In this final GPHG round table discussion, my Quill & Pad colleagues and I discuss the evening of November 4, 2021 and what we thought of the big night’s winners. Our panel consists of:
Elizabeth Doerr (ED), co-founder and editor-in-chief
Ian Skellern (IS), co-founder and technical director
Joshua Munchow (JM), resident nerd writer
GaryG (GG), resident collector
Martin Green (MG), resident gentleman
ED: Before we dive into what we thought of the 2021 edition of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, I think it’s important to stress the fundamental changes in the GPHG voting since 2020, which began with the creation of a diverse Academy of contributors who performed the first “screening” to arrive at the six “nominated” watches in each category, the merits of which we discussed at length in each of our category-by-category round tables.
The categories then went on to be voted on by a nuclear jury of 30 members, half of which – according to the rules – were chosen by the GPHG board and the jury president and half of which were randomly drawn from the Academy pool. In that final round of voting the Academy also voted again, the sum total of which was equal to 15 votes in the final round – which made for a total of 45 individual votes.
By my reckoning, only five of those 30 had previously been on the jury at any point, including jury president Nick Foulkes. Also interesting to note is that despite Piaget CEO Benjamin Comar being in the jury – the rule is that the CEO of the previous year’s winning Aiguille d’Or watch sits on the following jury – the GPHG allowed Piaget to partake in the event as usual. In my eight years on the jury, the winning brand was not allowed to participate the following year while the CEO is on the jury.
GG: Did the new model for the GPHG, with one-third of the final vote coming from the Academy and the remainder from a jury that mixed a few veterans with many newcomers, work? As an approach to incorporate diverse inputs in the nomination and selection process, I’d say yes.
As a mechanism to select the year’s very best watches, I’m not quite so confident. Looking forward, the critical element to GPHG’s survival will be to ensure that each year’s top new watches are entered; at minimum, this will require a concerted outreach effort from the GPHG to brands and ideally would incorporate a shift in both the funding and nomination models to remove the need for makers to self-enter and pay for the costs of the competition.
2021 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève winners on stage
IS: Well, 2021 turned out to be a pretty normal year for the GPHG with some obvious winners and a few headscratchers. While due to the pandemic there were fewer totally new watches in the running, there was no shortage of excellent contenders.
The big lesson I’ve belatedly learned is if a model has been entered or won in previous years, it doesn’t matter. And if a watch is pre-selected in a category, then how suitable it is for the category is meaningless.
I was both disappointed and surprised that neither the Miki Eleta Svemir nor Ulysse Nardin UFO clocks received a prize. I feel that the GPHG should make a clear decision as to whether clocks should be competing against watches in the existing categories or merit a category of their own.
ED: I would vote to add a clock category and drop Iconic.
IS: Here’s one more vote to drop the Iconic category as well, Elizabeth.
MG: It is interesting to see how the GPHG is developing. I am not completely convinced that the categories are on par or very well aligned. I also find it a bit confusing that watches don’t have to win their category but can still go home with the Audacity, Innovation, Revelation, and even the Aiguille d’Or awards. What does that say about the watches that did win their categories? Are they in fact the runners-up?
ED: Not necessarily, Martin, but quite possibly. We’ll never know.
GG: Another November Geneva watch week in the books, and with all the craziness at the various auctions the GPHG seemed to take a bit of a back seat this time. I thought that the field of finalists was weaker overall this year than in past years and continue to hope that more brands and makers will agree to enter their work in the future as there were many great watches introduced since last year that weren’t even in the starting field.
As they say, you have to be in it to win it, so kudos to those who did make the effort and to the winners chosen from among them by the jury and Academy.
MG: I did surprisingly well this year in terms of our predictions! Out of the 14 categories (15 if you count the Aiguille d’Or) I guessed five correctly. Not bad, and perhaps it is time for the GPHG to make me part of the jury. This year, I had only one watch that I was baffled with: the Furlan Marri Mr. Grey, which won the Horological Revelation prize. I guess a lot of people were expressing their sadness that Patek Philippe doesn’t participate!?
JM: The 2021 GPHG awards have completed and my typical 50-percent success in predictions was slashed again with only five out of 14 categories going my way, though with four more categories I was elated to see other watches win anyway. Sadly, I was a little late to watching the show this year with my day job keeping me from the first hour, so I cannot comment too much on the flow of the show up to that point. Once I tuned in it did seem to flow particularly well, some speakers did linger a bit too much but overall some of the pacing improvements from the “social distancing GPHG” in 2020 luckily carried into this year.
I felt that the show looked to be generally back to normal this year now that we are post vaccine and have already had successful Geneva-based watch events by now. I’m confident that 2022 will see an almost fully back-to-normal fair schedule, and this GPHG edition could be the sign that the watch world is back.
ED: I attended the GPHG in person and I can attest that the entire thing felt entirely normal this year. A little too normal perhaps, which I hope was not premature (this was the biggest event I have attended in more than two years). But it certainly felt nice.
IS: I was surprised to see all of the seats in the mask-free auditorium taken, Elizabeth, rather than every second seat. But at least they screened for vaccine or test before entry.
ED: I was likewise surprised, Ian, and kept my mask on throughout the event. And the vaccine certification/test screening was vigilant, which was excellent.
JM: I was happy to see so many brands in attendance and honored and found a few jokes actually landing pretty well with the audience from the host, presenters, and winners. Overall the show was a nice sight after a year and a half of weirdness within the industry and the wider world, and I was happy to simply watch what felt familiar and see people I liked winning awards to honor their achievements.
ED: Now let’s move on to the individual prizes.
Ladies: Piaget Limelight Gala Precious Rainbow
GG: We start off with a real headscratcher for me, as the Piaget Limelight has been around in pretty much identical form to this year’s variation for as long as I can remember; for me this choice landed with a dull thud. It was one of several cases in which the selectors seemed to lack historical context, rewarding rehashes of longstanding designs or forgetting that essentially identical watches had been entered – or even awarded – previously. A lack of continuity on the jury may be somewhat to blame, but it also seemed to me that some folks simply didn’t do their homework.
Piaget Limelight Gala Precious Rainbow
ED: I’m really not sure how many Limelights can win this prize! While this is a beautiful watch – and every new iteration is at least as charming as the last – I am slightly dumbfounded as to how this can keep winning this category, especially when there were newer, completely original watches available that are at least equally as interesting. Perhaps because so few of the jury remember what had already won in the past?
MG: My runner-up won, which happens to be one of the most stunning watches by Piaget in recent years. Still, I thought that the Armin Strom Lady Beat had better cards, being something decisively different, but perhaps that is also something that the jury needs some time to get used to. Piaget had a particularly good evening, going home with two prizes, tying them with Louis Vuitton and MB&F in that respect.
IS: I’m off the line fast by picking the Piaget Limelight Gala to win. And bless its heart, it did! While a Limelight Gala won the GPHG Ladies’ watch prize back in 2016, I thought that five years is likely to be long enough to warrant another win. It’s extremely pretty and elegantly eye-catching.
JM: I got this one wrong largely based on assumptions from years past. I’m happy for Piaget to be awarded a prize for this, it truly is a stunning watch.
Further reading:
5 Rainbow Watches That Anyone Can Wear, With Pride!
Quick Facts Piaget Limelight Gala Precious Rainbow
Case: 32 x 10 mm, pink gold, bezel set with 5 brilliant-cut green tsavorites and 37 brilliant-cut sapphires ranging from red through orange, yellow, blue, indigo and violet (8.812 ct)
Dial: hand-engraved pink gold
Movement: automatic Caliber 501P1 (530P base), 3.63 mm in height, 40-hour power reserve, 4 Hz/28,800 vph frequency
Functions: hours, minutes
Price: $102,000 / 99,000 Swiss francs
Ladies Complication: Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Féerie
MG: Life is hard in this category when you have to take on Van Cleef & Arpels. There is something about these very whimsical watches, which are nonetheless very seriously executed, that is irresistible. To some extent perhaps that is also a pity as the competition was strong. Bovet’s Récital 23 is very original, although I feel that oval watches are always at a disadvantage. And both Chopard and Piaget entered some very serious tourbillons.
ED: You are correct in all of that, Martin. It’s really a shame about the Bovet Récital 23 – a very deserving and original watch.
Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Féerie
GG: I picked the Van Cleef, so I can’t be too unhappy here!
IS: While I thought that the Bovet 1822 Récital 23 turquoise would win this category, I take a little consolation in the fact that the Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Féerie was my runner-up, and as I wrote in my prediction, “. . . the only reason that it’s not at the top of my podium is that, while I appreciate it’s a new design, I feel that I’ve seen it too many times before.” Lesson learned.
JM: I correctly predicted this one and it felt like a close battle with a lot of fantastic watches. I will always be happy when the Lady Féerie wins because I know that some of my favorite people in the industry are also behind it, and it is such a fun timepiece!
Further reading: Our Predictions In The Ladies Complication Category Of The 2021 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG): Once Again Nearly Unanimous
Quick Facts Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Féerie
Case: 33 x 13.14 mm, white gold; bezel, case, dial and buckle set with brilliant-cut diamonds (4.7 ct)
Dial: plique-à-jour and grisaille enamel over guilloche, mother-of-pearl
Movement: undisclosed automatic caliber, 36-hour power reserve, 4 Hz/28,800 vph frequency
Functions: jump hours, retrograde minutes
Price: 104,000 Swiss francs
Men’s: Grand Seiko Hi-Beat 36000 80 Hours
IS: I picked the relatively flamboyant MB&F LM101 Stainless Steel to win here. The subdued Grand Seiko Hi-Beat 36000 80 Hours is at the complete opposite end of the charisma scale. However, it was my (tied) runner-up.
In my predictions, I thought, “I can easily see the Grand Seiko Hi-Beat 36000 80 Hours Caliber 9SA5 winning this category. It’s not only a superb watch with a chronometer-beating precision movement with an innovative escapement, and it’s the only traditional-looking men’s watch here. 40 mm is a perfect sized case for nearly all wrists, 80 hours of power reserve is generous, and at 10,500 Swiss francs the price is very competitive. This Grand Seiko will be a tough one to beat, but it’s my tied runner-up in the Men’s category.”
Grand Seiko Hi-Beat 36000 80 Hours
GG: I’m sure that the Grand Seiko is a nice watch, and there seems to be a cult of GS out there that is surely happy about this choice, but there was nothing about it that shouted “winner” to me; perhaps in the metal it really popped in ways that the others did not.
ED: I find that most Grand Seikos are pretty exquisite in the metal, something that is far less visible on two-dimensional photos. In particular, these textured dials go a long way to endearing themselves.
GG: In a variety of conversations during the week I was surprised at the amount of energy in people’s views of H. Moser & Cie; there were as many who dismissed the Swiss Alp Final Upgrade as a pricey gimmick as who saw it as clever and well done.
I picked the MB&F LM101, but perhaps the functional and cosmetic changes to this year’s new model weren’t sufficiently distinct from the past to compel the jurors.
JM: I predicted it could be a toss-up between this and the MB&F, so I was very happy that it got honored. It truly felt like it was the most broadly appealing watch in the category, presenting some of the most outstanding value as well, so it is more than deserving of the prize!
MG: I am very surprised that Grand Seiko won the prize for the best men’s watch. It was not that it didn’t deserve it – to the contrary – but rather that it is by far the most ordinary looking among the six nominated watches. Perhaps that is its superpower? Perhaps also partly explains the great success that the brand is enjoying in the markets.
Further reading: Our Predictions In The Men’s Category Of The 2021 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG), Again Close But Not Quite Unanimous In Our Pick For Winner
Quick Facts Grand Seiko Hi-Beat 36000 80 Hours Caliber 9SA5
Case: 40 x 11.7 mm, stainless steel, 100 m water resistance
Dial: polished lacquer
Movement: automatic Caliber 9SA5, 36,000 vph/5 Hz frequency, 80-hour power reserve
Functions: hours, minutes, seconds; date
Price: 10,500 Swiss francs
Men’s Complication: MB&F LMX Titanium
JM: Like much of our team, I predicted this one to win and was in no way surprised that it did. It was by far the most outstanding piece in a very competitive category. And with MB&F taking home two trophies this year I was extra happy for the team behind this incredible watch.
MB&F LMX Titanium
MG: A great and well-deserved win for MB&F, in particular given the competition. I also think it is great to see a brand that has been thinking outside of the box for so long embraced by such a large portion of the watch community. What does this watch have that the others didn’t? I think the right dash of eccentricity, although this is now so well-loved that I don’t know for sure that you can still call it eccentric.
ED: There was a lot of stiff competition in this category. I feel the winner could have been any of the six. I am happy I guessed right!
IS: I thought that the Chopard L.U.C Quattro Spirit 25 would win here, but the MB&F LMX Titanium is both an excellent choice and evidence that the jury is becoming more open to rewarding atypical watches.
GG: Here the MB&F did win out over my strong preference, the Chopard jump hour piece. I can’t say that the LMX was undeserving, but it would have been great to see a watch that is just a really attractive, wearable, and finely made timepiece take the trophy. The Chopard remains the watch in this year’s competition other than my already-purchased LM101 that I’d be most likely to buy.
Further reading:
MB&F Legacy Machines: 10th Anniversary Retrospective And LMX
Quick Facts MB&F LMX
Case: 44 x 21.4 mm, grade 5 titanium
Movement: manual winding LMX caliber with three spring barrels, 168 hours (7 days) power reserve, 18,000 vph/2.5 Hz frequency
Functions: hours, minutes, second time zone hours and minutes; hemispherical rotating vertical power reserve
Limitation: 33 pieces
Price: $112,000 / CHF 106,000 / €92,000
Iconic: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Jumbo Extra-Thin
GG: Didn’t anyone in the room remember that the Royal Oak won in the oddly structured Iconic category just two years ago? If you are going to recognize an enduring product, do it once and be done with it. Luc Pettavino did another great job this year with Only Watch, but I didn’t see him up there receiving another GPHG Special Jury Prize. Besides, the Vacheron Constantin American 1921 was the better watch in my view.
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Jumbo Extra-Thin
ED: Yes, I find this one a little surprising given the centennial anniversary of the Vacheron Constantin American 1921 in particular. To your point about Audemars Piguet winning this category two years ago with another Royal Oak. I just think that there are too few experienced jury and Academy members keeping track.
IS: Congratulations to Martin on picking this one. My choice was the IWC Big Pilot’s Watch 43. I wasn’t a fan of the green dial of this Royal Oak Jumbo Extra-Thin, but my main gripe about it was its price of around $100,000 for a time-only watch.
MG: So the Royal Oak is the most iconic this year. Yippie! To me still the most unnecessary category in the GPHG. I’ll actually blame it on the green dial that it won! 😉
JM: An interesting winner, yet within the grand scheme of things not that surprising that a version of the Royal Oak won. AP has always been popular as has the Royal Oak, though it has become extremely popular in the last decade as luxury sport watches have taken off. The green dial may have helped this one take the trophy, but I’ll let others opine as to why that could be.
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Jumbo Extra-Thin
Case: 39 x 8.1 mm, platinum
Movement: automatic Caliber 2121; 40-hour power reserve; 19,800 vph/2.75 Hz frequency
Functions: hours, minutes; date
Price: 97,100 Swiss francs; boutique-only edition
Tourbillon: De Bethune DB Kind of Two Tourbillon
IS: This was an easy pick. I love De Bethune’s eye-catching, space-age dials, but there are times when the occasion calls for something tamer and less obtrusive. Until now, that meant having two different watches. But the Kind of Two Tourbillon gives you two very different looking watches in one. A five-day power reserve with a 30-second tourbillon is impressive, but even more so is the less than ten-millimeter thickness.
The De Bethune DB Kind of Two Tourbillon was my runaway pick to win the 2021 GPHG Tourbillon category.
Two dials and case rotation of the De Bethune DB Kind of Two Tourbillon
GG: No dispute here with the De Bethune; a cool idea beautifully executed.
JM: This was no contest in my book, and it is awesome to see such an incredible watch take the prize. De Bethune has been and will likely always be one of my favorite brands, and this watch really captures a lot of what De Bethune is about. I have no doubt that the jury understood this and that is why it took home a trophy. Huzzah, De Bethune, huzzah!
MG: A lot of interesting entries, but the De Bethune was in my book hard to beat. Its entire concept is very innovative and very well executed. Now I must say that the two watches for the price of one always appeals to me, and I guess the jury felt the same.
ED: Also my hands-down winner; it’s nice to feel backed up in that.
Further reading:
De Bethune DB Kind Of Two Tourbillon: Two Dials Means Double The Pleasure
De Bethune DB Kind Of Two Tourbillon: Double-Faced Split Personality With Floating Lugs (Video)
Quick Facts De Bethune DB Kind of Two Tourbillon
Case: reversible in grade five titanium, 42.8 x 9.5 mm; floating lugs, crown at 6/12 o’clock
Movement: manually wound Caliber DB2579 with 30-second tourbillon with titanium balance wheel and white gold inserts, silicon escape wheel, self-regulating twin spring barrels, silicon escape wheel, 5 Hz/36,000 vph frequency, five-day power reserve
Functions: dual hours, minutes; seconds on one side
Limitation: 10 pieces
Price: $250,000 / 215,000 Swiss francs
Calendar and Astronomy: Christiaan van der Klaauw Planetarium Eise Eisinga
ED: This is the first time Christiaan van der Klaauw has entered a watch into the GPHG, and all I can say to that is: it’s about time!
Christiaan Van Der Klaauw Planetarium Eise Eisinga on the wrist
JM: Oh, how wonderfully and gladly wrong I was because I absolutely love this watch. Always have, actually, as the Planetarium from CVDK is one of my top three favorite astronomical watches of all time. My pick for winner – the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Perpetual Calendar – went on to win the Aiguille d’Or, in which case I would have hoped that either Arnold & Son or CVDK could catch the jury’s attention and luckily the Planetarium did!
GG: Another context-free choice as Van der Klaauw has been making this watch, minus the wood-ceiling dial, for a generation. I was reminded that this was CVDK’s first-ever GPHG entry, so we can at least say that the same watch wasn’t previously a competitor for awards. It may also be that when the Bulgari that was promoted to the top prize, the Van der Klaauw had the second-most votes in the field.
ED: We’ll never know, Gary. Perhaps that blue dial really caught people’s eyes, too.
