GPHG 2025: The Aftermath

March 18, 2013

Nothing is as disputed as an award ceremony. The outcome of an opinion will always face another opinion, and people will have opinions on the ceremony itself. You know what they say about people and opinions, so I wont elaborate on that. What I will elaborate on are some of the winners of the GPHG 2025. Lets take a look at the surprising victors and the obvious winners. We ll also try to gain a bit of perspective on what happened during the Grand Prix dHorlogerie de Geneve.Before we dive deeper into the winners, non-winners, and absentees, heres the full list of those who took home GPGH 2025 awards:Aiguille dOr Grand Prix: Breguet?Classique Souscription 2025Chronometry Prize:?Zenith?G.F.J. Calibre 135Horological Revelation Prize:?Anton Suhanov?St. Petersburg Easter Egg Tourbillon ClockAudacity Prize:?Fam Al Hut?M?biusIconic Watch Prize:?Audemars Piguet?Royal Oak Perpetual CalendarMechanical Exception Watch Prize:?Greubel Forsey?Nano FoudroyanteChronograph Watch Prize:?Angelus?Chronographe Telemetre Yellow GoldTourbillon Watch Prize:?Bvlgari?Octo Finissimo Ultra TourbillonSports Watch Prize:?Chopard?Alpine Eagle 41 SL Cadence 8HFMens Complication Watch Prize:?Bovet 1822?Recital 30Mens Watch Prize:?Urban Jrgensen?UJ-2: Double wheel natural escapementTime Only Watch Prize:?Daniel Roth?Extra Plat Rose GoldJewellery Watch Prize:?Dior Montres?La D de Dior Buisson CoutureArtistic Crafts Watch Prize: Voutilainen 28GML SouyouLadies Complication Watch Prize:?Chopard?Imperiale Four SeasonsLadies Watch Prize:?Gerald Genta?Gentissima Oursin Fire OpalPetite Aiguille Watch Prize: M.A.D.Editions?M.A.D.2 GreenChallenge Watch Prize:?Dennison?Natural Stone Tiger Eye In GoldMechanical Clock Prize: Lepee 1839 MB&F AlbatrossSpecial Jury Prize:?Alain Dominique Perrin, Fondation Cartier pour lart contemporainBest Young Student Prize: Edouard LeGregory Kissling (CEO of Breguet), Stephane Cheikh and Toby Sutton (Co-directors of Dennison), Maximilian Bsser (Owner and creative director of MB&F and M.A.D. Editions), Karl-Friedrich Scheufele (Co-president of Chopard), Caroline Scheufele (Co-president and artistic director of Chopard), Pascal Bechu (Managing director of Angelus), Ilaria Resta (CEO of Audemars Piguet), Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasini (Master watchmakers and founders of La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton), Kari Voutilainen (Owner and watchmaker of Voutilainen), Arnaud Nicolas (CEO and creative director of L epee), Dominic Backes (Dior General manager Central and Eastern Europe), Alex Rosenfield (Co-CEO of Urban Jrgensen), Pascal Raffy (President of Bovet 1822), Michel Nydegger (CEO of Greubel Forsey), Jean-Christophe Babin (CEO of Bvlgari and LVMH Watch Division), Arnaud Nicolas (CEO and creative director of L epee), Anton Suhanov (Founder and chief designer of Anton Suhanov), Dai Xinyan (Founder of Fam Al Hut,) and Beno?t de Clerck (CEO of Zenith)GPHG 2025 - Before, during, and after the award ceremonyTheres always much speculation before the official Grand Prix dHorlogerie de Geneve (GPHG) award ceremony. Fratello also participated in that by picking our favorites from the 90 nominated timepieces in the different categories. We did pick/predict quite a few winners, but we also rooted for the losing team on occasion. Before entering the event venue, the Batiment des Forces Motrices, a reconverted old hydraulic power station, rumors circulated that Breguet was going to take home the Oscar of Watchmaking, the Aiguille dOr Grand Prix, for its Classique Souscription 2025. The watch also received a nomination in the Iconic category, which was odd for two reasons. Although inspired by a significant event in Breguet s history, the watch is a new creation and therefore lacks iconic status. The winner in the category, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar, is most definitely an iconic watch.Winner of the Aiguille dOr Grand Prix, the Breguet Classique Souscription 2025To have Breguet compete this year was already surprising. Some brands choose to compete in the GPHG, while others, like and Patek Philippe, dont. Why that is and how the competition works is something for another article. Luckily, RJ did write that article about the ins and outs of the GPHG, so please help yourself. Swatch Group s last notable participation in the GPHG was several years ago, as the recent editions list no major entries from the group. Omegas last clear appearance and award at the GPHG came in 2014, when it won the Revival Prize. Other Swatch Group brands remained active for a few years afterward - Longines captured the Revival Prize in 2017, and Blancpain earned the Artistic Crafts Prize in 2015 - but by the late 2010s, Swatch Groups presence had largely tapered off.Breguet CEO Gregory Kissling posing with the awardAnd the Oscar goes to…This year, marking the 250th anniversary of Breguet, an exception was made. Its clear that the brand needs a major push, and the new CEO, Gregory Kissling, does a lot of pushing by being a dynamic ambassador for the age-old maison. This year, a string of celebratory watches debuted. The first was the Souscription 2025. This watch honors the original pocket watch concept that brought Breguet back to life after Abraham-Louis returned to France following its exile abroad.The Souscription 2025 again is the poster watch of a revival. Competing in the GPHG is a relatively cost-friendly and risk-free