Good enough to eat – literally

You Are There: Breguet’s Art And Innovation In Watchmaking Exhibition

I had the privilege of being invited to the recent pre-opening gala for the San Francisco exhibition of the works of Abraham-Louis Breguet.

Since the foundation of my collecting passion has a lot to do with gaining access to the behind the scenes world of watches, I made a point of shuffling my “day job” schedule to attend. And now you can come along.

Striking watches pre-selected for the 2015 GPHG. Clockwise from top left: A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk Minute Repeater, Akrivia Tourbillon Chiming Jump Hour, Girard-Perregaux Minute Repeater Tourbillon with Gold Bridges, Hublot Big Bang Alarm Repeater, Franc Vila Inaccessible Tourbillon Minute Repeater and Christophe Claret Allegro

Quill & Pad’s Predictions For The Striking Category Of The 2015 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève

Welcome to the 2015 edition of Quill & Pad’s early Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) predictions in which we pick our favorites and explain why. The six pre-selected finalists in the Striking category are the A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk Minute Repeater, Akrivia Tourbillon Chiming Jump Hour, Christophe Claret Allegro, Franc Vila Inaccessible Tourbillon Minute Repeater, Girard-Perregaux Minute Repeater Tourbillon with Gold Bridges, and the Hublot Big Bang Alarm Repeater.

Chronograph watches pre-selected for the 2015 GPHG. Clockwise from top left: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Laptimer Michael Schumacher, Longines The Longines Column-Wheel Single Push-Piece Chronograph, Louis Moinet Memoris, Tag Heuer Carrera Calibre 18 Chronograph, Piaget Altiplano Chrono, and Montblanc Heritage Chronométrie ExoTourbillon Minute Chronograph Vasco da Gama

Quill & Pad’s Predictions For The Chronograph Category Of The 2015 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève

Welcome to the 2015 edition of Quill & Pad’s early Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) predictions in which we pick our favorites and explain why. The six pre-selected finalists in the Chronograph category are: Louis Moinet Memoris, Montblanc Heritage Chronométrie ExoTourbillon Minute Chronograph Vasco da Gama, Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Laptimer Michael Schumacher, Longines Column-Wheel Single Push-Piece Chronograph, Piaget Altiplano Chrono, and the TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 18 Chronograph.

Anita Porchet at the 175 anniversary of Patek Philippe in 2014

The 2015 Gaïa Awards: Giulio Papi, Anita Porchet, And Jonathan Betts Honored

In 1993, the Musée International d’Horlogerie in La Chaux-de-Fonds (MIH) created the Gaïa Award to honor the memory of one of the earliest partrons of the museum, Maurice Ditisheim. In sharp contrast to the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, which can be seen more as the Academy Awards or Oscars, the Gaïa has often been called the Nobel Prize of the watch industry. Anita Porchet is not the only deserving laureate this year. Giulio Papi and Jonathan Betts have also been honored.

High Mech Ladies watches pre-selected for the 2015 GPHG. Clockwise from top left: Fabergé Lady Compliquée Peacock, Jaquet Droz Lady 8 Flower, Montblanc Bohème Perpetual Calendar Jewellery, Piaget Altiplano 1200S, Chaumet Hortensia Creative Complication, and Bulgari Il Giardino Notturno

Quill & Pad’s Predictions For The Ladies’ High-Mech Category Of The 2015 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève

Welcome to the 2015 edition of Quill & Pad’s early Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) predictions in which we pick our favorites and explain why. The six pre-selected finalists in the Ladies’ High-Mech category are the Bulgari Il Giardino Notturno, Chaumet’s Hortensia Creative Complication, Fabergé’s Lady Compliquée Peacock, the Jaquet Droz Lady 8 Flower, the Montblanc Bohème Perpetual Calendar Jewellery, and the Piaget Altiplano 1200S.

