GPHG - Magic Night
15 November 2009
Swiss watchmaking is known for its punctuality, and the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Geneve taking place at Geneva's Grand Theâtre last night started right on the dot at 6:30—even if the hundreds of invited guests representing the creme de la creme of the high watchmaking world weren't quite done greeting each other with the traditional three kisses.Introduced by an animated duo of emcees and a dapper Laurent Picciotto, owner of Chronopassion in Paris, the jury comprising eleven watch experts from around the world honored some of the industry's most original watches of the last year.
Picciotto described the winner of the sports watch category as "a new direction" for its creator, and indeed the RM 025 Montre de Plongee by Richard Mille is the brand's first round watch, a diver's timepiece that features both a chronograph and a tourbillon.
Audemars Piguet's Jules Audemars with AP escapement deservedly took home honors for the best men's watch, and CEO Philippe Merk, quipping about his fairly new position as a Swiss German at the head of the venerable manufacture based in the Vallee de Joux, was obviously touched by the honor. Piaget once again topped the list as the best ladies' watch with the stunning Limelight Twice.
The design category was hard fought, and certainly the jury had trouble picking just one from the phenomenal final trio of watches: in the end, Urwerk and Vacheron Constantin had to bow to the mighty design of Harry Winston's Opus 9. The Opus 9, created by watchmaker Jean-Marc Wiederrecht and designer Eric Giroud, has perhaps been the least opulent of the venerable Opus series thus far, but was precisely the right watch at the right time. Combining elegant and innovative design with two chains of Harry Winston's signature diamonds to signify the time, the Opus 9's emergence is now perhaps only overshadowed by the completion of the Opus 3 after six years of engineering. Its delivery is expected to finally take place in two weeks' time.
In the high complication category, a pleased Stephen Forsey accepted top honors for Greubel Forsey's Double Tourbillon 30° Technique, a veritable ballet of tourbillon technology. In the jewelry category, Hublot's One Million Dollar Watch beat out Vacheron Constantin's flame-cut Kalla.
The public prize, chosen by the readers of Worldtempus and visitors to two UBS pre-exhibitions, was awarded to a rather subdued Fawaz Gruosi of de Grisogono for the mechanical digital watch Meccanico dG.
A grand surprise of the evening occurred when the next award was presented to Anthony Randall for his lifetime service as a "watchmaker creator." Randall, who pioneered work with multi-axis tourbillon technology and glass balance springs, was visibly surprised by the honor. "This is most extraordinary," he exclaimed.
Finally, after Musee International d'Horlogerie in La Chaux-de-Fonds curator Ludwig Oechslin accepted the "special award of the jury," the main prize of the evening was presented by last year's recipient, François-Paul Journe: the Aiguille d'Or. The Lange Zeitwerk, not honored in the design category, was put in the spotlight here. This extraordinary digital watch was justifiably chosen by the jury for its forward-thinking technology and design—a true Lange timepiece for the modern age. Walter Lange and interim CEO Jerzy Schaper accepted the award before an audience very obviously appreciative of the history and daring that has gone into the making of this extraordinary timepiece.
ACCES TO THE RESULTS
On Tuesday, find more pictures at
www.point-of-views.ch
Rated 
In stock
[Rating:(5 / 5 stars)]
Sale Price:US$259.00
Sale Price:US$298.00
Sale Price:US$289.00
Sale Price:US$289.00
Sale Price:US$268.00
Sale Price:US$298.00
Sale Price:US$259.00
Sale Price:US$278.00
Sale Price:US$259.00
Sale Price:US$289.00
Sale Price:US$248.00
Sale Price:US$299.00
Sale Price:US$249.00
Sale Price:US$278.00
Sale Price:US$289.00
Sale Price:US$289.00
