Horological Meandering

Grand Prix d’Horologerie de Geneve 2008

It was a definitely a swelligant, elegant affair; an evening when the best and the most brilliant of the Swiss and German watchmaking industry were seen. An important evening for Geneva, it is the evening where the city shines for the industry that provides it with such an important income and prosperity. Held at the Grand Theatre in Geneve, in full view and glaring light of the press, television cameras and reporters were pressed around the outside to see who could they could see and be seen!

This year, the committee was presided over by last year’s winner of the L’Aiguille d’Or: Mr. Richard Mille.

As with any award ceremony, there were some surprises and the choices for winners did not always agree with everyone. Max Busser was quick to point out to me afterwards, when we were discussing the HM3 among other watches, that you cannot please all people all the time. Hence, the jury chosen from varied international and career backgrounds would reflect a broad decision.

This year, the Grand Prix was different. Another Grand Prix had already been held in Singapore earlier in the year and an overview was presented to the audience in Geneve. Some chap in glasses kept on appearing on the screen and I was sure that I had seen him somewhere else before!

The ceremony moved at a brisk pace. One detail I particularly liked is that each category was introduced by a cartoonist, and to my mind, the cartoons were entertaining. By way of illustration (no pun intended), the cartoon for the Complication: