Winning this award marks a true milestone for our company. It is the confirmation of a journey that began ten years ago, validating all our research and development work around calendars since the creation, in the 1980s, of the brilliant crown perpetual calendar imagined by Kurt Klaus. This recognition also highlights our expertise in high watchmaking. At the moment of the announcement, I flashed back to everything we had accomplished.
In your opinion, what has the GPHG brought to the watch industry over the past 25 years?
The Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève is often dubbed the “Oscars of Swiss watchmaking,” and this title is well-deserved. This exceptional event has no equivalent: each year, it brings together a wide array of brands and passionate professionals from all walks of life. In 25 years, the GPHG has become an especially dynamic showcase for our industry. For me, it is a major source of inspiration. It is fascinating to discover, year after year, how engineering and craftsmanship unite to give rise to creations that are as moving as they are spectacular.
In hindsight, how has IWC highlighted the Portugieser Eternal Calendar since last year?
The Portugieser Eternal Calendar is an absolutely unique watch. Its 400-year gear system, with extremely elaborate design, resolves the complex exception of the centuries in the Gregorian calendar, a formidable challenge for a purely mechanical program. It also displays a world record-setting moon phase, with such precision that it will remain accurate for 45,361,055 years, inviting reflection on the very notion of time and the universe. Such an engineering feat does not need flashy promotion: it stands out on its own. Of course, the Aiguille d’Or from the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève further amplified interest by celebrating the exceptional engineering that made this piece possible.
