It’s that time of the year again – the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) is around the corner. An annual award ceremony for the luxury watchmaking industry, the event crowns the year’s best timepieces across 15 categories. With many independent watchmakers in the mix, we have had the privilege to handle some of the watches amongst the short-listed nominees.

With the GPHG every year, the winners of each category provide a window into how some of the industry’s top watchmakers, executives, and collectors vote on the superlatives. It is however the short-list that gives us a better general overview of the state of the industry. What brands consider and submit as their own “best in show,” whether there are certain aesthetics that dominate categories, as well as which (if any) unusual complications have found their way into the “Mechanical Exception” category.

New Kids On The Block

It’s nice to see some fresh faces, especially amongst independent watchmakers. Sylvain Pinaud’s Origine in the Men’s Timepiece category carries an original, asymmetric dial and well-finished movement. It’s the watchmaker’s first timepiece under his own name, and we’re sure that it won’t be his last! Same can be said for the young, French indie, Theo Auffret. The Tourbillon Grand Sport sits in the same category as tourbillons from Audemars Piguet, Greubel Forsey, and Grand Seiko, yet we won’t be surprised if it’s selected as the winner in that group. With sapphire dial, a torque indicator, and exquisitely finished components, the future is very bright for the 27-year-old watchmaker in Paris regardless of the voting outcome for this year’s awards.

Sylvain Pinaud’s Origine (Credits: Sylvain Pinaud)

Our favorites from the past year and why

For the purposes of this review, we will pick three but could easily quadruple that number. There are so many excellent creations across all 15 categories, especially from the veterans and new faces amongst the indies.

As far as we’re concerned, these three would be our votes for winners in each of their respective categories.

MB&F Legacy Machine Sequential EVO in Chronograph

We saw this timepiece in the metal while at Geneva Watch Days last month. Though it is technically a chronograph, competing in that category for the award, it feels like a haute complication. This is the Pagani of chronographs – hyper-complex and sporty with a water- and shock-resistant EVO case. Our sense is that if it doesn’t win in the chronograph category, it could win 2-3 other categories like Mechanical Exception and Complication.

MB&F Legacy Machine Sequential EVO (Credits: MB&F)

Armin Storm Orbit in Men’s Complication

Huge admirers of this timepiece when it was released earlier this year, the Armin Strom Orbit is a highly original reimagining of the most ubiquitous complication in the industry, the date function. An on-off pusher activates the date, indicated along the bezel, with a massive retrograde hand that jumps from its “off” position at 12 o’clock to the current date. From the perspective of creativity alone, it’s rare to see date mechanisms in any form other than their usual date-windows or on the periphery of the dial. It may not be an haute complication amongst other timepieces in the same category, but it deserves the award for breathing new life into the most standard complication in all watchmaking.

AkriviA Chronomètre Contemporain II in Men’s Watch

We’ve been fans of Rexhep Rexhepi’s approach to watchmaking since his earliest days. Passion, youth, and an impeccable eye for modern and classical watches, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that our bet is on his latest, the Chronomètre Contemporain II, for the Men’s Watch category. We spoke with Rexhep at length about this timepiece, the evolution from its predecessor, as well as the challenges that went into crafting this timepiece. It’s a beautiful timepiece that delivers on the high expectations set by the first Chronomètre Contemporain and has surely pushed Rexhep to learn and continue his growth as a watchmaker.

Arnold & Son Luna Magna Platinum Meteorite & Opal

In the Astrology and Calendar category, Arnold & Son’s Luna Magna Platinum release ticks all the boxes for our vote. Visible on both the dial and movement end of the timepiece, the sheer massiveness of the three-dimensional moon stands out amongst others. Compared to earlier editions, there’s something about the combination of meteorite dial with sand-color finish, the extra-shiny platinum case, and fully lumed three-dimensional moon and dial that elevate the timepiece to its next level.

Notes on the best of the best in watchmaking

Looking at the short list of candidates, there are a few things that stand out:

Parmigiani Fleurier is back and on a tear with its latest releases. The Tonda collection, one of the brand’s’ mainstays for ages, was revamped in 2020 with the transition to the Tonda PF Collection. The Tonda PF Micro-Rotor, Tonda PF Flying Tourbillon, and Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante are all in the running for awards and exceptional timepieces. With the arrival of their new CEO, Guido Terreni, Parmigiani stands out as one of the brands with the most exciting timepieces from 2022.

Parmigiani Fleurier with 6 nominations in various categories (Credits: Parmigiani Fleurier)

For the last decade, since the Meylan Family took over H. Moser & Cie, it’s easy to see that they have built tremendous momentum as a business. You can see their success in the watches that they are creating now. With the release of the Pioneer Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton (in the Tourbillon Category), they have moved into creating highly technical designs and complications – timepieces that simply require capital-intensive research and development. While the brand has retained the hallmark fumé dial and focus on technical hairsprings in the Pioneer Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton, the skeletonization elevates the brand to unseen heights. There is an evolution happening slowly before our eyes, and it’s moving in an exciting direction.

H. Moser & Cie’s Pioneer Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton (in the Tourbillon Category) (Credits: H. Moser & Cie)

The Men’s Mechanical Exception category reaffirms Jean-François Mojon’s input, discussed in greater depth in an upcoming article. At least for now, the sandbox for complications in the watch industry is well defined. The cast of usual suspects includes tourbillons, split-second chronographs, minute repeaters, and perpetual calendars while more esoteric complications, yet still well within the history of watchmaking, include resonance mechanisms and astronomical complications. In the future, some watchmaker or brand will once again push into new territory when it comes to complications and everyone should be excited for that day’s arrival.

For experimental purposes, it would be interesting to see GPHG push all complications into a single category. Would classical haute complications win out amongst judges against more “everyday” complications or unusual complications like the Hermès Arceau Le temps Voyageur? After decades of fabricating and tinkering with the display of time through the same set of tourbillons, split-second chronographs, minute repeaters and various combinations of all the above, the novelty of new complications may dethrone “old guard” complications.

The Hermès Arceau Le temps Voyageur (Credits: Hermès)

Skeletonized watches are very en vogue, and for good reason. They are modern, open-worked movements ooze fine watchmaking, and they crossover well in both sporty and dress settings. Maybe it’s because modern computer-assisted design software has opened new, beautiful possibilities, or maybe it’s simply something larger in the Zeitgeist. One way or the other, it’s striking that 5 of the 6 candidates for the Tourbillon Category are all distinctly modern, skeletonized timepieces and that they come from 5 separate brands, both small indies and big maisons.

We’re keen to hear additional takeaways from the short-list, especially when it comes to trends in the industry as a whole or observations on specific brands. Comment your thoughts on our Instagram, and stay tuned for the winners coming in the next few weeks. The GPHG Award Ceremony will be held in Geneva on November 10, 2022.

GPHG 2022 – thoughts and favorites from the past year in watchmaking