Horological Meandering

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:

Each winner received their award from Miss Switzerland (the elegant and beautiful woman on the left of the screen). The speech was made explaining the watch and the reasons for its uniqueness in the watch world. I did not manage to get pictures of each and every winner, and the photos are far from good quality (for which I apologise), but here is a taste of the ceremony itself.

The big winners of the evening were Audemars Piguet, who won in two separate categories. And the big winner was a favourite of the Grand Prix de Geneve – a Frenchman moved to Geneve, reknowned for his innovative watches, movements, and business acumen: Francois Paul Journe. My congratulations to all the worthy winners.

Below are the winners in each category, sometimes accompanied with a photo, and sometimes accompanied by commentary on my part. These are simply my meandering thought, and are as subjective as the next persons. As Max Busser pointed out to me, you cannot appeal to all people all the time, but you can encourage dialogue and discussion.

Le Meilleur Horloger Concepteur
Papi Giulio



An over due award in my book, so a good choice.

Prix de la Montre Dame
Piaget Limelight Magic Hour



A definitive ladies watch; once again a good choice in my book.

Prix de la Montre Homme
Vacheron Constantin Quai de l'Ile Date-Jour et Réserve de Marche Automatique

I have to say that here I would depart from the committee and would have voted for Audemars Piguet Jules Audemars Quantieme Perpetual. That is more a reflection of personal taste on my part as I am more inclined to classic designs.

Prix de la Montre Design
Concord C1 Tourbillon Gravity



While I do admire the Concord C1, once again, this would not have been my choice I would have gone with either the Cabestan or the DeWitt Concept WX-1. However, what I really do not understand is why the Greubel-Forsey Invention Piece No 1 was not in this category. Sure, it does have a high level complication, but the main development for my mind was the design part. The double 30 degree tourbillon was previously developed, so the addition here is the design and the focus of the watch on the escapement itself. Instead, in the Complications category, the same watch was up against Complications that were seen for the first time: chiefly, the MJLC Reverso Gyrotourbillon 2, the Lange and Sohne Cabaret Tourbillon, and the DeWitt Academia Tourbillon Force a Constante a Chaine.

Prix de la Montre Joaillerie
Audemars Piguet Montre Millenary Pianoforte



As much as I admire the Audemars Piguet Millenary Pianoforte, I would have gone with the Piaget Limelight Secret Watch – a definite evening watch, with grace and innovative design.

Prix de la Haute Complication
Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Gyrotourbillon 2



For my money – the leading new complication: conical hairspring and spherical tourbillon – the rightful winner. The Gyrotourbillon 2 is an order of magnitude step forward over its predecessor.

Prix de la Montre Sport
TAG Heuer Grand Carrera Calibre 36 RS2 Caliper Chronographe



TAG Heuer continue to impress and I have to say that within the category, this was the outstanding watch – both in design and performance. For reasonable money at the haute horologerie level, you can get the only chronograph on the market (at the current time) that has the stop watch facility at 1/10th second. The design is reasonably progressive too.

Prix de la Montre Calendrier Complet
Audemars Piguet L’Equation du Temps Jules Audemars



Yup! Definitely the complete calendar watch, so the easy winner.

Prix du Public
Maurice Lacroix Eternal Moon Starside

I invoke the Chinese fortune cookie at this point.

Grand Prix de l'Aiguille d'Or
F.P.Journe Centigraphe Souverain Souveraine
Complication/haute horlogerie
Prix spécial du Jury
Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie



Richard Mille stood at the podium and introduced the winner of the Golden Hand this year. As the winner last year, Richard Mille was not permitted to enter the competition this year, and was required to chair the committee.



The winner was the perennial favourite for this competition: Francois Paul Journe. Journe’s list of accomplishments are impressive and once again, with the Centigraphe Souverain he shows what a truly innovative watchmaker he is.



Journe gave a small lecture about the mechanism. Just think about it for a moment: no new speed on the escapement wheel, but a mechanism that allows measurement to a 1/100th of a second and can stop that mechanism at the required moment. Truly innovative.



Jean Todt made an appeal for a charitable foundation.



And finally, the winners all lined up on stage for the curtain call.

As mentioned there were a number of decisions that I am not sure I would agree with. While I admire the design concept of the Concord C1, I would not have put it above the Romain Jerome Cabestan or perhaps the De Witt WX-1 in the design category. However, generally, the decisions were all good in my mind and did reflect the ‘best of class’ for 2008. And perhaps that is where the skepticism starts to play, not all the manufacturers or watchmakers submitted a piece for consideration. Notable companies that were not there were Patek and Rolex – which is a great pity to my mind. With the Chronometry Contest starting up, and with the aesthetical side represented with the Grand Prix, it is a shame that watch companies are not willing to pitch themselves in competition that show the best of what they can produce; full marks to the companies that do.

Andrew H

Acknowledgements: To Peter Harrison (Richard Mille EME Ltd) for arranging my attendence and travel to the event and to Rebecca Reed (Fraser Brand Innovations) for all the arrangements (with Richard Mille Europe Middle East & Africa Ltd) – my thanks and gratitude for my being at the Grand Prix.

AndrewH,

LOL !  I have never heard of that invocation before  -  the chinese fortune cookie defence.  Even the current Mrs MTF, who is Welsh, was puzzled.

But we agreed with your commentary and PuristS choices at large

 

Regards,

MTF

What do you say about it Bernard?

And has everyone forgotten about the El Primero? Why do all the press releases for the Tag indicate that it's the only 1/10th of a second chronograph? And what movement is it?

Thanks!

_john

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And Congrats to all the winners!!

Jon (Z3)

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