GPHG 2022: Time to Place Our Bets!

The history of the competition and this year's potential prizewinners.

Can a watchmaking competition be considered authoritative and influential on the pre-owned watch market when Rolex, Patek Philippe, and the subsidiary brands of the Richemont and Swatch Groups bow out of it as a matter of principle?

The answer to this question may seem obvious but it isn't all that simple. Why? We get to the bottom of it in this article. The Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) will take place on November 10, where 21 prizes will be awarded, 15 of which are in what you could call the main watch categories.

These watch prizes are as follows: Ladies’, Ladies’ Complication, Men’s, Men’s Complication, Iconic, Tourbillon, Calendar and Astronomy, Mechanical Exception, Chronograph, Diver’s, Jewelry, Artistic Crafts, "Petite Aiguille" (watches with a retail price between CHF 3,500 and CHF 10,000), Challenge (watches with a retail price equal to or under CHF 3,500), and this year's new Mechanical Clock category.

The main nominations are accompanied by the Innovation Prize, Audacity Prize, "Horological Revelation" Prize, Special Jury Prize and another new award: the Chronometry Prize. It will acknowledge timepieces with unusual escapements and regulating devices that increase timekeeping accuracy.

These pieces should also ensure a level of accuracy that satisfies ISO 3159 standards and be certified by chronometric organizations like COSC, TIMELAB, Besançon Observatory, etc. Unofficially dubbed the "Oscars of Watchmaking", if the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève is so thorough, why are all the greats listed in the first paragraph giving it a miss?

Passion for Prizes

Disagreements arose from a plethora of historic flaws. In 2001, everyone took part in the competition for the Aiguille d'Or prize for best in show with no exceptions. Rolex took on the role as chief sponsor. In view of this responsibility, they didn't nominate any of their own watches in the prize categories to avoid any accusations of bias. Everyone was so full of enthusiasm.

They didn't pay much heed to the fact that the organizers decided to limit the number of prizes to go around for all the participants to just seven. They included the Aiguille d'Or (Best in Show), Ladies’ Watch Prize, Men's Watch Prize, and the Complication and Jewelry Watch Prize.

But the last two were rather strange categories by today's standards: Pendulette and Poinçon de Genève (Geneva Seal). Yet it was actually the miserly number of nominations that turned out to be a ticking time bomb.

That coupled with a host of absurd rules, like insisting nominated timepieces belong to a limited edition of max. 30 pieces, or setting strict periods for commercialization. Very many of the true watchmaking greats participating went home empty-handed.

The first to express his outrage was the impulsive Swatch Group co-founder Nicolas G. Hayek. In his opinion, the vast majority of prizewinners at the GPHG didn't come anywhere close to the great masterpieces offered up by his unparalleled brands Breguet, Blancpain, Omega and others.

Things could have been different if the organizers had heeded to his words back then. Yet despite all the red flags, they were unbelievably slow to act. Having returned home annoyed without any due prizes, Mr. Hayek got serious and banned several Swatch Group brands from ever taking part in the Genevan Grand Prix.

The current Swatch Group CEO Nick Hayek Jr. has remained unwaveringly faithful to his late father's message. A very similar reaction to the situation was expressed by Richemont's chairman Johann Rupert.  Richemont's response was admittedly more democratic, where the decision on whether or not to participate in the GPHG is directly delegated to the leadership of each individual brand.

However, the holding company itself has never sponsored any participants. When it comes to Patek Philippe, the watchmaker stopped putting its models up for nomination for a similar reason.

The watchmaking legend’s decision was influenced by another important circumstance: the expert community's refusal to introduce stricter criteria for certifying movements with the prestigious Poinçon de Genève (Hallmark of Geneva). 

An opportunity opened up for even the likes of newcomers such as Roger Dubuis to use the quality hallmark, which automatically allowed these manufacturers to play in the same league as Patek Philippe. The validity of this rivalry on a level playing field raised doubts among many.

Despite what appeared to be a rather woeful situation, somehow the GPHG managed not to lose its importance or sphere of influence. After all, the 30 jury members were and still are fairly influential people in the watch business.

In addition, the majority of them are watch-media voices, where shortlisted models are actively promoted and popularized. They complement each other perfectly.

Independents on Top

Collectors were left asking a lot of questions from the get-go. Jury members at the GPHG actively began showering watchmakers with prizes even when they were still relatively unknown, such as François-Paul Journe. Journe himself has even grown tired of winning prizes at the GPHG.

He's officially stopped taking part in the competition, directly announcing he no longer wishes to have anything to do with a competition organized by people with a poor understanding of watchmaking.

He must have had a change of heart after putting forward his famous Centigraphe Souverain chronograph with a balance frequency of 3 Hz (21,600 vph). Journe said the movement is capable of measuring intervals of time with an accuracy of up to 1/100 of a second.

The jury was happy to take the watchmaker's word for it, ignoring the fact that the second hand is only capable of advancing by a minimum step of 1/6 of a second. By and large, masters who made careers that followed a similar path to François-Paul Journe have the GPHG to thank.

They include Richard Mille, Kari Voutilainen, Svend Andersen, along with companies De Bethune, MB&F and Urwerk. They may well be followed by Rexhep Rexhepi, Vianney Halter, Konstantin Chaykin, Bernhard Lederer, as well as Greubel Forsey, H. Moser & Cie., Czapek, and Grönefeld to name a few.

The competition Rolex and Patek Philippe make a point of not competing in is still capable of influencing the pre-owned watch market, if only for the fact that it's constantly referenced in the press. The "Oscars of Watchmaking" are here to stay.

The Most Promising for 2022

Despite the absence of most major brands, there's no shortage of interesting models among this year's nominees. For example, independent watchmaker Audemars Piguet has five nominated timepieces. 

And there's a good reason why: the manufacturer is celebrating Royal Oak's golden jubilee this year and also needs to continue hyping up its impeccable young Code 11.59 collection. 

AP's nomined timepieces contending for prizes include the intricate skeletonized Royal Oak Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Openworked (Ref. 26735ST.OO.1320ST.01, priced at CHF 220,600).

Another magnificent contender is the unique chiming Code 11.59 Grande Sonnerie Carillon Supersonnerie (Ref. 26397BC.OO.D324VE.01, priced at CHF 820,000). 

The best contemporary master enameler Anita Porchet worked on its dial. Considering the strong reputation Audemars Piguet has on the pre-owned watch market, these models are destined to turn a fairly decent profit. Strange as it may seem, Van Cleef & Arpels has also offered up no less than five models for judgment by the reputable jury. 

They include the unique Fontaine Aux Oiseaux automaton fountain clock. Its price has yet to be determined, it's still being negotiated. The estimate fluctuates between CHF 5,000,000 and 10,000,000.

In a nutshell, it's safe to say any timepiece by Van Cleef & Arpels is unique, in so far as each and every one of them is a fine work of watchmaking and jewelry art that can't be repeated, including the selection of precious stones, the color palette and the artisans' hand-crafted signature work. 

No one will ever pay 10, 100 or 1000 times more for one of these watches when resold, as is sometimes the case for models by Patek Philippe. Yet within the space of just under a hundred years, models have already been resold for double or triple their original price.

Chopard submitted four models to the competition, headlined by a minute repeater tourbillon called L.U.C Full Strike Tourbillon (Ref. 161987-5001, priced at CHF 380,000). These four pieces are accompanied by a model by Chopard’s subsidiary brand Ferdinand Berthoud FB 2RSM.2-1 (Ref. FB 2RSM.2-1, priced at CHF 270,000).

The outstanding wristwatch chronometer is inspired by the Marine Clock No. 8, known as H.M.8, created in 1768 by Ferdinand Berthoud. It's equipped with a tourbillon, constant force device in the form of fusee-and-chain transmission and incorporates independent deadbeat seconds. 

Oddly enough, the timepieces are competing against each other in the same category of Mechanical Exception. A firm favorite at the GPHG and auctions alike over the past few years has been Finnish watchmaker Kari Voutilainen. 

He's competing for this year's Artistic Crafts Prize with his Ji-Ku model (Ref. 216TMZ 1/1, priced at CHF 365,000). What makes this model unique is its dial, decorated by one of Japan's greatest lacquer artists, Tatsuo Kitamura. 

It took the renowned master several months of work to complete the dial, applying lacquering techniques called Saiei Maki-e and Somata zaiku. 

The raw materials used to create the dial are Kinpun (gold dust), Jyunkin-itakane (gold leaf), Yakou-gai (shell of great green turban) and Awabi-gai (abalone shell from New Zealand).

A worldtimer by Andersen Genève called Tempus Terrae Baguettes Aquamarines (Ref. TT 2022, priced at CHF 67,500) is the clear favorite to win in the nomination for Ladies’ Complication. The Worldtime module was created by Svend Andersen himself, based on the invention by master watchmaker Louis Cottier.

The model's bezel is encrusted with the clearest of baguette-cut aquamarines, but the decoration doesn't end there.  The dial center is made of what's known as BlueGold — a cleverly developed heat-treated gold alloy mixed with iron elements.

The Albanian watchmaker Rexhep Rexhepi who manufactures his own watches under the brand Atelier Akrivia has put forward a perfected version of his chronometer — the already famous Chronomètre Contemporain II (Ref. RRCC02, priced at CHF 125,000). It’s been launched in a platinum case measuring 38 mm in diameter with a black enamel dial in a limited edition of 50 pieces.

The RRCC02 movement is equipped with an independently-driven jumping seconds mechanism that boasts a hacking and zero-reset function. The improved balance wheel (3 Hz frequency) has regulating screws instead of traditional circular weights, which boosts inertia by 60% compared to the balance in the first edition.

The mainspring has also been improved, which now delivers 40% more torque while still ensuring an 82-hour power reserve. After some deliberation, the organizers of GPHG 2022 have decided against sanctioning the remarkable Russian watchmaker Konstantin Chaykin and have accepted his submission in the Ladies' watch nomination.

Konstantin Chaykin Harley Quinn (Ref. K.07-4, priced at CHF 19,950) is presented in a steel case measuring 40 mm in diameter, limited to a total of just 28 pieces. Chaykin's creations are also gaining in popularity by leaps and bounds, so the first version of his famous Joker watch for her is sure to find its fans among collectors.