IS: Yet again I missed picking the winner because I placed too much emphasis on the fact that I thought (incorrectly) that a similar model had been entered before. I picked the Arnold & Son Luna Magna to win, but said of the Planetarium Eise Eisinga, “None of us are immune to the attraction of a pretty face. In watches, few do design better than Christiaan Van Der Klaauw, and this is highlighted by the drop-dead gorgeous Planetarium Eise Eisinga, which takes its inspiration from a planetarium Mr. Eise Eisinga built on his living room ceiling 240 years ago. I’m not picking it here because it’s a variation on an existing model, but I love it.”
ED: Christiaan van der Klaauw has never entered the GPHG before, Ian. The model you were thinking of was the Van Cleef & Arpels Midnight Planetarium, which does use the van der Klaauw movement and was entered into the 2014 GPHG’s Calendar category.
That was, by the way, an absolutely vintage year for calendar watches in the GPHG: the Midnight Planetarium competed against the A. Lange & Söhne Terraluna, the Breguet Classique Tourbillon Quantième Perpétuel, the Jaquet Droz Perpetual Calendar Éclipse Ivory Enamel, the Montblanc Meisterstück Heritage Perpetual Calendar, and the Zenith Captain Winsor Annual Calendar!
The Van Cleef & Arpels Midnight Planetarium did not win that category in 2014, losing out to the A. Lange & Söhne Terraluna – that was a tough year in this category, and I remember the jury room discussions quite well.
So I am even happier that the first time out with its own unbelievable wrist-size planetarium, Christiaan van der Klaauw took home the prize for this mechanical marvel, which also happens to be very attractive.
MG: Yes!! A Dutch victory!! Sorry, just let my nationalistic side go for a second. That being said, a very deserved win for Christiaan van der Klaauw with the sensational Planetarium Eise Eisinga. I think that the watch itself is still one of the most impressive astronomical watches ever made, but the Eise Eisinga visuals elevate it even further.
Further reading:
Quick Facts Christiaan van der Klaauw Planetarium Eise Eisinga
Case: 40 x 15 mm, pink gold
Dial: miniature oil painting of the ceiling of the Royal Eise Eisinga Planetarium
Movement: automatic Caliber CVDK7386, twin spring barrels, 96-hour power reserve, 4 Hz/28,800 vph frequency
Functions: hours, minutes; date, month; world smallest mechanical planetarium with seven planets
Limitation: 6 pieces
Price: €58,450 / 59,950 Swiss francs
Mechanical Exception: Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Automatic
IS: Congratulations to Joshua for picking this one. I thought that the Miki Eleta Svemir clock would romp home here. Again, I’d marked the Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Automatic down because, while it certainly comprises exceptional mechanics, a similar model won the Aiguille d’Or in 2020 so I feel it had had its place in the spotlight.
Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Automatic
JM: I was the lone member of Quill & Pad to guess this one right and I was very close to not picking it to win for the same reasons others chose what they chose; clocks seemed to be a force to be reckoned with this year. But I felt the jury would stay true to the general theme of the GPHG, which is to honor amazing “watches” and so thought that the Piaget was the one to beat. I mean, how do you argue against such a slim yet capable watch? The answer seems to be you don’t.
GG: The jury in recent history seems to have a thing for thin watches, and this year’s Piaget fits the bill. I find it very difficult to believe, though, that both the Piaget and the Innovation prize-winning Lederer beat Miki Eleta’s stunning clock to the Mechanical Exception award.
MG: I had Lederer for the win, but he took home the Innovation award instead. While I really like the Altiplano Ultimate, it still feels a bit like old wine in a new bottle. A great watch in its own right, but given the competition the “only” thing it has to offer is that it is ultra-thin, and makes it that exceptional enough among this crowd? The jury thought it did.
ED: This wasn’t even on my radar since a variation on it had won the Aiguille d’Or just last year in 2020 and the CEO of Piaget was on the jury! I think I was far too focused on the clocks and my mental confusion over them being here.
Further reading:
Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Concept, The World’s Thinnest Watch: Shaving Microns To Make Millionths
Top 10 Thinnest Mechanical Wristwatches: 8 Modern Record Holders And Their 2 Historic Rivals
Quick Facts Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Concept
Case: 41 x 4.3 mm, white gold
Movement: ultra-thin automatic Caliber 910P with peripheral rotor, fused with case, 21,600 vph/3 Hz frequency, 48-hour power reserve
Functions: hours, minutes
Price: 30,300 Swiss francs
Chronograph: Zenith Chronomaster Sport
IS: I went out on a colorful limb for the Le Chrono Monopoussoir Louis Erard x Alain Silberstein, but the Zenith Chronomaster Sport is a well-deserved winner. In my prediction comments I said, “. . . this Chronomaster Sport looks good, the different subdial colors work for me, and the white date wheel blends nicely with the dial so the date doesn’t mess things up (as it often does). But (as with others here) I can’t help that I’ve seen its likes too often before.”
Zenith Chronomaster Sport
JM: I didn’t pick this one and honestly felt I went out on a limb for a difficult-to-read and very avant-garde watch in this category, the Angelus U30 Black Tourbillon. And the jury proved my hesitations right. The Chronomaster Sport is a great watch that I was lucky to be able to spend some time with. I can agree it is a perfectly capable and classic chronograph. Zenith has been making awesome chronographs for a half-century and I’m happy the brand was supported with this prize. And, as a bonus, the Tudor Black Bay didn’t win!
ED: I also went out on a limb – meaning against my inner voice – to pick the Breitling because I thought that’s what the others would choose. I’ll stick to my own likes from now on. Congratulations to Zenith for the deserved win here! I had some time with this watch during the Gstaad tennis weekend and came away very impressed with it.
MG: Another category with fierce competition in which Zenith has prevailed. I was very impressed with the watch when I first saw it, so it was also my candidate to win this category. I do wonder how many votes the other watches tallied up. Both IWC and Breitling are strong contenders, which were nominated in several categories but didn’t win any.
GG: Did the Zenith win here? This category was a bit of a hodgepodge to me, and I suppose someone had to come out on top.