marketing strategy. If the watch hadnt made it through the selection, not many people would have noticed. And theres also no shame in making it through to the finals and losing against a Royal Oak. Winning the Oscar of Watchmaking, the Aiguille dOr Grand Prix, is a big thing. Importantly, it puts the spotlight on a brand that needs it.Breguet s perfect stormIt seems Breguet is in the eye of a perfect storm. Just as a bank can be too big to fail, Breguet is too famous to fail. People with a passion for watches want the brand to succeed. Now, with Gregory Kissling at the helm, Breguet is more expressive and outgoing than ever. The A Celebration of Breguets 250th Anniversary auction at Sothebys on November 9th of this year was way more of a no-guts-no-glory move. It brought glory.The auction ultimately raked in CHF 12,202,960. Lot 9, the Breguet No. 1890 - a four-minute tourbillon delivered to Monsieur Frederic Frackman on May 16th, 1809, and then sold to Comte Alexis Razoumoffsky for 3,240 francs - sold for CHF 1,880,000, more than double the estimate, to Breguet fan and buyer Fran?ois-Paul Journe. And since everything Monsieur Journe does is news nowadays, Breguet got extra attention. Well played, Breguet, well played.The Daniel Roth Extra Plat Rose Gold won the Time Only categorySix awards for LVMH, two for Chopard, MB&F, and Kari Voutilainen, and zero for RichemontAt GPHG 2025, two people received an award. The Special Jury Prize went to Alain Dominique Perrin for Fondation Cartier pour lart contemporain, and the Best Young Student Prize went to Edouard Le. However, 19 awards went to mechanical constructions, and no fewer than six ended up with LVMH brands. The Zenith G.F.J. Calibre 135 won the Chronometry Prize. The best mechanical whirlwind was the Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon. The Daniel Roth Extra Plat Rose Gold (surprisingly) beat the Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Micro-Rotor Platinum in the Time Only category. Additionally, clock maker L epee 1839, plus Dior and Gerald Genta won a prize. Winning six out of 19 is impressive, demonstrating the conglomerates determination to expand the watchmaking division and become a leader in the field of high-end watches.Winner of the Sports Watch Prize, the Chopard Alpine Eagle 41 SL Cadence 8HFTwo Chopard watches winning was a good score for the family-owned maison. The limited-edition Alpine Eagle 41 SL Cadence 8HF won the Sports Watch Prize. However, the non-limited version of that watch debuted as early as 2024. The winner is lighter because its made of ceramized titanium, but its not exactly a new design. Maybe Im nitpicking here, but it came to my mind. That also happened when the Greubel Forsey Nano Foudroyante won the Mechanical Exception Watch Prize. The 2025 white gold model is essentially the same as the 2024 model, except that it shows bright blue details on the dial and has a white gold bezel instead of a tantalum one.The Greubel Forsey?Nano Foudroyante won the Mechanical Exception Watch PrizeA double encore on stageMB&F is a fan-favorite and a teachers pet, so the M.A.D.Editions M.A.D.2 Green winning the Petite Aiguille Watch Prize wasnt too big of a surprise. However, if the Christopher Ward C12 Loco, Nomos Club Sport Neomatik Worldtimer, or the Otsuka Lotec No. 5 Kai had taken the win, no one would have complained either, in my opinion. Max Bsser again came on stage to take credit for his part in the Lepee 1839 MB&F Albatross winning the Mechanical Clock Prize.Kari Voutilainen also came on stage twice. He won Best Ladies Watch with the Voutilainen 28cg, and with the Urban Jrgensen UJ-2: Double wheel natural escapement, he won the Mens Watch Prize.The biggest loser of the night was Richemont. Last year, IWC won the top prize with its Portugieser Eternal Calendar. This year, five watches from Piaget and two Van Cleef & Arpels creations made it to the finals, but none won. No Vacheron Constantin, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Cartier, Panerai, etc. had a chance of winning a prize, and that stands out when you see competitor LVMH take home five awards.Last year s winner of the Aiguille dOr Grand Prix, the IWC Portugieser Eternal CalendarGPHG 2025: The Aftermath - Almost time to start discussingBefore you explain why you think your favorite watch was denied a rightful win and engage in a passionate debate, heres some practical information. The 19 winning creations are on display at the Geneva Musee d Art et d Histoire until November 16th, 2025. The award-winning models will then be presented from the 19th to the 23rd as part of Dubai Watch Week. So, if you want to see what a winning watch looks like, you have a few chances. Now, take a look at a small selection of interesting winners, and after that, please share your thoughts on the competition and its victors. Petite Aiguille Watch Prize – M.A.D. Editions M.A.D.2 Green Ladies Watch Prize – Gerald Genta Gentissima Oursin Fire Opal Audacity Prize – Fam Al Hut M?bius Challenge Watch Prize – Dennison Natural Stone Tiger Eye In Gold Chronograph Watch Prize – Angelus Chronographe Telemetre Yellow Gold Chronometry Prize – Zenith G.F.J. Calibre 135 Iconic Watch Prize – Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Mens Complication Watch Prize – Bovet 1822 Recital 30 Mens Watch Prize – Urban Jrgensen UJ-2 Double wheel natural escapement Tourbillon Watch Prize – Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon