The Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) awards took place last night in Geneva, Switzerland, felicitating the best watches and watchmaking of 2022. Here are the winners:

Aiguille d’Or” Grand Prix: MB&F, Legacy Machine Sequential Evo

The big winner of the evening was the Legacy Machine Sequential Evo, created by Stephen McDonald for MB&F. In the signature Legacy Machine design, the pathbreaking watch features two complete chronograph displays, each with a large 60-second counter and a smaller 30-minute counter, both of which can be started, stopped, and reset independently via the start/stop and reset pushers on their respective sides of the case. Additionally, thanks to the revolutionary 'Twinverter' switch, the watch allows multiple timing modes, like split-second, sequential (lap timer), and even a cumulative “chess match” mode. Given this, the movement incorporates two column-wheel chronographs and vertical chronograph clutches, ensuring there is no drop in amplitude or power reserve whether the chronographs are functioning or not.

Ladies Watch Prize: Parmigiani Tonda PF Automatic

The rectangular case design of TAG Heuer Monaco has stood the test of time and it continues to woo watch enthusiasts even today. A case in point is the Monaco x Gulf model which is presented in a familiar shape but with significant changes. The timepiece, for the first time ever, is equipped with the Heuer 02 movement — it runs at a frequency of 28,800vph and has a power reserve of 80 hours. Meanwhile, the dial comprises an attractive combination of blue and orange colours.

The most notable update in the latest Akrivia Chronomètre Contemporain is its movement. It is now equipped with the brand-new Calibre RRCC02, which features a double barrel and provides a power reserve of an impressive 82 hours. Apart from this, the movement offers a zero-reset that moves the second hand back to the 12 o’clock position when the crown is pulled out. It is housed in a 38mm case, made from platinum, and is paired with a super-comfortable calfskin strap.

Ladies and Men Complication Watch Prize: Hermès Arceau Le emps voyageur

Designed in collaboration with a special unit of the French Navy, the Tudor Pelagos FXD is the ultimate diver’s watch. It has been crafted from titanium and is an ideal companion for underwater navigation and professional use. Comprising a bidirectional bezel, this Pelagos model has a blue-coloured dial and is water resistant up to 200m. 

Challenge Watch Prize: MB&F M.A.D 1 Red

The Trilobe Nuit Fantastique Dune Edition is a unique yet affordable timepiece. Its display is made up of four parts, three of which are in permanent rotation. Offering the dial in grained dune colour that is reminiscent of sand in a desert, the watch is the epitome of minimalism and elegance. 

Also Read | A. Lange & Söhne unveils the latest Zeitwerk

Tourbillon Prize -  H. Moser & Cie Pioneer Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton

Made solely for collectors, the 2022 H. Moser & Cie’s Cie Pioneer Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton watch features a cylindrical balance spring which means that the central gravity of this spring is constantly shifting. The 42.8mm stainless steel watch features a fumé blue dial that goes dark blue on the edges with only hours and minutes hands with a white H. Moser & Cie’s logo. A combination of cylindrical hairspring with a one-minute flying tourbillon movement at 6 o’clock means superior precision. The white bold hour markers use Globolight®, (a ceramic-based material containing Super-LumiNova®). The hour and minute hands also contain Globolight inserts. Powering the watch is the calibre HMC 811, self-winding, three-dimensional manufacture movement with a 3 Hz frequency and a power reserve of minimum 74 hours. 

Calendar and Astronomy Prize - Krayon Anywhere

This 39mm white gold Ref. C030-01 watch is Krayon's second creation and indicates the length of the day and the time at which the sun rises and sets. The watch indicates the hours and minutes with dedicated hands, placed in the centre of a dial that seems suspended at the heart of the watch. It is surrounded by an annular zone upon which a small sun circulates in perpetual motion, indicating the time over 24 hours. The watch sits on a black leather strap.

Mechanical Exception Prize - Ferdinand Berthoud  FB 2RSM.2-1

The Chronomètre FB RSM's design is inspired by Marine Clock No. 8, known as H.M.8, created in 1768 by Ferdinand Berthoud., and it employs a pillar-type architecture in its FB-T.FC.-RSM calibre.  This watch has a regulator-type display, which means that the indication of the hours, minutes, and seconds is not coaxial. The hours are read off via a rotating disc at 2 o'clock; the minutes are indicated on the subdial at 12 o'clock; and, as a symbol of precision, the seconds hand occupies a central position on the watch face. The 18-karat gold dial is hand-engraved and bears the "No. 8" inscription like the original No. 8 Marine Clock.

Chronograph Prize - Grönefeld 1941 Grönograaf Tantalum

This 40mm tantalum watch is the first chronograph from the Grönefeld brothers. There is a subdial for reading the time, at about 1 o'clock, with a sector for the power reserve at 10:30, a center chronograph seconds hand and a subdial for the 30-minute chronograph counter at 6 o'clock. On the dial, there is a large balance wheel at 4 o'clock as well. The stainless steel variant is limited to just 188 pieces. The watch sits on a leather strap with pin-buckle system. This manual winding watch has a power reserve of 55 hours. 