Further reading:
Zenith Chronomaster Sport: A Chronograph That Reinvigorates The Senses
Quick Facts Zenith Chronomaster Sport
Case: 41 x 13.6 mm, stainless steel
Movement: automatic Caliber 3600, 60-hour power reserve, 36,000 vph/5 Hz frequency, column wheel control of chronograph, lateral clutch, officially certified C.O.S.C. chronometer
Functions: hours, minutes, (hacking) seconds; date, chronograph with 1/10th of a second display
Price: $10,000 / 9,900 Swiss francs
Diver’s: Louis Vuitton Tambour Street Diver Skyline Blue
JM: This is another category that I am so dang happy I was wrong about because I made it clear I was enamored with this watch. My main gripe was only relating to water resistance; otherwise, I truly love this watch as a unique dive-watch aesthetic. Out of all the Tambour models, this is quite possibly my most loved as a daily-wear watch: it checks a lot of boxes for me and I’m happy for the designers at Louis Vuitton for being chosen in this category.
Louis Vuitton Tambour Street Diver Skyline Blue
MG: What a surprise that the Louis Vuitton Street Diver won! Although I thought that the Doxa would take home the prize, I am excited that it was the Tambour as I know this watch quite well, and it has always offered a fresh take on the concept of diving watch. It is also perhaps the most obvious desk diver of the bunch, and I consider that a good thing.
IS: This is one of my, “What on earth was the jury thinking?” moments. The least water-friendly watch in competition wins the diver’s category – it even has “Street Diver” in the name! I love the look, though, declaring in my comments, “The Louis Vuitton Tambour Street Diver Skyline Blue is a great-looking watch from above, but that small movement says to me that it is more about the looks (and price) than the mechanics. However, I tip my hat to Louis Vuitton for designing such a great new contemporary dive watch look.”
But I (mistakenly) didn’t think it would win because of its possibly decisive (you like or you don’t) contemporary design.
GG: Really? There were four dive watches and one dive-ish watch (the Reservoir with its retrograde minutes display that a nitrogen-addled diver would be hard-pressed to read) and the jury picked the remaining one – the Louis Vuitton with its too-small movement, odd aesthetics, and minimal water resistance.
ED: No offense to Louis Vuitton, who is aware that this is not really a diver (by calling it a “street diver” right in the watch’s name), but somehow I feel a real diver’s watch should be taking this category . . . not a watch that looks like a diver.
On the other hand, the comments here in this section of our roundup alone show how different opinions on such things can be! Three of us think a real diver should be winning a prize in this category, while two others are absolutely delighted that the fashion piece walked away with it.
That is why there are so many watches in the world!
Further reading:
Louis Vuitton Tambour Street Diver: All Killer, No Filler?
Quick Facts Louis Vuitton Tambour Street Diver Skyline Blue
Case: 44 x 12.8 mm, stainless steel with navy blue PVD coating, 100 m water resistance
Movement: automatic Caliber ETA 2895-2, 50 hours power reserve, 28,800 vph/4 Hz frequency
Functions: hours, minutes, seconds; dive-time bezel under the crystal
Price: $7,505 / 6,350 Swiss francs
Jewellery: Chopard Flower Power
IS: This was another surprise for me – I thought that the Piaget Exquisite Moments Watch would win – but these are watches that need to be handled to be appreciated, and the jury had that advantage. I know quartz movements shouldn’t count against a watch here, but I’d have preferred this Chopard with a beautiful mechanical movement.
Chopard Flower Power
ED: Unless you’re in the jury room and get to handle these million-dollar watches, it’s really anyone’s guess as to who will win this category. I have no doubt this watch is a very worthy winner.
GG: With the exception of the over-the-top Bulgari I would have been quite pleased with the selection of any of the pieces in this group, and the Chopard seems a worthy winner even though I didn’t pick it.
JM: A dazzling creation to be sure but not my favorite, and that isn’t the first time I’ve had differing opinions about a jewelry timepiece. I know the quality is going to be there – Chopard is a master jeweler – I just preferred other aesthetics in this category. Congrats to Chopard, we all underestimated the power of the flower.
MG: While I was quite taken by the Chanel ring watch, I can see why the Chopard won this category. I do think it is quite a challenge to place a vote in a category in which the watches are so diverse by nature. I guess that this also part of the charm, at least in this category. I think it becomes more complex when the essence of the watches differs much more, like in mechanical exception where even two clocks were entered. I feel that clocks deserve a category of their own.
Further reading: Our Predictions In The Jewellery Category Of The 2021 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG): Our Panelists Have A Favorite But Miss The Human Touch
Quick Facts Chopard Flower Power
Case: 19.6 x 7 mm, ethical white gold
Gem setting: pink sapphires and pear-shaped and brilliant-cut diamonds assembled into subtle flower garlands totaling around 30 ct; 12 pink sapphires on dial; total 44.576 ct
Movement: quartz
Functions: hours, minutes
Limitation: one unique piece
Price: 489,000 Swiss francs
Artistic Crafts: MB&F x Eddy Jaquet LM Split Escapement Jules Verne
GG: Yes! As a longtime owner of a watch engraved by Eddy Jaquet I’m biased, but I think the MB&F was a clear winner on merits in any case.
MB&F x Eddy Jaquet LM Split Escapement Jules Verne
IS: My predictions so far have been more miss than hit, but I’m happy to have picked the MB&F x Eddy Jaquet LM Split Escapement Jules Verne Around the World in Eighty Days correctly to win here.
Here’s why I thought that this MB&F should win:
1. The canvas/ watch: the LM Split Escapement is an exceptional work of art in its own right. It has mechanisms, structures, and indications on the dial that visually dominate.
2. The art: engraving hasn’t tended to do as well in this category compared with other artistic crafts, but the work here is so exceptional it transcends its form. So a vote for engraving wouldn’t have the hurdle of repetition.
3. The execution: simply sensational. LM Split Escapement offers a mind-blowing and eye-catching dial extravaganza, but here the monochromic engravings steal all of the thunder, but not in a big way. It will attract second glances through curiosity (“what did I just see?”). And the stories are clearly laid out and easily recognizable for fans of Jules Verne.
