Ian’s Predicted Winners of the 2024 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG)
by Ian Skellern
Well it’s that time of the year again: the 2024 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG). It’s a mixed bag this year with a few excellent short listed watches and many that have me scratching my head wondering what they are doing here.
There still seems to be quite a bit of confusion regarding the Time Only category as to why some time only watches are categorized ‘Time Only’ and other time only watches are in the Men’s and Women’s categories.
The following watches qualify for the Time Only category but are not in the Time Only category: Hermès Cut (Ladies), Grand Seiko Manual-winding Hi-Beat 36000 (Men’s), Hajime Asaoka Tsunami “Art Deco” (Men’s), and the Parmigiani Fleurier Toric Petite Seconde Platinum (Men’s).
If there’s a method to this madness it would be nice if the GPHG committee explained it.
Here are my predictions for the winners, let us know your throughts in the comments below.
Ladies’ category
Ladies’ watches: women’s watches comprising the following indications only – hours, minutes, seconds, simple date (day of the month), power reserve, classic moon phases – and potentially adorned with a maximum 9-carat gemsetting.
Ladies’ finalists in the 2024 GPHG
Predicted winner: the Hermès Cut.
Hermès Cut
Runners up: Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Jour Nuit and Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Automatic 36mm Diamonds Set
Ladies’ Complication category
Ladies’ Complication : feminine watches that are remarkable in terms of their mechanical creativity and complexity. These watches may feature all kinds of classic and/or innovative complications and indications (e.g. annual calendar, perpetual calendar, equation of time, complex moon phases, tourbillon, chronograph, world time, dual time or other types of model) and do not fit the definition of the Ladies’ and Mechanical Exception categories.
Ladies’ Complication finalists in the 2024 GPHG
Predicted winner: Fabergé Compliquée Butterfly Blooms Sincere Platinum Jubilee Edition
Fabergé Compliquée Butterfly Blooms Sincere Platinum Jubilee Edition – hours indicated by the butterfly’s wing tips
Runners up: Trilobe The Exquisite Hour Secret Unique Piece and Louis Vuitton Tambour Slim Vivienne Jumping Hours Sakura
Time Only category
Time Only: watches with two or three hands and no gemsetting, bearing exclusively analogue time indications: hours, minutes, seconds.
Time Only finalists in the 2024 GPHG
Predicted winner: Chopard L.U.C Qualité Fleurier
Chopard L.U.C Qualité Fleurier
Runners up: Czapek Goutte d’Eau and Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Micro-Rotor No date
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Men’s category
Men’s: masculine watches comprising the following indications only – hours, minutes, seconds, simple date (day of the month), power reserve indication, classic moon phases – and that may potentially feature a digital/retrograde display or be adorned with a maximum 9-carat gemsetting.
Men’s finalists in the 2024 GPHG
Predicted winner: Voutilainen KV20i Reversed – because it’s yet another sensational Voutilainen.
Voutilainen KV20i Reversed
Runners up: Parmigiani Fleurier Toric Petite Seconde Platinum and Grand Seiko Manual-winding Hi-Beat 36000
Special mention: Garrick S3 MK2
Men’s Complication category
Men’s Complication: masculine watches that are remarkable in terms of their mechanical creativity and complexity. These watches may feature all kinds of classic and/or innovative complications and indications (e.g. world time, dual time or other types of model) and do not fit the definition of the Men’s and Mechanical Exception categories.
Men’s Complication finalists in the 2024 GPHG
De Bethune DB Kind Of Grande Complication
Predicted winner: De Bethune DB Kind Of Grande Complication. And if that wins the Aiguille d’Or or Mechanical Exception (as it is likely to), then I think the Chopard L.U.C Strike One will take this prize.
Chopard L.U.C Strike One
Runner up: Franck Muller Long Island Evolution Master Jumper
Question: why is the time only ArtyA Purity Central Tourbillon Blue is the Complication category and not in the Tourbillon category?
Iconic category
Iconic: watches stemming from an emblematic collection or model that has been exercising a lasting influence on watchmaking history and the watch market for more than 20 years or offering a contemporary reinterpretation.
Iconic finalists in the 2024 GPHG
Predicted winner: While I would love the Urwerk UR-102 Reloaded to win, I’m not sure that the jury will find it Iconic enough. So my predicted winner is the Piaget Piaget Polo 79.
