Bulgari wins the "Golden Hand Award" at the Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix 2021

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2021.11.09

IWC Piaget Breitling Bvlgari

The Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix (commonly known as the Geneva Watch Grand Prix, abbreviated as GPHG) is decided by votes from journalists and industry professionals from around the world. In 2021, Bulgari's Octo Finissimo Perpetual Calendar won the Golden Hand Award, which is equivalent to the Grand Prix. We will also introduce the other winners and nominees.

The winners with their trophies were Jean-Christophe Babin (CEO of Bvlgari), Hind Seddiqi (General Director of Dubai Watch Week), Lititia Zang-Berux (Head of Siga Design, Switzerland), Eric Pilson (Director of Tudor), Jean Arnault (Marketing and Product Development Director of Louis Vuitton Watches), Frédéric Bondoux (President of Grand Seiko Europe), François-Henri Bennahmias (CEO of Audemars Piguet), Benjamin Comer (CEO of Piaget), Karl-Friedrich Scheufele (Chopard), and Eric de Rocchiny (Van Cleef & Arpels (International Operations & Métiers Director), Maximilian Büsser (MB&F Owner & Creative Director), Julien Tornare (Zenith CEO), Pierre Jacques (De Bethune CEO), Daniel and Maria Reintjes (Christian van der Klaauw (Owner & Creative Director), Andrea Furlan, Hamad Al Marri (Furlan Marri Co-Founder), Bernard Lederer (Bernardo Lederer CEO), Carine Meyerd, Raymond Lorient (Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix).

Originally published on watchtime.com
Article published on June 2021, 11

　On November 4, 2021, the winners of the Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix 2021 were announced at a festive awards ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of the GPHG. The results are as follows:

Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix 2021 winning model

Golden Needle Award (“Aiguille d'Or” Grand Prix)

Bvlgari "Octo Finissimo Perpetual Calendar"

Equipped with a perpetual calendar and automatic winding mechanism, the movement is just 2.75mm thick and is housed in a case just 5.8mm thick, making it the world's thinnest perpetual calendar watch.

Ladies' Watch Prize

Piaget "Limelight Gala Precious Rainbow"

The Limelight Gala features a round brilliant-cut colored sapphire in a rainbow setting for the first time.

▽Other nominated works
・Armin Strom "Lady Beat by Armin Strom"
Bovet 1822 "Miss Audrey Sweet Art"
・Chanel "Mademoiselle J12 Act II"
・Parmigiani Fleurier "Tonda Metropolitan Selene"
・Van Cleef & Arpels "Alhambra Secret Pendant Watch"

Ladies' High-Mech Watch Prize

Van Cleef & Arpels "Lady Fairy Watch"

Equipped with an automatic movement with retrograde minute display and jumping hour mechanism.

▽Other nominated works
・Bovet 1822 "Recital 23"
・Chopard "LUC Flying T Twin"
Louis Vuitton Tambour Spin Time Air Vivienne
・Montres KF "KF-09-01"
・Piaget "Altiplano Tourbillon"

Men's Watch Prize

Grand Seiko "SLGH005"

This watch is equipped with the caliber 9SA5, which has a high beat rate of 36,000 vibrations per hour and a power reserve of approximately 80 hours.

▽Other nominated works
・H. Moser & Cie. "Swiss Alp Watch Final Upgrade"
・Hermès "Hermès H08"
・Louis Erard "Louis Erard x Alain Silberstein Chapter 2"
・MB&F "Legacy Machine 101"
・Piaget "Polo Skeleton"

Men's High-Mech Watch Prize

MB&F "LMX"

A titanium model of the "LMX" featuring a three-dimensional display and a suspended balance wheel inside a domed sapphire crystal.

▽Other nominated works
Audemars Piguet "Royal Oak Offshore Flying Tourbillon Flyback Chronograph"
・Breitling Premier B15 Duograph 42
・Bvlgari "Octo Roma Worldtimer"
・Chanel "Monsieur de Chanel Superleggera"
・Chopard "LUC Quattro Spirit 25"

Iconic Prize

* Pieces from iconic collections that have had a lasting impact on watch history and the watch market for over 20 years.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak "Jumbo" Extra-Thin

This is the first Royal Oak "Jumbo" model to feature a full platinum integrated bracelet.

▽Other nominated works
・Grand Seiko "SBGW258" - A reissue of the original Grand Seiko
・IWC Big Pilot's Watch 43
・Tudor "Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight 925"
・Vacheron Constantin "Historiques Américaine 1921"
・Zenith "Chronomaster Revival Manufacture Edition"

Tourbillon Watch Prize

De Bethune "DB Kind of Two Tourbillon"

A reversible watch with a dial featuring a tourbillon at 6 o'clock and a traditional three-hand dial.

▽Other nominated works
・Artya "Purity Tourbillon"
Audemars Piguet "CODE 11.59 by Audemars Piguet Flying Tourbillon Chronograph"
Girard-Perregaux "Tourbillon with Three Flying Bridges - Aston Martin Edition"
・IWC Big Pilot's Watch Constant-Force Tourbillon "IWC Racing"
・Louis Moinet "Space Revolution"

Calendar and Astronomy Watch Prize

Christian van der Klaauw "CVDK Planetarium Eise Eisinga"

Planetary orbits from the world's oldest active planetarium are displayed on a mechanical wristwatch.

