The nominations for the GPHG are in
Fondation du Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) released the list of the nominated watches yesterday (15 September) ahead of the 20th anniversary in November. New for this year is that the list has been voted for by 350 players within the industry. They have cast their votes via a confidential digital platform where the voting is anonymous. A new procedure that has perhaps produced a few surprising watches on the nomination list. Eqotime's Britta Rossander guides you through the nominees.
Text: Britta Rossander
Fondation du Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) released yesterday (15th September) the list of the nominated watches ahead of the 20th anniversary in November. New for this year is that the list has been voted for by 350 players within the industry. They have cast their votes via a confidential digital platform where the voting takes place anonymously. A new procedure that has perhaps given a few surprising watches in the nomination list.
In total it is about 84 watches that are divided into 14 categories. These compete for the 18 prizes that are to be handed out in Geneva including the prestigious Grand Prix de l’Aiguille d’Or.
A jury with thirty members will shortly meet in Geneva to judge the nominated watches behind closed doors and under supervision. After this the watches go on to a final and secret vote. The winners will then be announced on Thursday the 12th of November. BUT under what forms we do not know yet. Everything is nowadays unfortunately dependent on a well-known virus that trips up most of what we want to get up to since early this spring. A shame since it is an anniversary that ought to be celebrated with pomp and circumstance with everyone on site. We will have to come back to this during the second half of October.
The categories
The list of categories looks as follows:
Ladies' watches
Men's watches
Complicated watches for ladies
Complicated watches for men
Iconic watches
Chronometers
Calendars and Astronomical watches
Exceptional mechanical constructions
Chronographs
Dive watches
Jewellery watches
Artistic Craft
Petite Aiguille
Challenge
The span of brands that have qualified is big and a little surprising. Of course we are missing Rolex and Patek as usual. But there are several slightly discreet and very interesting brands in the list. For example Trilobe with Swiss Made and French design, Habring 2 from Austria, Petermann Bedat founded in Geneva in 2017, Kurono Tokyo from Japan and Brivet Naudot. The last-mentioned a watchmaker who also restores old watches in French Brittany.
Brivet Naudot 
Jacob Arabo
There are also several brands with a fashion background in the ”starting list”, such as for example Chanel, Dior and Hermès. In addition competition-minded Seiko is in there with two watches. They so badly want to outdo the Swiss. But it does not stop there, Jacob the Jeweller, Jacob Arabo with the firm Jacob & Co also has a fine bouquet of watches among the nominated watches.
It will quite clearly be an exciting competition and to be continued…