Piaget Polo 79
Runners up:Hublot Classic Fusion Original Yellow Gold 29 mm and Breitling Navitimer B12 Chronograph 41 Cosmonaute
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Tourbillon category
Tourbillon: mechanical watches comprising at least one tourbillon. Additional indications and/or complications are admissible.
Tourbillon finalists in the 2024 GPHG
Predicted winner: While my own pick is the Rémy Cools Tourbillon Atelier and it’s usually dangerous to bet against Kari Voutilainen, I think that the Daniel Roth Tourbillon Souscription will take the prize here.
Daniel Roth Tourbillon Souscription
Runners up: Chopard L.U.C 1860 Flying Tourbillon and Voutilainen Tourbillon 20th Anniversary.
Calendar and Astronomy category
Calendar and Astronomy: mechanical watches comprising at least one calendar and/or astronomical complication (e.g. date, annual calendar, perpetual calendar, equation of time, complex moon phases display, etc.). Additional indications and/or complications are admissible.
Calendar and Astronomy finalists in the 2024 GPHG
Predicted winner: Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Hijri Perpetual Calendar
Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Hijri Perpetual Calendar
Runners up: H. Moser & Cie Endeavour Chinese Calendar and Anton Suhanov Chronotope
Mechanical Exception category
Mechanical Exception: watches featuring a special mechanism, such as an innovative or sophisticated display, an automaton, a striking or any other acoustic function, a special escapement, a belt-driven movement or comprising another original and/or exceptional horological concept.
Mechanical Exception finalists in the 2024 GPHG
While I’d love to see the MB&F HM11 Architect take this just for the furor it would cause and the kudos it would bring to avant-garde haute horlogerie, I suspect it is too radical to be a serious contender.
Predicted winner: Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Ultra COSC
Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Ultra COSC – 1.7 mm thick!
Runner up: Bovet 1822 Récital 28 Prowess 1 and Hermès Arceau Duc Attelé.
Chronograph category
Chronograph: mechanical watches comprising at least one chronograph indication. Additional indications and/or complications are admissible.
Chronograph finalists in the 2024 GPHG
Predicted winner: Louis Vuitton x Rexhep Rexhepi LVRR-01 Chronographe à Sonnerie
Double faced Louis Vuitton x Rexhep Rexhepi LVRR-01 Chronographe à Sonnerie
Runner up: Massena Lab Chronograph Monopoussoir Sylvain Pinaud x Massena Lab
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Sports category
Sports: watches linked to the world of sport, whose functions, materials and design are suited to physical exercise.
Sports Chronograph finalists in the 2024 GPHG.
Predicted winner: Singer Reimagined Divetrack
Singer Reimagined Divetrack
Runners up: Tudor Pelagos FXD Chrono “Cycling Edition” and Ming 37.09 Bluefin.
Jewellery
Jewellery: watches demonstrating exceptional mastery of the art of jewellery and gemsetting, and also distinguished by the choice of stones.
Jewellery finalists in the 2024 GPHG.
Predicted winner: Chopard Laguna High-Jewellery Secret Watch
Chopard Laguna High-Jewellery Secret Watch
Runners up: Bvlgari Fenice High-Jewelry secret watch and Piaget Aura High Jewellery watch.
Artistic Crafts
Artistic Crafts: watches demonstrating exceptional mastery of one or several artistic techniques such as enamelling, lacquering, engraving, guilloché (engine-turning), skeleton-working, etc.
Artistic Crafts finalists in the 2024 GPHG
Predicted winner: Hermès Arceau Chorus Stellarum
Hermès Arceau Chorus Stellarum
Runners up: Louis Vuitton Escale Cabinet of Wonders Snake’s Jungle and Chopard L.U.C Quattro Spirit 25 Year of the Dragon
Petite Aiguille
Petite Aiguille: watches with a retail price between CHF 3,000 and CHF 10,000. Smartwatches are admissible in this category.
Petite Aiguille finalists in the 2024 GPHG
Predicted winner: Tudor Black Bay 58 GMT, because Tudor always wins.
