Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) is coming of age. At Its 25th edition, where the grand prize Aiguille d’Or went to Breguet for the Classique Souscription 2025, has grown up from a rather regional Francophile affair into a global event to be reckoned with. Thanks to 1,055 Academy online-voting members around the world, 90 watches were nominated in 15 categories – All winning watches you can see here.
This list of winners reflects both the global approach of the Swiss industry and the fact that more and more brands – or at least microbrands – choose to create haute horlogerie outside of Switzerland. Just look at a brand like Chinese Fam Al Hut who received the Audacity Prize for the Möbius model, or Anton Suhanov, who received the Horological revelation prize for his St. Petersburg Easter Egg Tourbillon Clock. This fits hand in glove with the main purpose of the Foundation of the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG): “to highlight and yearly reward the most remarkable contemporary creations and promote the watchmaking art worldwide. But these two prizes aside, it was a Swiss affair.
A dominating trend was the dominance of independents – a third of the 20 prizes went to indie brands – for instance the “Petite Aiguille” Watch Prize went to M.A.D. Editions, M.A.D.2 Green, and the Men’s Watch Prize to Urban Jürgensen, with the UJ-2: Double wheel natural escapement. Big brands also won fair share of prizes. The Scheufele family of Chopard went home with two trophies, the Sports Watch Prize for the Alpine Eagle 41 SL Cadence 8HF, and the Ladies’ Complication Watch Prize for the Imperiale Four Seasons. Italian flair combined with Swiss mastery was also awarded, as the Tourbillon Watch Prize went to Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon.
The Prizes reflected several strong tendencies in the watch industry: blue dials (Chronometry Prize: Zenith, G.F.J. Calibre 135), openworked (Tourbillon Watch Prize: Bvlgari, Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon), stone dials (Challenge Watch Prize: Dennison, Natural Stone Tiger Eye In Gold), green dials (“Petite Aiguille” Watch Prize: M.A.D. Editions, M.A.D.2 Green), marquetry (Artistic Crafts Watch Prize: Voutilainen, 28GML SOUYOU), and reworked classics (Iconic Watch Prize: Audemars Piguet, Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar and the Sports Watch Prize: Chopard, Alpine Eagle 41 SL Cadence 8HF)
Designer Manu Gueit, designer of the winning Dennison watch in the Challenge Watch Prize, feels that there is one thing missing. “It is a shame that many of the big brands are not in. Because behind every brand there is a lot of employers that are very happy to go to work every morning. They should be celebrated as well, and this Grand Prix doesn’t celebrate the CEO or designers, it celebrates the whole team of the brands.
With a total of 13 prizes t is almost a tradition of the GPHG to see Kari Voutilainen on the stage accepting a prize. This year he received the Artistic Crafts Watch Prize for the Voutilainen, 28GML SOUYOU, and the Men’s Watch Prize for Urban Jürgensen’s UJ-2: Double wheel natural escapement. “GPHG is a competition, but also a get-together event for the whole industry. It is important to see all these colleagues, to have the industry together,” said Kari Voutilainen.
Speaking to watch journalist Beth Doerr on the red carpet prior to the ceremony, she predicted both these prizes, as well as the Mechanical Exception Watch Prize which went to Greubel Forsey for the Nano Foudroyante. Perhaps because she has been part of the jury eight times? To Ms. Doerr GPHG 2025 was one of the strongest editions ever in its 25-year history. “This year was amazing with so much creativity and beauty,” she said.
Raymond Loretan, president of the Fondation de Grand Prix explained that the foundation’s neutrality and impartiality is part of the legitimacy of the Grand Prix. “Sometimes big houses win, sometimes newcomers, sometimes new watchmakers. There is no blueprint. Because the jury changes every year, there are new eyes judging the watches every year – so every time it is a big surprise,” he said to Worldtempus.
And what about the event itself? This year held at the grand Batiment des Forces Montrices; the event also included tickets for the foyer with big screens to increase the number of invitees. Invited guests also gathered at the GMT/Worldtempus event at the neighbouring Halles de l'Île, which offered screens and generous flying to the attending guests. As GMT and Worldtempus are media partners of the GPHG Halles de l'Île also became the official after party for the whole event, with celebrations going on into the small hours.
