beautiful brown color, which still retains the low-key purist values of this brand inspired by the aesthetics of the Porsche 911.

For more information, please see Working That Credo: Porsche Design 1919 Chronotimer Flyback Brown & Leather.

Quick Facts Porsche Design 1919 Chronotimer Flyback Brown & Leather
Case: 42 x 14.9 mm, titanium
Movement: automatic Porsche Design Caliber Werk 01.200 with official C.O.S.C. chronometer certification, 4 Hz/28,800 vph frequency
Functions: hours, minutes, hacking seconds; date, flyback chronograph
Price: €5,950/$7,450

Red Dot Design Prize

Some of the 2019 winners of the Red Dot Design Prize like Maurice Lacroix, Moritz Grossmann, and Qlocktwo have won in this category before, but the majority of these brands have been awarded a prize for the first time this year.

Without further ado, here is the list of the ten 2019 Red Dot winners in the design category.

Armin Strom Dual Time Resonance: Masterpiece 1

Human eyes like symmetry – it is evolutionarily programmed into us – so when a timepiece can achieve a perfect, mirrored layout, it will stand out. That symmetry helps the wearer to use this watch more efficiently, and so the dual time display on Armin Strom’s Dual Time Resonance becomes easier to use compared to the co-axial display seen on many GMT pieces.

Armin Strom Masterpiece 1 Dual Time Resonance

The Dual Time Resonance’s layout is driven largely by the construction of a movement that is perfectly symmetrical thanks to the fact that it comprises two independent movements, one of which allows one dial to be used for home time and the other as a second time zone (GMT) – or as stated by the brand, a countdown timer or a passive minute and hour chronograph. A center subdial showing a 24-hour display with one hand driven by each movement makes it clear which dial is set for which time.

Armin Strom Masterpiece 1: Dual Time Resonance

Since the time displays are independent of each other, any use can be applied to the second dial while ensuring both remain equally consistent thanks to the Resonance Clutch Spring that keeps this timepiece in perfect resonance.

For more information, please visit www.arminstrom.com/en/collection/model/10dual-time-resonance.

Quick Facts Armin Strom Dual Time Resonance: Masterpiece 1
Case: 59 x 43.4 x 15.9 mm, titanium
Movement: manual winding Caliber ARF17 with two resonant movements
Functions: hours, minutes; second time zone, 24-hour display, double power reserve
Price: 180,000 Swiss francs

Meistersinger Lunascope

This is a most unusual Meistersinger watch thanks to its glaring moon phase display. Despite the additional function taking up most of the upper half of the dial, it remains eminently recognizable as a product of the German brand thanks to its single hand making rotations around the dial to show the hour and minute.

Meistersinger Lunascope

This model won an IF Design Award earlier in 2019.

For more information, please visit www.meistersinger.com/en/collection/single-hand-watches-models.

Quick Facts Meistersinger Lunascope
Case: 40 mm, stainless steel
Movement: automatic ETA Caliber 2836 with Meistersinger module, 38-hour power reserve
Functions: hours, minutes; date, moon phase
Price: €2,990

Moritz Grossmann Atum Backpage

The purity of the Moritz Grossmann Atum line is turned on its head here: by bringing a view of the movement to the dial side, the Glashütte-based brand’s high-quality finish becomes visible even as one reads the time. A highlight is seeing the hand-engraved balance bridge out in the open.

Moritz Grossman Atum Backpage

For more information, please visit www.en.grossmann-uhren.com/watch/backpage-rosegold.

Quick Facts Moritz Grossmann Atum Backpage
Case: 41 x 11.35, pink gold or platinum
Movement: manually wound manufacture Caliber 107.0, 2.5 Hz/18,000 vph frequency, power reserve 42 hours, Grossmann balance, Grossmann winder with pusher
Functions: hours, minutes, hacking subsidiary seconds
Limitation: 18 pieces (platinum); pink gold non-limited
Price: €38,400 (pink gold), €46,800 (platinum)

Maurice Lacroix Aikon Automatic Skeleton Manufacture

Maurice Lacroix has been a recipient of Red Dot awards for many years now. The latest winner of this important prize is a skeletonized version of the recently revived Aikon collection.

Maurice Lacroix Aikon Automatic Skeleton Manufacture

For more information, please visit www.mauricelacroix.com/ch_en/aikon-automatic-skeleton-manufacture.

Quick Facts Maurice Lacroix Aikon Automatic Skeleton Manufacture
Case: 45 x 13 mm, black PVD-coated stainless steel
Movement: automatic Caliber ML234, 2.5 Hz/18,000 vph frequency, power reserve 52 hours Functions: hours, minutes, seconds
Limitation: 250 pieces
Price: CHF 6,200

Qlocktwo 180 Creator’s Edition Silver & Gold

Showing the time in words is realized here with an impressive amount of charm: on Qlocktwo 110 letters indicate the time; the words on this clock’s large surface, available in 20 languages, change every five minutes. The four illuminated dots in the corners ensure the exact minute display, while the time is set using the Flashsetter app.