Calendar watches pre-selected for the 2015 GPHG. Clockwise from top left: Hermès Slim d'Hermès QP, Blancpain Villeret, Quantième Complet, Claude Meylan Full Calendar, Ulysse Nardin FreakLab, Tiffany & Co CT60 Annual Calendar, and Hublot Classic Fusion Aeromoon

Quill & Pad’s Predictions For The Calendar Category Of The 2015 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève

Welcome to the 2015 edition of Quill & Pad’s early Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) predictions in which we pick our favorites and explain why. The six pre-selected finalists in the Calendar category are: Blancpain’s Villeret Quantième Complet, the Claude Meylan Full Calendar, Hermès’ soon-to-be-iconic Slim d’Hermès QP, Hublot’s Classic Fusion Aeromoon, the Tiffany & Co CT60 Annual Calendar, and Ulysse Nardin’s FreakLab.

Tourbillon watches pre-selected for the 2015 GPHG. Clockwise from top left: Antoine Preziuso Tourbillon of Tourbillons, Blancpain L-evolution C, Tourbillon Carrousel, Bovet 1822 Braveheart, MB&F Horological Machine N°6, Ulysse Nardin Ulysse Anchor Tourbillon and Greubel Forsey Tourbillon 24 Secondes Vision

Quill & Pad’s Predictions For The Tourbillon Category Of The 2015 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève

The six pre-selected finalists in the Tourbillon category of the 2015 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève are: the Ulysse Nardin Ulysse Anchor Tourbillon, Greubel Forsey Tourbillon 24 Secondes Vision, MB&F HM6 Space Pirate, Antoine Preziuso Tourbillon of Tourbillons, and the Bovet 1822 Braveheart. Here are our picks and why.

Men's watches pre-selected for the 2015 GPHG shown clockwise from top left: Bulgari Octo Finissimo Small Seconds, Laurent Ferrier Galet Square, Louis Vuitton Escale Time Zone, Voutilainen GMR, MB&F HMX, and Piaget Altiplano 900P

Quill & Pad’s Predictions For The Men’s Category Of The 2015 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève

Welcome to the 2015 edition of Quill & Pad’s early Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) predictions in which we pick our favorites and explain why. The six pre-selected finalists in the Men’s category are: MB&F’s anniversary HMX, the Laurent Ferrier Galet Square, Kari Voutilainen’s beautifully finished Voutilainen GMR, the Louis Vuitton Escale Time Zone, and Piaget’s Altiplano 900P, currently the thinnest mechanical watch in the world.

Ladies watches pre-selected for the 2015 GPHG. Clockwise from top left: Hermès Arceau Petite Lune with diamonds, DeLaneau Rondo 42 Peony, Hublot Big Bang Broderie, Audemars Piguet Millenary, Ulysse Nardin Jade, and Piaget Limelight Gala

Quill & Pad’s Predictions For The Ladies Category Of The 2015 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève

Welcome to the 2015 edition of Quill & Pad’s early Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) predictions in which we pick our favorites and explain why. The six pre-selected finalists in the Ladies category are: Delaneau’s Rondo 42 Peony, the in-house Ulysse Nardin Jade, Hublot’s Big Bang Broderie, the Piaget Limelight Gala, the all-new Audemars Piguet Millenary, and the wonderfully crafted and priced Hermès Arceau Petite Lune with diamonds.

Tourbillon watches pre-selected for the 2015 GPHG. Clockwise from top left: Antoine Preziuso Tourbillon of Tourbillons, Blancpain L-evolution C, Tourbillon Carrousel, Bovet 1822 Braveheart, MB&F Horological Machine N°6, Ulysse Nardin Ulysse Anchor Tourbillon and Greubel Forsey Tourbillon 24 Secondes Vision

Complete List And Photos Of All Pre-Selected Watches In The 2015 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève

The Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) has just published the list of 2015’s pre-selected watches in the run-up to the big red carpet event in Geneva on October 29. The pre-selected watches will go on a world tour that includes stops in Hong Kong, Seoul, Dubai, Geneva, and London in October and November. But enough preamble, let’s have a look at the watches that are now in serious contention to take home big prizes this year.