As proud as I am to serve on the jury of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG), I know I’m not the most objective person to talk about it. But a weekly editorial note is, by its very nature, coloured by opinion and personality. Without them, you’d be reading a data report.
It’s my third year on the jury, a blink of an eye compared to the tenures of some of our more veteran members. Three years, I think, is a good amount of time, though — short enough to still feel excited about everything, just long enough to develop some perspective.
The initial pool of 196 competing watches was announced a week ago. Every year I’m heartened to see more companies participating and more watches being entered, but we’ve still got some distance to go before we can say that the GPHG is truly representative of our industry. The absence of some key players has always caused me significant bafflement, because I believe in the importance of coming together in such an event. As an industry, we need to collectively honour the efforts that advance us as a whole, the creations that embody the values we want to be defined by.
The GPHG is constantly evolving, which is actually one of its greatest strengths. I can understand the instinct to remain apart from something that hasn’t yet found its final form, but I do not share this instinct. I feel that it runs counter to the driving spirit that is behind much of watchmaking — indeed of any endeavour that puts something new out in the world, something that was not there before. Why wait for the world to change, when you can change it yourself?
As I said at the very beginning, I know I’m not the most objective person to speak about the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève. But objectivity is reserved for the things that are measurable, that are quantifiable. And although the GPHG is a competition whose outcome is predicated on a system of scores, there is nothing measurable or quantifiable about the passion that the best examples of watchmaking can inspire in us.
The GPHG is where we celebrate the creations that set our hearts on fire. It’s time for these creations, wherever they are, to find their place with those who love them. It’s time for them to come home.