Jewellery Prize - Bulgari Serpenti Misteriosi High Jewellery 

The jewellery watch set in 18K rose gold and set with stones is powered by the in-house micro-caliber Piccolissimo, one of the smallest mechanical movements in the industry today. Serpenti Misteriosi High Jewelry secret watch with mechanical manufacture manual winding micro-movement, BVL 100 has a power reserve of 30 hours. The dial is set inside the snake's mouth that can open with the press of the snake's tongue. Read more about the watch here

Artistic Crafts Prize:  Voutilainen Ji-Ku

Tatsuo Kitamura, considered one of the greatest Japanese lacquer artists, partnered with Kari Voutilainen to create a unique art piece named Ji-Ku. The watch comes in a 39mm platinum case with teardrop lugs. The dial has been created using Kinpun (gold dust), Jyunkin-itakane (gold leaf), Yakou-gai (shell of the great green turban), and Awabi-gai (abalone shell from New Zealand), while the hours and minutes hands are made of white gold and blued steel. The outer periphery of the dial has a 24-hour disc along with reference locations, thus making it a 24-time zone watch. 

Horological Revelation Prize: Sylvain Pinaud Origine

Sylvain's new 40mm stainless steel Ref. Rose Gold watch from Origine gets an asymmetric dial that has a stop balance wheel placed at 6 o'clock. The silver, hand-angled, 3-piece dial watch gets rose gold hands with a 60-second sub-dial. Pulling the crown at 3 o'clock releases the lever, which stops the balance wheel for accurate time setting. The watch gets a transparent sapphire crystal caseback, revealing the entire movement. This manual-winding watch has a power reserve of 55 hours. The watch is completed with a brown leather strap.

Mechanical Clock Prize: Van Cleef & Arpels, Fontaine Aux Oiseaux automaton

A stunning automaton crafted with yellow gold, white gold, rose gold, colored sapphires, emeralds, tsavorite garnets, mandarin garnets, amethysts, diamonds, lapis lazuli, turquoise and more, the objet features both automaton and mechanical movements. Boasting a retrograde display, the time scale is placed at the base and represented via a feather. When activated, the automaton showcases a rippling water in the basin, a blooming water lily, a fluttering dragonfly, and singing birds at the edge of the basin engaged in a courtship dance.

Innovation Prize: Van Cleef & Arpels, Lady Arpels Heures Florales Cerisier watch

Crafted in rose gold, white gold, white and yellow diamonds, pink sapphires, white mother-of-pearl, the beautifully crafted watch features several small flowers in the dial, whose opening depicts the hours, while the minutes are read off the side of the case. The watch, inspired by the floral clock concept (Horologium Florae), developed by Carl Von Linné, in his 1751 book Philosophia Botanica, is equipped with the self-winding mechanical movement, created by the craftsmen of Les Ateliers Horlogers Van Cleef & Arpels in Geneva, has a 36-hours power reserve and beats at 28800 vph. 

Grand Seiko, Kodo Constant-force Tourbillon

Grand Seiko's timepiece brings together a constant-force mechanism and a tourbillon as one unit on a single axis. The watch is named Kodo, the Japanese word for heartbeat, and its openwork design allows one to appreciate the Grand Seiko watchmaking in its entirety. The roots of this watch are in the coceptual 'T0 Constant-force Tourbillon', which Grand Seiko introduced two years ago. It was evolved to create the Caliber 9ST1 - a highly accurate and stable movement that utilises the technical prowess of the constant-force mechanism. The Kodo makes 28,800 vibrations per hour (eight beats per second) and has a power reserve of around 72 hours. It is set inside a 43.8mm platinum 950 and titanium case, which has been paired with a calf strap. 

Audacity Prize: Bulgari, Octo Finissimo Ultra 10th Anniversary

Audacious it was! At just 1.80 mm thickness, the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra 10th Anniversary was the world's thinnest watch before it was dethroned by Richard Mille's  . Crafted in sandblasted titanium, the 40mm timepiece matches its ultra-thin case with an integrated bracelet, only 1.50 mm thick, while the dial features a unique QR code engraving, which offers the ability to connect to an NFT and the metaverse. The watch is powered by the manual-winding uultra-thin movement BVL180 caliber, beating at 4hz and with a 50 hours of power reserve.

Special Jury Prize: François Junod, automaton-maker and sculptor

The Swiss automaton maker is credited with bringing to life some incredible mechanical wonders. He is one of the few people carrying on the techniques pioneered by 18th-century watchmaker Pierre Jaquet Droz. His works include the Angel of the CIMA Museum in Sainte-Croix, Switzerland; The Walking Man, the Singer’s Bust at the Geneva Arena; and the Young Lady with the Perched Bird on the Cheminet school in Yverdon-les-Bains.

Images: Courtesy GPHG