JM: Honestly, I am both surprised and not surprised by this one: MB&F and its LM SE are definitely worthy of applause, and the engraving work is clearly second to none. But I also felt a bit underwhelmed with the watch in context as I was blown away by the Hermes and all its color. There is not one ounce of me that can knock the MB&F, though. I covered it earlier in the year and the pieces in this very limited edition are astounding. So kudos to MB&F and Eddy Jaquet on the win!
MG: I was shown the Eddy Jaquet-engraved MB&F line prior to its launch in Geneva, and these watches blew me away. The details are incredible, all the more so because I am a great fan of the work of Jules Verne. Although in this category I could have also very easily have seen the Bulgari Diva’s Dream Peacock or the Louis Vuitton Tambour Carpe Diem win. The latter secured the Audacity prize, and that is perhaps even more appropriate.
ED: I was sure the monochromatic nature of this watch would keep it from winning here, but I’m glad its artistic excellence was recognized! It’s a very deserving winner!
Further reading:
Quick Facts MB&F x Eddy Jaquet Legacy Machine Split Escapement Jules Verne Around the World in Eighty Days
Case: 44.5 x 18.2 mm, 5N red gold
Movement: manual winding Caliber LM SE developed by Stephen McDonnell, 72 hours power reserve, 18,000 vph/2.5 Hz frequency, split escapement with balance suspended above dial and anchor and escapement wheel under the movement; twin spring barrels
Functions: hours, minutes; power reserve indicator, date
Limitation: one unique piece
Price: $162,000 / 159,000 Swiss francs
Petite Aiguille: Tudor Black Bay Ceramic
IS: Here’s another winner I predicted correctly, even though I usually mark down watches that have (or I feel to have) been already seen too many times here before in other guises. In my predictions I wrote, “The Tudor Black Bay has turned up as regular as clockwork at the GPHG in many guises and in many categories, and often has won. And yet here I am predicting it that it will win again.”
I wrote of this Black Bay, “Great watch, superb movement, comfortably sized: if buying one of these watches for myself, I wouldn’t hesitate to get the Black Bay. There are other watches here that might be nice to have, but the Tudor Black Bay Ceramic is the one to have. Not for the first time, a Tudor Black Bay is my pick for winner.”
Tudor Black Bay Ceramic on the wrist
GG: I actually picked the Tudor from among a somewhat underwhelming group of finalists. Regardless, it seems that the GPHG finds a way to hand out a trophy to this brand each year.
MG: One thing you can count on at the GPHG is a Tudor Black Bay wining a prize. The only years it didn’t win a prize were 2012, 2014, 2015 (but the Tudor Pelagos won best sports watch), and 2018. Against the strong competition, the all-black ceramic watch doesn’t really stand out to me, offering a slightly different take on a very familiar dish. I would have thought that this contest would be between the Garrick S4 and the Louis Erard Le Régulateur Louis Erard x Vianney Halter, but I guess people really, really like the Black Bay.
JM: I was wrong on this category only because I refuse to acknowledge another Black Bay to win. I know it most likely will win some category every year, but I am so far over it that I think my suggestion during the prediction phase still stands: give Tudor a lifetime achievement award for the Black Bay and then retire it from clogging up the GPHG in the future and allow other impressive watches to be honored.
Further reading: Our Predictions In The Petite Aiguille Category Of The 2021 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG): The Field Is Wide Open
Quick Facts Tudor Black Bay Ceramic
Case: 41 x 14.4 mm, ceramic
Movement: automatic Caliber MT5602-1U, 70-hour power reserve, 4 Hz/28,800 vph frequency, silicon hairspring, officially certified C.O.S.C. chronometer
Functions: hours, minutes
Price: 4,500 Swiss francs
Challenge: Ciga Design Blue Planet
GG: I haven’t handled the Ciga Design but clearly the jurors were impressed. I’m a bit surprised that the very pretty anOrdain didn’t do better, and Ciga may have benefitted from moving the Furlan Marri to the Revelation prize, but fair play and well done to this brand from China.
Ciga Design Blue Planet
ED: I felt some sense of loss at the anOrdain not taking home this prize. I was so certain it would, especially since the jury got to see it in person (in contrast to 95 percent of the Academy). It is a breathtaking timepiece for the money.
IS: This was another surprise for me – but yet again, well picked by Joshua. I picked the anOrdain Model 1 Payne’s Grey Fumé, but again the jury showed a preference for the unusual. My prediction comments were, “The Ciga Design Blue Planet takes off from planet traditional. At first glance I couldn’t work out how to tell the time, but it’s actually quite easy and fairly legible: that compass rose is the hour hand and the minutes are read from the revolving minute disk at 12 o’clock. But two things count it out of the running for me: that this category is usually won by more traditional-looking watches and its massive case size of 46 mm.”
JM: I honestly did not expect this one to win and I was very surprised that it did, even though I thought it was the coolest watch in the category. It was theoretically punching way above its weight, so I thought it deserved some recognition for that. And it seems the jury agreed. I still have yet to see or hold a watch from Ciga Design, but I still very much enjoy this piece and hope that the brand can continue to make awesome and affordable creations in the future.
MG: I am a bit surprised that the Ciga design won, yet also understand the attraction of seeing the planet we live on depicted this way. This is why people with a lot of money fly through earth’s atmosphere with Elon Musk or Richard Branson. This watch offers a much cheaper, less taxing, and more lasting way to see the planet from that viewpoint. While there have been similar watches in the past – although not that many – I find the execution of the Ciga very pleasing, making it a very deserved win, despite some other very nice watches in this category.
Quick Facts Ciga Design Blue Planet
Case: 46 x 15 mm, titanium
Movement: undisclosed automatic movement, 40-hour power reserve, 28,800 vph/4 Hz frequency
Functions: hours, minutes
Limitation: 50 pieces
Price: 1,800 Swiss francs
Innovation: Bernhard Lederer Central Impulse Chronometer
GG: I picked the Lederer even though it was a cosmetic repackaging of one of last year’s finalist watches and was interested to hear last week from one of the watchmakers who was on this year’s jury that he favored the Lederer as his choice for the Aiguille d’Or.
Bernhard Lederer Central Impulse Chronometer
IS: I’m giving myself another correct pick here for having predicted, “If neither of the clocks win the Mechanical Exception category, then I think the Bernhard Lederer Central Impulse Chronometer will win it, and we will see clocks in these jury prizes.”
JM: I wasn’t surprised by this in the slightest: the Central Impulse Chronometer definitely deserved some form of recognition for the incredible movement and newly fine-tuned design. I thought it might get some special award and, by golly, it did!
MG: What a well-deserved win for Bernhard Lederer! This watch ticks so many boxes for me, and rarely do I see a watch in which technical innovations are presented in such a beautiful way. It is almost as if he designed the watch first and then figured out how to make the movement match. I only wish I could afford this marvel.
Further reading:
Bernhard Lederer Central Impulse Chronometer*: A Superlative Watch But Is It Really A Chronometer?
Quick Facts Bernhard Lederer Central Impulse Chronometer
Case: 44 x 12.2 mm, white gold
Movement: manual winding Caliber 9012 with dual gear train with dual 10-second remontoirs and natural escapements, 21,600 vph/3 Hz frequency, 38-hour power reserve
Functions: hours, minutes, seconds
Limitation: 50 pieces
Price: CHF 137,850 Swiss francs
Audacity: Louis Vuitton Tambour Carpe Diem
GG: Absolutely no one I spoke with last week thought the Louis Vuitton Tambour Carpe Diem memento mori piece was attractive or particularly desirable, but it is both audacious and features some serious horological content so I’m on board with this pick.
Louis Vuitton Tambour Carpe Diem
ED: Well, it certainly is an audacious watch, and I have no doubt it will find buyers.
IS: Well picked, Gary!
JM: I forgot about the Audacity prize but given the context this watch makes perfect sense. It is a watch that takes a lot of guts to put such incredible mechanics to a clearly unique design, and that makes two wins for Louis Vuitton this year, another great achievement (and both for Tambour models). It may not be a daily-wear watch for me, but I would gladly rock it for the entire month of October if Louis Vuitton wanted to lend me one next year!
MG: If the Carpe Diem by Louis Vuitton didn’t win this prize, I wouldn’t know which other watch should. It is over the top, filled with intricate details, but also made with exceptional care and eye for detail. I am very taken by this watch and had the great joy of writing extensively about it here on Quill & Pad.
ED: These prizes – Audacity, Innovation, and Revelation – are discretionary, Martin, meaning they do not need to be given out. This meant that the jury felt moved to award it.
MG: In all honesty, together with the Bernhard Lederer Central Impulse Chronometer, these are the two watches that I would love to own and wear from this edition of the GPHG.
Further reading: Louis Vuitton Tambour Carpe Diem: A Striking Reminder To Make Every Precious Moment Count
Quick Facts Louis Vuitton Tambour Carpe Diem
Case: 46.8 x 14.42 mm, pink gold
Dial: sculpted snake head set with 2 rubies, black enamel with Monogram Flowers, sculpted skull and snake, curved hourglass, one brilliant-cut diamond (0.03 ct)
Movement: manually winding Caliber LV 525, 100 hours power reserve, 21,600 vph/3 Hz frequency
Functions: jumping hours, retrograde minutes; power reserve; Jacquemart animations for skull and snake, all on demand
Price: $459,000 / 465,000 Swiss francs
Horological Revelation: Furlan Marri Mr. Grey Ref. 1041-A
JM: Not sure how I feel about this one since it seemed like the “revelation” was using crowdfunding to help produce a watch – and a quartz watch at that. It is a good-looking watch, don’t get me wrong, and for the much wider population that doesn’t see a quartz watch as a second-tier timepiece, I think this watch is a fantastic value. It just doesn’t exactly do it for me. But this isn’t the “Grand Prix de Joshua Munchow.”
Furlan Marri Mr. Grey Ref. 1041-A
IS: This was an unfathomable pick for me. As nice as the Furlan Marri Mr. Grey looks, putting a Patek Philippe-inspired dial on a mecaquartz movement just doesn’t feel to me the type of watch that the GPHG should be promoting.
ED: I’m not sure I agree with that: watchmaking should be inclusive and for everyone, so an affordable watch has just as much right to be here as any other. And to make it affordable, it needs a non-haute horlogerie movement.
Whether we like it or not, this type of watch is very trendy at the moment. The Furlan Marri team was very smart in capitalizing on it this way, and the watch is extremely well executed. I do think there may be more than a little hype in play, though. And that was perhaps reflected in the Academy and jury choosing it.
IS: I’m not against this Furlan Marri because it’s affordable, Elizabeth, but because it’s a Patek Philippe knockoff. There’s nothing original about it.
GG: The only revelation in the Furlan Marri story is that it’s possible to construct a business model to make money from a quartz-powered, uncredited “homage” to a vintage Patek Philippe chronograph. It must be great not having to pay those pesky designers any money.
MG: When I google the meaning of revelation, I get “a surprising and previously unknown fact, especially one that is made known in a dramatic way.” Those are precisely all the things that the Furlan Marri isn’t. A Patek Philippe-inspired, vintage-looking, quartz-powered, 495 CHF watch that came from Kickstarter has in my opinion no business winning this category.
Quick Facts Furlan Marri Mr. Grey Ref. 1041-A
Case: 38 x 11.3 mm, stainless steel
Movement: Seiko mecaquartz
Functions: hours, minutes; chronograph, 24-hour display
Price: 495 Swiss francs
Special Jury Prize: Dubai Watch Week
IS: Fantastic choice and well merited. DWW has made watch fairs fun!
The main entrance to Dubai Watch Week
ED: No complaints from me whatsoever. This is a great choice!
JM: Despite its relatively short career thus far, Dubai Watch Week has become a mainstay of the international collecting community. And while a slightly odd choice to award a watch fair the Special Jury Award, it seems fitting in the context of watch appreciation. DWW is collector-oriented and those who follow the GPHG the most closely, outside of brands and journalists, are collectors. So this makes sense.
Aiguille d’Or: Bulgari Octo Finissimo Perpetual Calendar
IS: This was another complete surprise for me. I went for the De Bethune DB Kind of Two, and I could easily see the Miki Eleta Svemir clock winning here. But hats off to Bulgari, which was my close runner-up.
I wrote, “I’ve been a big fan of the Bulgari Octo Finissimo ever since the collection launched, and the Finissimo Perpetual Calendar doesn’t disappoint. While a perpetual calendar displaying retrograde date, day, month, and retrograde leap years is highly complicated in itself, packing it all into a case thinner than six millimeters is sheer genius. Plus, the dial looks clean and it’s easy to read all of the indications. The Finissimo Perpetual Calendar could easily win this category and it came very close to being my pick, but it’s my very close runner-up.”
Bulgari Octo Finissimo Perpetual Calendar in titanium
ED: I love how Joshua was the only one of us to bring this watch up in our Aiguille d’Or round table – it’s almost as if he knew – even if he didn’t pick it as his win. None of us did.
I’m sure that the arrival at this particular watch was the sum of the discussions that went on in the jury room. Not to take away from the watch at all, but it is slightly less spectacular in comparison with some others that were in competition. But as has been noted here before, there hasn’t been a really dominant piece in the competition at all. And the mechanics here are superb.
JM: This was definitely one piece I thought could win and it ended up taking the prize. I’m super happy for Bulgari and the Octo Finissimo line because it really is a winning combination. I was also not surprised simply because the Aiguille d’Or often tends to be a simpler watch than the ultra-complicated pieces, so an understated ultra-thin perpetual calendar fit right in with past winners. It also perfectly displays what the industry is about and where it is going. Definitely well deserved!
GG: Once again, a thin watch takes home the top prize. I picked a clock to win, which tells you something about the absence in my view of a dominant watch among this year’s finalists. Among our small traveling group of four Academy members, two chose the MB&F x Eddy Jaquet Legacy Machine Split Escapement Jules Verne Around the World in Eighty Days, a pre-existing reference amped up with an awe-inspiring display of artistic craft.
MG: It would be unfair to say that the Octo Finissimo Perpetual Calendar doesn’t deserve the Aiguille d’Or because it is by all means an imposing watch. In fact, it is groundbreaking. But I’m afraid that I have gotten too used to seeing its monochrome color scheme and angular design over the years. It also doesn’t help that I still think that the original, time-only Octo Finissimo is visually the most appealing of this line. Additional complications make the watch even more a mechanical marvel, but this is one creation that actually doesn’t need it.
Further reading:
Bulgari Octo Finissimo Perpetual Calendar: Time Really Is Ultra Thin!
Quick Facts Bulgari Octo Finissimo Perpetual Calendar
Case: 40 x 5.8 mm, blasted titanium or brushed platinum
Movement: automatic Caliber BVL 302, 60 hours power reserve, 28,800 vph/4 Hz, ultra-thin 2.75 mm in height
Functions: hours, minutes; perpetual calendar with retrograde date, day, month, retrograde leap year indication
Price: $59,000 (titanium) / 57,000 Swiss francs
So, how did we do with our predictions in the regular categories?
ED: For someone who’s actually been on that jury eight times (2012-2019), I ended up with a less-than-stellar balance of only four correct predictions. But the same goes for Gary, who was on the jury twice (2018-2019), and Ian, who has not yet had the pleasure.
I’m going to put that down to the much-evolved nature of the large, new Academy, which can make things somewhat more unpredictable.
Congratulations to Joshua and Martin with five correct predictions in the regular categories each.
Joshua Munchow: 5
Tourbillon: De Bethune DB Kind of Two Tourbillon
Challenge: Ciga Design Blue Planet
Mechanical Exception: Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Automatic
Men’s Complication: MB&F LMX
Ladies Complication: Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Féerie
Martin Green: 5
Chronograph: Zenith Chronomaster Sport
Artistic Crafts: MB&F x Eddy Jaquet LM Split Escapement Jules Verne Around the World in Eighty Days
Tourbillon: De Bethune DB Kind of Two Tourbillon
Calendar and Astronomy: Christiaan van der Klaauw Planetarium Eise Eisinga
Ladies Complication: Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Féerie
Ian Skellern: 4
Tourbillon: De Bethune DB Kind of Two Tourbillon
Petite Aiguille: Tudor Black Bay Ceramic
Artistic Crafts: MB&F x Eddy Jaquet LM Split Escapement Jules Verne Around the World in Eighty Days
Ladies: Piaget Limelight Gala Precious Rainbow
GaryG: 4
Tourbillon: De Bethune DB Kind of Two Tourbillon
Petite Aiguille: Tudor Black Bay Ceramic
Artistic Crafts: MB&F x Eddy Jaquet LM Split Escapement Jules Verne Around the World in Eighty Days
Ladies Complication: Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Féerie
Elizabeth Doerr: 4
Tourbillon: De Bethune DB Kind of Two Tourbillon
Calendar and Astronomy: Christiaan van der Klaauw Planetarium Eise Eisinga
Men’s Complication: MB&F LMX
Ladies Complication: Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Féerie
You may also enjoy:
Bulgari Octo Finissimo Perpetual Calendar: Time Really Is Ultra Thin!
MB&F x Eddy Jaquet Legacy Machine Split Escapement Jules Verne Around the World in Eighty Days
MB&F Legacy Machines: 10th Anniversary Retrospective And LMX
Louis Vuitton Tambour Carpe Diem: A Striking Reminder To Make Every Precious Moment Count
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I think…no, I know, that I have met the limit for reading praise for MB&F! I understand that watchmaking benefits from la différence, but the same question passes through my tiny brain every time I see them: who the *hell* buys and wears these?!
Maybe it helps to know Max! 😉
That’s an interesting comment, one I don’t think I’ve heard before! You would be surprised how many people buy and wear them . . . and meanwhile there is a watch for every taste in the MB&F collection. While I was not enamored in a personal way of the first Machines, and would never have worn them even for free, as soon as the Legacy Machines came along I was hooked – and have lusted after one ever since. Yes, spending time with Max or pretty much anyone from his core team is definitely a bonus and will get even the stoniest hearts enthusiastic. But that’s not why we love this brand.
Have you ever worn one?
You’d have to pay me to do that.
I kid!
This is not meant to be facetious, but having seen many photos and videos of the clockwork domes teetering on wrists, I think by this point in life I can reliably judge that they resemble a sort of fancy, novelty paperweight, and I have a similar surfeit of doubt that trying it on would transform that opinion, as going to the Arctic circle would reveal the existence of Santa. 😉
LOL, okay. Not everything is for everyone.