Business News: All Of The 2024 GPHG Winners And Our Quick Reactions
The 2024 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) – the watch industry’s top awards show, where the best and brightest watchmakers in the world are showcased – just wrapped up in Geneva. All the categories were announced during a two-and-a-half-hour-long extravaganza of live music, including a stirring rendition of “What a Wonderful World” and a whole lot of French. While I may not have picked up everything from the live translating headset, here are the winners, including the highly coveted Aiguille d’Or, aka the event’s top prize. This year, it served as a crowning technical, high-watchmaking achievement for a young CEO at the helm of a brand you may associate most closely with industrialization.
The GPHG is not perfect by any means, but it remains the best way for a fragmented industry full of political associations and tensions to recognize the achievements of the past year. Some notable, important, and influential watchmakers do not take part. For example, you won’t find a Rolex in the GPHG program, nor a watch from Swatch Group, or indeed from many Richemont brands. But in the over 1,400 seat Théâtre du Léman Genève, it feels like the watchmaking world is together. I was one of the lucky many in attendance yet one of the unlucky non-French-speaking seat fillers. Through a Sony Walkman-esque headset, translating the night’s festivities, here are all the winners from the 2024 GPHG, along with my thoughts, reactions, and takeaways.
Aiguille d’Or
Winner: IWC Schaffhausen, Portugieser Eternal Calendar
Why not start with the best in show, right? IWC proved to be the big winner of the night with their Portugieser Eternal Calendar. On the surface, this selection may provoke some question-mark reactions from the peanut gallery, given IWC’s reputation as a solid watchmaker for the masses, but you have to focus on the achievement here to understand the win. Prior to 2023, three watch brands had jumped the hurdle to create a secular perpetual calendar watch, ever. That list starts with Patek Philippe’s caliber 89, continues on with grand complication wristwatches from Svend Andersen and Franck Muller, and now includes IWC (and Furlan Marri, by the way).
The prototype IWC Portugieser Eternal Calendar on the wrist. Photo: Mark Kauzlarich.
The Portugieser Eternal Calendar’s date will be accurate until at least the year 3999, and its moon phase will last you a good 45,000,000 years for good measure. Technically, I think you get it. But why did IWC ultimately win the top prize? I suspect this is the GPHG jury recognizing a push forward in horology by a brand that flat-out does not need to do so – that’s important. IWC could sell Big Pilot’s Watch(es?) and Portugieser Chronographs until the bell-wearing Swiss cows come home, but the brand also did this. And that’s important for the industry to recognize. Innovation can’t come only from the young guns and independents; today’s Aiguille d’Or sends a clear message.
Audacity
Winner: Berneron, Mirage Sienna
Since the brand, along with this watch, was announced last October, the watch world has become filled with Bernie Bros. Like the song of the summer on pop radio, Sylvain Berneron’s debut as an independent watchmaker was unavoidable. If you’re among the unlucky minority that has not encountered a Berneron watch via some form of media, I highly recommend and will shamelessly plug his appearance on Hodinkee Radio and this Hands-On Review. Sylvain’s uncompromising vision caught the attention of watch enthusiasts and the GPHG jury, landing him the Audacity Prize. Like the Aiguille d’Or and other specially named awards, the Audacity Prize sits “above” the categorical winners (the Mirage Sienna was nominated in the-new-for-2024 Time Only category, for example), recognizing above and beyond achievement.
Photo: Mark Kauzlarich.
Sylvain and I ran into each other on the theater’s concourse in the early moments of the ceremony, hours before his name was called. After a quick hello and complimenting his shoe choice for the evening (Paraboot Michaels, how French), I asked if he was nervous. His reply was simply that he did not want to let down those who have believed in his brand thus far. None of Berneron’s fans were let down this evening.
Revelation
Winner: Rémy Cools, Tourbillon Atelier
Look, not all of the GPHG awards are newsworthy. I apologize to the jury, you all did a great job and received plenty of thanks tonight, but, the reality is, some of the categories and prizes leave me personally reacting with a hearty “alright, good for them, and what’s next?” Revelation, specifically, is the special award where my ears often perk up.
Previous winners include Simon Brette (2023), Sylvain Pinaud (2022), and Petermann Bédat (2020) – ever heard of them? This is where the watchmaking industry crowns the “who’s next” of the indie world. Tonight, they got it right with Rémy Cools. The 27-year-old virtuoso is quickly becoming one of the most talked about independent watchmakers in the world. While my calling out of the previous winners may imply that Cools should be happy to join this company, my real belief is that the rest of the list should be glad Cools is now associated with the Revelation prize.
Special Jury Prize
Winner: Jean-Pierre Hagmann
Jumping from the youngest winner to the eldest, 83-year-old Jean-Pierre Hagmann was lured out of retirement by a guy called Rexhep Rexhepi in 2019 and tonight, by the look on his face, the extra work seems to have been worth it. He is one of the most legendary names in watchmaking today. So good at what he does that Patek Philippe allowed him to stamp his logo on the rear of its lugs.
Photo: James Kong.
The Special Jury Prize is sometimes used as a lifetime achievement award, and in the theater, the announcement felt very much like one. While Hagmann will presumably return to his workshop tomorrow, he took a moment to reflect on stage by naming every single brand he ever produced a case for. The speech took longer than the others, and that was quite alright with everyone. Jury President Nick Foulkes emphatically waved off the band, signaling there would be no “play-off” tune this time. It was unmistakably meaningful to Mr. Hagmann, who, following his acceptance thoughts, paused halfway to stage right, turned to the crowd, and soaked it all in. The cheer was the loudest of the night by dozens of decibels, a curtain call for the best casemaker to ever live.
Sports Watch
Winner: Ming, 37.09 Bluefin
After winning the first-ever Revelation prize in 2019, Ming has continued to win over the hearts of watch enthusiasts and the GPHG. Tonight, the brand triumphed over Tudor, Zenith, Parmigiani, IWC, and Singer Reimagined – that’s nothing to scoff at. The 37.09 takes modern aesthetic and technical prowess and applies them to the age-old “dive watch” to create something fresh and updated in the best way. We covered the watch in-depth right here, but the takeaway here is that Ming should no longer be looked at as a “small” enthusiast brand – if anyone still thinks that, anyway.
Tourbillon
Winner: Daniel Roth, Tourbillon Souscription
Revived by La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton, the Daniel Roth Tourbillon Souscription will likely be the most social media-critiqued winner of tonight’s ceremony. Honestly, when Jean Arnault goes up on stage to accept the award, that level of basic criticism is to be expected. At the core, the Tourbillon Souscription is the ultimate revival watch.
It takes a complicated variant of Daniel Roth’s unique design language and levels it up in every way. Black polish and Côtes de Geneve adorn the movement side, paired with a dial made at Kari Voutilainen’s Comblemine – the watch is a flex of craft and execution. Tonight, the jury recognized the level of investment here, awarding the Tourbillon prize over those from the likes of Chopard, Moser, Sartory Billard, and Voutilainen – all great watches.
Calendar and Astronomy
Winner: Laurent Ferrier, Classic Moon Silver
Photo: Mark Kauzlarich.
Calling out this win as I see a real change happening at Laurent Ferrier. I touched on it in a look at the brand’s most recent release, the Classic Auto Sandstone in August, the brand is quietly making a “comeback.” That’s in quotes because they never really left. At WatchTime New York last month, the Classic Moon Silver was far and away the best watch I saw. I see it and the GPHG sees it.
Men’s Watch
Winner: Voutilainen, KV20i Reversed
Going into tonight, the last six Men’s Watch prizes were split between independent makers Rexhep Rexhepi and Kari Voutilainen – 2024 makes it seven awards running that one of these two holds the title for best men’s watch. The KV20i Reversed takes what you know and love about Voutilainen and flips it on its head.
Rather than a beautifully executed dial, we have none. In its place are the movement components you would expect to see when viewing through a sapphire caseback. It’s an effort to showcase what else the brand does well outside of dial work – meticulously crafted movement components. The end result is now the best men’s watch of 2024.
A Few More Winners…
Those are the eye-catching categories but, in total, the GPHG awarded 20 prizes on Thursday evening in Geneva. Here are the rest of the timepieces and watchmakers that took home an award in 2024:
Challenge Watch Prize: Otsuka Lotec, No.6
Eco-innovation Prize: Chopard, L.U.C Qualité Fleurier
Chronometry Prize: Bernhard Lederer, 3 Times Certified Observatory Chronometer
Iconic Watch Prize: Piaget, Piaget Polo 79
Mechanical Exception Watch Prize: Bovet 1822, Récital 28 Prowess 1
Chronograph Watch Prize: Massena Lab, Chronograph Monopoussoir Sylvain Pinaud x Massena Lab
Men’s Complication Watch Prize: De Bethune, DB Kind Of Grande Complication
Time Only Watch Prize: H. Moser & Cie, Streamliner Small Seconds Blue Enamel
Jewellery Watch Prize: Chopard, Laguna High-Jewellery Secret Watch
Artistic Crafts Watch Prize: Van Cleef & Arpels, Lady Arpels Jour Enchanté
Ladies’ Complication Watch Prize: Van Cleef & Arpels, Lady Arpels Brise d’Été
Ladies’ Watch Prize: Van Cleef & Arpels, Lady Jour Nuit
“Petite Aiguille” Watch Prize: Kudoke, 3 Salmon
Hodinkee