Qlocktwo 180 Creator’s Edition Silver & Gold

And this year’s award-winning Qlocktwo 180 Creator’s Edition Silver & Gold goes far beyond its original time-display purpose with its impressive size to become a defining part of a room, a perfect contrast between room-filling presence and minimalist design.

Quiet and free from hectic activity, the clock’s 12-karat white gold alloy consists of equal parts of silver and gold, applied by hand and refined in an elaborate patination process achieving random surface structure.

For more information, please visit www.qlocktwo.com/en/qlocktwo-creators-edition.

Quick Facts Qlocktwo 180 Creator’s Edition Silver & Gold
Case: 180 x 180 cm, gold leaf and oxidized silver over stainless steel
Movement: battery driven
Functions: hours, minutes
Price: €8,099

Chronoswiss Flying Regulator Night and Day

A Chronoswiss Flying Regulator model was awarded in the 2017 edition of the Red Dot, and this year sees a variation on that theme taking a prize home.

Chronoswiss Flying Regulator Night and Day

Chronoswiss had some trouble finding a new design identity when the company changed hands back in 2012, which might explain why the Flying Regulator has been received so well by the jury: its design strongly reminds one of Chronoswiss’s heyday, during which company founder Gerd-Rüdiger Lang brought the regulator dial to wrist-borne timepieces, thereby creating a new wristwatch design category.

The Flying Regulator takes that idea one step further by lifting the subdial frames above the main dial to achieve a three-dimensional effect.

For more information, please visit www.chronoswiss.com/en_ch/sirius-flying-regulator-night-and-day.

Quick Facts Chronoswiss Flying Regulator Night and Day
Case: 41 x 13.85 mm, stainless steel
Movement: automatic Chronoswiss Caliber C.296 (ETA 2895 base with in-house module), 42-hour power reserve, 4 Hz/28,800 vph frequency
Functions: hours, minutes, hacking seconds; date, three-dimensional day/night indication
Price: 6,950 Swiss francs on a leather strap

Stowa Flieger Verus 40

Stowa, owned by Jörg Schauer since 1996, now identifies strongly with period pilot’s watches. The 40 mm Flieger Verus, whose dial displays absolutely no branding, is a great example. “Flieger” is the German word for “pilot’s watch.”

Stowa Flieger Verus 40

For more information, please visit www.stowa.de/Flieger+Verus.

Quick Facts Stowa Flieger Verus 40
Case: 40 x 10.2, stainless steel
Movement: automatic ETA Caliber 2824-2, 4 Hz/28,800 vph frequency, power reserve 42 hours
Functions: hours, minutes, seconds
Price: €690

Sinn EZM 12

This maker of tool watches entered a watch into the Red Dot competition for the first time – and obviously it was the right choice.

Sinn EZM 12

The jury was apparently impressed by the sporty look of this watch developed especially with emergency medical personnel in mind.

For more information, please visit www.sinn.de/en/Modell/EZM_12.

Quick Facts Sinn EZM 12
Case: 44 x 14, hardened stainless steel with bezel with Black Hard Coating
Movement: automatic ETA Caliber 2836-2, 4 Hz/28,800 vph frequency, power reserve 42 hours; magnetic field protection to 80,000 A/m
Functions: hours, minutes, hacking seconds
Price: €3,260
Remark: three-year warranty

Lilienthal Zeitgeist Automatik

This Berlin-based watch manufacturer offers Made in Germany quality with Bauhaus style, Black Forest-made dials, assembly in Germany, and Swiss movements.

Lilienthal Zeitgeist Automatik

For more information, please visit www.lilienthal.berlin/zeitgeist-silver-silver-brown.

Quick Facts Lilienthal Zeitgeist Automatik
Case: 42.5 x 10, stainless steel
Movement: automatic Sellita Caliber SW200, 4 Hz/28,800 vph frequency, power reserve 38 hours
Functions: hours, minutes, seconds; date
Price: €499

Suning Smart Alarm Clock

With a 3.5-inch LCD screen, this is more than just an alarm clock. One can use it to share pictures, leave voice messages, access more than 5,000 smart devices, and listen to a huge amounts of audiobooks.

Suning Smart Alarm Clock

Who needs a watch?

For more information, please visit www.suningholdings.com.

Smartwatches

Smartwatches were judged by the same three-man jury, but put into their own category this time.

Apple Watch Series 4

The winner of the Best of the Best Red Dot here is the Apple Watch Series 4, while Red Dot Design winners include the following: Sequent SuperCharger (a self-charging smartwatch), Mobvoi Ticwatch E2, Mobvoi Ticwatch C2, Anhui Huami Amazfit Verge, LG Watch W7, and Medion Life E1800.

For more information about the Red Dot awards, please visit www.en.red-dot.org.

You may also enjoy:

Armin Strom Masterpiece 1 Dual Time Resonance: Simplifying With Complexity

The 2015 Red Dot Has A New Watch Category. And The Winners Are  . . .

Complete List Of The Eleven 2017 Red Dot Award Watch Winners

Complete List Of Red Dot Watch Winners 2018