NEWS: The best watches of 2015 according to the GPHG

Felix Scholz

Overnight the leading lights of the watch industry gathered for its night of nights – the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG). It’s essentially the Oscars for watches and, like any glittering awards ceremony it’s full of big budget commercial releases, critically acclaimed indies and the occasional underdog.

Without further ado, here are the 18 worthy winners of the 2015 GPHG.

“AIGUILLE D’OR” GRAND PRIX

Greubel Forsey
Tourbillon 24 Secondes Vision

When Greubel Forsey – darlings of the high-end watch scene – decided to step outside their comfort zone by housing their 24 Secondes tourbillon in a slender, wearable case, we knew it’d be a critical hit. Comfort and cutting-edge horology don’t always go hand-in-hand, but the Tourbillon 24 Secondes Vision pulls it off beautifully. 290,000 CHF.

MEN’S WATCH PRIZE

Voutilainen
Voutilainen GMR

Kari Voutilainen, the Finnish maestro of complicated watchmaking, pinched the top men’s gong from heavyweights such as Montblanc, Blancpain and MB&F with his elegant take on the GMT. 108,000 CHF.

LADIES’ WATCH PRIZE

Hublot
Big Bang Broderie

A worthy win. With its stunning dial featuring Bischoff embroidery encased and moulded in an exclusive new technique, the Big Bang Broderie proves how well Hublot continue to innovate with unorthodox materials. 16,900 CHF.

“PETITE AIGUILLE” WATCH PRIZE

Habring2
Felix

This year the “Petite Aiguille” prize (the best watch under 8000 CHF) goes to one of the little guys. The Felix is a remarkable achievement for husband and wife team Richard and Maria Habring, with an impressively accurate in-house movement. Richard Habring has a long history of accessible innovation. Twenty years ago he developed the first affordable doppelchronograph for IWC. 4450 CHF.

SPORTS WATCH PRIZE

Tudor
Pelagos

The sports category is one of the most hotly contested, and we can’t think of a more worthy winner than the technical Tudor Pelagos, especially as it’s now powered by the brand new manufacture MT5612 movement. 4200 CHF.

CHRONOGRAPH WATCH PRIZE

Piaget
Altiplano Chrono

This year Piaget added complication to their ultra-thin formula, with an Altiplano featuring a chronograph and a second timezone – which still manages to measure in at a svelte 8.24mm. 26,800 CHF.

CALENDAR WATCH PRIZE

Hermès
Slim d’Hermès QP

The Hermès Slim d’Hermes collection was one of the true standouts of 2015, so it’s unsurprising to see the confident design of this calendar pay off. 32,600 CHF.

MECHANICAL EXCEPTION WATCH PRIZE

Jaquet Droz
The Charming Bird

A truly wondrous piece, Jaquet Droz’s Charming Bird pushes the limits of what watchmaking can be, and as such it’s a perfect choice for the mechanical exception prize. Brilliance doesn’t come cheep though. 410,400 CHF.

TOURBILLON WATCH PRIZE

Ulysse Nardin
Ulysse Anchor Tourbillon

2015 gave Ulysse Nardin a new lease on life. This stunning and highly technical tourbillon (the cage weighs a mere 0.4g) is a deserving winner. 88,000 CHF.

STRIKING WATCH PRIZE

Girard-Perregaux
Minute Repeater Tourbillon with Gold Bridges

A classic piece of Haute Horology, front loaded with minute repeater, tourbillon and iconic triple golden bridges, this piece from Girard-Perregaux was a surprise winner in a field where the A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk Minute Repeater was a crowd favourite. 375,000 CHF.

LADIES’ HIGH-MECH WATCH PRIZE

Fabergé
Lady Compliquée Peacock

Proving they’re about more than just eggs, Fabergé struck gold with the spectacularly beautiful mother of pearl and diamond peacock. 98,000 CHF.

ARTISTIC CRAFTS WATCH PRIZE

Blancpain
Villeret, cadran Shakudō

An exercise in the Japanese art of shakudō, this rendering of Indian deity Ganesh by the traditional Swiss maison is an exercise in horological multiculturalism. 150,000 CHF.

JEWELLERY WATCH PRIZE

Audemars Piguet
Diamond Punk

Inspired by the iconography and aesthetics of the punk movement, this is an iced out show-stopper. And while we’re not sure what Sid and Nancy would think, it’s a safe bet Vivienne Westwood would be on board. 702,000 CHF.

REVIVAL WATCH PRIZE

Piaget
Extremely Piaget Double Sided Cuff Watch

It was refreshing to see this bold ’70s inspired Piaget take the Revival prize instead of the fauxtina’d throwbacks we’ve become accustomed to. 250,000 CHF.

INNOVATION WATCH PRIZE AND PUBLIC PRIZE

Antoine Preziuso
Tourbillon of Tourbillons

The watch so nice it won twice. Seriously you need to see this amazing sculpture in action to believe it. We’re not sure what the time is but it doesn’t really matter. 480,000 CHF.

HOROLOGICAL REVELATION PRIZE

Laurent Ferrier
Galet Square

Laurent Ferrier have been a buzz-brand of 2015, and they’ve clearly captured the industry’s attention – earning this, the GPHG’s breakout prize. 35,000 CHF.

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE

Micke Pintus, Yannick Pintus, Jean-Luc Perrin.
The three Vacheron Constantin watchmakers who developed the Reference 57260 watch.

This trio of master watchmakers spent eight years developing the most complicated timepiece ever made. There’s no question they deserve a prize. And a stiff drink.