▽Other nominated works
・Arnold & Son "Luna Magna"
・Breitling Premier B25 Datra 42
・Bvlgari "Octo Finissimo Perpetual Calendar"
- IWC "Pilot's Watch Chronograph Top Gun Edition 'Mojave Desert'"
Konstantin Chaykin "Minotaur"

Mechanical Exception Watch Prize

Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Automatic

This ultra-thin automatic model is just 4.3mm thick thanks to the integrated case and movement, the case back serving as the base plate, and the bridge being placed on the dial side.

▽Other nominated works
Bernardo Lederer "Central Impulse Chronometer"
Christophe Claret "Napoleon"
Jacob "The Godfather by Jacob"
・Miki Eleta "Svemir"
・Ulysse Nardin "UFO"

Chronograph Watch Prize

Zenith Chronomaster Sports

Equipped with an advanced El Primero caliber capable of measuring time to 1/10 of a second.

▽Other nominated works
Angelus U30 Black Tourbillon Flyback & Split-Second Chronograph
・Breitling Premier B09 Chronograph 40
・IWC Pilot's Watch Chronograph "Tribute to 3705"
Louis Erard "Le Chrono Monopusher Louis Erard x Alain Silberstein"
・Tudor "Black Bay Chrono"

Diver's Watch Prize

Louis Vuitton Tambour Automatic Street Diver Skyline Blue

This diver's model from the iconic Tambour is water resistant to 100m.

▽Other nominated works
・Doxa "Sub 300 Carbon COSC Aquamarine"
・Miris "Archimedes Orange Coral"
・Oris Aquis Date Caliber 400 41.5mm
・Reservoir "Hydrosphere Bronze 'Greg LeCoultre Edition'"
・Ulysse Nardin "Diver X Skeleton"

Jewellery Watch Prize

Chopard "Flower Power"

The pink mother-of-pearl dial is set with 12 pink sapphires, and the entire watch is crafted from Fairmined certified 18K white gold.

▽Other nominated works
・Bvlgari "Serpenti Barocco"
・Chanel "Mademoiselle Privee Bouton Décor Byzantine"
・Hermès "Kelly Joyeulee"
・Piaget "Exquisite Moment Watch"
・Van Cleef & Arpels "Ludo Secret Watch"

Artistic Crafts Watch Prize

MB&F "Legacy Machine Split Escapement - MB&F x Eddy Jaquet 'Around the World in 80 Days'"

This Legacy Machine Split Escapement model features engraving artist Eddy Jaquet depicting the world of Jules Verne's novels.

▽Other nominated works
・Andersen Geneva "Jumping Hour 40th Anniversary Platinum Edition"
・Bvlgari "Diva's Dream Peacock"
・Hermès "Arceaux Toucan de Paradis"
・Louis Vuitton "Tambour Carpe Diem"
- Voutilainen "Duluth Bridge"

“Petite Aiguille” Watch Prize

*Watches priced between 3500 and 1 Swiss francs

Tudor Black Bay Ceramic

The matte black ceramic case is equipped with the caliber MT5602-1U, which has ultra-magnetic resistance and is certified as a Master Chronometer by METAS.

▽Other nominated works
・Breitling Top Time Deus Limited Edition
・Garrick "S4"
・Louis Erard "Regulator Louis Erard x Vianney Halter"
Seiko "Seiko 140th Anniversary Limited Edition King Seiko "KSK" Reproduction Design"
・Trilobe "Nuit Fantastic Grain Black"

Challenge Watch Prize

※※Watches priced at 3500 Swiss francs or less

Shiga Design "Blue Planet"

It is equipped with a hand-wound movement with a unique gear ratio that allows the hour hand (Earth) to rotate 30° and the minute hand (chapter ring) to rotate 390°.

▽Other nominated works
・Anoldan "Model 1 - Payne's Grey Fumé"
・Doxa "Sub 200 C-Graph Caribbean"
・Farlan Mari "Mr. Gray Ref. 1041-A"
・Massena Lab "Uniracer"
・Oris "Divers 65 Cotton Candy"

Innovation Prize

Bernard Lederer "Central Impulse Chronometer"

The caliber 9012 used in this watch has a single crown connected to two gear trains, each with its own independent barrel and remontoire.

Audacity Prize

Louis Vuitton "Tambour Carpe Diem"

Pressing the snake-shaped pusher at 2 o'clock opens a miniature theatre on the dial, with skulls and snakes playing the role of automatons that tell the hours instead of the hands. The enamel is by Anita Porcher and the engraving is by Dick Steenman.

Horological Revelation Prize

Farlan Mari "Mr. Gray Ref. 1041-A"

A Swiss brand founded in Geneva in 2019. Equipped with a mechanical quartz movement made by Seiko Instruments.

Special Jury Prize

Dubai Watch Week

　Looking at the nominations for 2021, the brands with the most nominations were Piaget with 5, IWC with 4, Bulgari with 4, and Breitling with 4.

The main nominated brands and their scores.

　The GPHG jury, selected by the Academy, inspected and evaluated the 84 nominated watches in two rounds of voting held a few days before the award ceremony, in the presence of a notary public, to determine the winners, who were then voted on by the entire Academy, which is made up of more than 500 members.

　The 2021 nominees, including the 18 winning entries, will be on display at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Geneva until November 14, 2021. To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the founding of the GPHG, an exhibition will also be held featuring 20 watches that have received the Golden Hand Award between 2001 and 2020. The 2021 winning entries will be exhibited at Dubai Watch Week from November 24 to 28, and in Paris from December 2 to 5.

Bovet 1822 Wins the Grand Prix de Genève Watchmaking Award and the Golden Hand Award