And the 72 pre-selected watches are...

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And the 72 pre-selected watches are... - GPHG 2015
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For its 15th edition, the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève unveils a selection of models highly representative of Fine Watchmaking. Which brands are already winners?

On September 1st, in keeping with the regulations, the Foundation of the GPHG posted on its website the 72 watches selected by the 26 members of the international jury that will convene before the prize-giving ceremony on October 29th to choose the winners in each of the 12 categories. The first clearly visible fact is that all the watch groups are represented, as are the major independent brands and various small niche players, spread across a number of segments. As in any competition, there are winners and losers (see the 72 selected watches here).

Let’s focus on the winners. Generally speaking, being selected is in itself a first victory. The six watches chosen in each category earn worldwide recognition as well as media coverage, and are exhibited in various cities around the world, in this instance Dubai, Hong Kong, Seoul and Geneva. Among the brands whose watches will appear in showcases designed by the students of the HEAD - Geneva University of Art and Design - some stand out by the sheer number of creations that appealed to the jury. This particular honour roll is topped by Piaget with no less than six watches selected! Absent from the GPHG last year, Piaget has managed to place its models among the top six in the Ladies’, Ladies’ High Mech, Men’s (the most competitive with 32 candidates), Chronograph, Jewellery and Artistic Crafts categories, thereby powerfully showcasing the breadth of its expertise.

Piaget

Blancpain, Bulgari and Hermès are right behind with four watches selected each, followed by Hublot and Montblanc with three watches apiece, and then Chaumet, Christophe Claret, Girard-Perregaux, Harry Winston, Jaquet Droz and Zenith, that will each see two watches travel to the Dubai Watch Week organised by the GPHG and the retailer Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons.

Bulgari

They are right there in the mix
This first result must be particularly pleasing for Tiffany & Co, which has just launched a global operation designed to recapture the watch market, notably symbolised by the May opening of a flagship store in Geneva, and now by the selection of its Annual Calendar CT60. A longstanding loyal participant in the GPHG, Bovet has been singled out in the most crowded category after that of Men’s watches: the Tourbillon, with 24 candidates. Former prize-winners A. Lange & Söhne, de Grisogono, DeWitt, Greubel Forsey, HYT, Laurent Ferrier,  Romain Gauthier, Seiko and TAG Heuer will also be part of the Middle and Far Eastern tour that will culminate in Geneva at the Cité du Temps. They will be accompanied by timepieces from such diverse brands as Claude Meylan, Longines, Louis Moinet and Louis Vuitton, to mention only the WorldTempus partner brands.

Tiffany & Co

Check out the entire selection and take part in the prediction competition here (which should not be confused with the official Public Prize vote that may be cast via this link).

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