The Winners Of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève 2021
It was an exciting time in Geneva last night, as the winners of this year’s Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) were announced. In a spectacular show, the entire watch world held its breath as it became clear which watches and brands would go home with a prize.
It was a particularly good evening for Louis Vuitton. The brand won not only the Diver’s category but also the Audacity award. In the latter, it was the superb Tambour Carpe Diem that prevailed. This was not completely unexpected as the watch combines mechanical excellence with a wide variety of different crafts in a daring and tantalizing creation. The Tambour Street Diver was the diving watch that convinced the jury of awarding it with the prize in its category, with its refined blend of form and function.
Piaget also gathered two prizes, winning in both the Mechanical Exception category, as well as that for best ladies watch. These victories show both sides of this historic brand perfectly, with the Limelight Gala Precious Rainbow, the winner of the Ladies’ prize, combining gemstones with a refined gold case and bracelet. The Altiplano Automatic, the winner of the Mechanical Exception category, shows that the ultra-slim heritage of Piaget and how they perpetuate that into modern creations was able to capture the jury’s hearts.
Zenith did just that as well with the Chronomaster Sport, which won the category for the best Chronograph watch. This is also a watch that cleverly combines past, present, and future in a packaging that is so balanced that it makes for the perfect everyday watch.
Grand Seiko also has reason to celebrate as their Hi-Beat 36000 won the best men’s watch prize. This is a highly competitive category in which the brand prevailed with its distinct, understated Japanese style. This watch is the embodiment of refinement, perfectly balancing its sportive side with a generous dash of elegance. Mechanically it is also a true treat, as caliber 9SA5 not only runs at the high frequency of 36,000 VpH but also offers a power reserve of 80-hours.
Other victories were there for MB&F, who won both the Men’s Complication and Artistic Crafts categories, while Christiaan van der Klaauw took home the prize for best watch in the category Calendar and Astronomy with the outstanding Planetarium Eise Eisinga. Van Cleef & Arpels claimed victory in the Ladies’ Complication category with their Lady Féerie watch.
The coveted Aiguille d’Or, the top prize of the GPHG, was for the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Perpetual Calendar. As the thinnest watch in the world with this complication, it continues Bulgari’s tradition in this field. A well-deserved win, in particular when you realize that the brand put 408 components in a watch that is just 5.8 mm in height.