Tudor Black Bay 58 GMT
Runners up: Amida Take Off Edition and Christiaan Van Der Klaauw Ariadne
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Challenge category
Challenge: watches with a retail price equal to or under CHF 3,000. Smartwatches are admissible in this category.
Challenge finalists in the 2024 GPHG
My predicted winner: Spaceone Tellurium
Spaceone Tellurium
Runners up: Frédérique Constant Slimline Moonphase Date Manufacture seconde/seconde/
Audacity Prize (discretionary)
This prize rewards the best competing timepiece featuring a non-conformist, offbeat approach to watchmaking. It is intended to foster creative audacity. This prize is discretionary and the Jury will decide whether there are grounds for awarding it in 2024.
MB&F HM11 Architect
Predicted winner: MB&F HM11 Architect
“Horological Revelation” Prize (discretionary)
This prize rewards a competing timepiece created by a young brand (less than ten years of existence since its first model was commercialised). This prize is discretionary and the Jury will decide whether there are grounds for awarding it in 2024.
Garrick S3 MK2
Predicted winner: Garrick S3 MK2
Chronometry Prize (discretionary)
This prize rewards the best competing timepiece that stands out for its remarkable precision timekeeping performance (special escapement or distinctive regulating device) and which is officially certified (ISO 3159 standards) by an inspection authority such as the COSC, TIMELAB, Besançon Observatory, etc. This prize is discretionary and the Jury will decide whether there are grounds for awarding it in 2024.
Bernhard Lederer 3 Times Certified Observatory Chronometer
Predicted winner: Bernhard Lederer 3 Times Certified Observatory Chronometer
Runners up: Nobody else is even close
Eco-innovation Prize
This prize rewards the best competing timepiece featuring significant developments linked to sustainability: traceability, ethics, materials, etc. This prize is discretionary and the Jury will decide whether there are grounds for awarding it in 2024.
Chopard L.U.C Qualité Fleurier
Predicted winner: Chopard L.U.C Qualité Fleurier (or any other Chopard)
Aiguilles d’Or
Aiguille d’Or Grand Prix: this prize rewards the best overall timepiece among all categories (Best in Show), also deemed the most representative of the watch industry as a whole. It is the most prestigious award.
Predicted winner: De Bethune DB Kind Of Grande Complication but it will be a photo finish with the Louis Vuitton x Rexhep Rexhepi.
Runners up: Louis Vuitton x Rexhep Rexhepi LVRR-01 Chronographe à Sonnerie and Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Ultra COSC
For more information on all of these watches, please visit www.gphg.org/horlogerie/en/gphg-2023/nominated-timepieces
And don’t forget you can watch the GPHG action live Thursday night here on Quill & Pad.
Let us know who you think should win in the comments below.
You might also enjoy:
MB&F HM11 Architect: Revisiting the Future
An Incredible 6 Parmigiani Fleurier Watches Shortlisted in the 2024 GPHG
Czapek & Cie Promenade Collection: Ripples and Rays
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Hi Ian, after a slow start you hit a hot streak before slowing again, I make it 5 of 15. Think I predicted 7, agreeing with your first three correct picks. My question, any surprises for you? For me it was Laurent Ferrier – it’s beautiful but just wasn’t on my radar – and Ming – I just can’t accept a dive watch without numbers. All the best, Ed
Hi Ed, I tallied correct predictions for 7: I predicted wins for the Voutilainen KV20i Reversed, De Bethune DB Kind Of Grande Complication, Piaget Piaget Polo 79, Daniel Roth Tourbillon Souscription, Chopard Laguna High-Jewellery Secret Watch, Bernhard Lederer 3 Times Certified Observatory Chronometer, and Chopard L.U.C Qualité Fleurier:
My biggest surprise was the big when for IWC, I didn’t see that coming at all. I was also surprised by the Otsuka Lotec No.6 winning the Challenge prize, but I haven’t handled it myself.
Regards, Ian
Apologies I hadn’t counted the two optional awards. Agreed, IWC wouldn’t have been in my top 3 for the grande prize but it does feel worthy. I understand they’ve slimmed it (personal annoyance with IWC is their slab sided cases), the ‘eternal’ moon phase moves the game forward and it’s a good use of sapphire on the dial. I genuinely thought LV would get at least one award, there’s always next year…