The Time+Tide team picks their GPHG favourites and snubs

Time+Tide

The Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, or GPHG, is always referred to as the Oscars of the watch industry. And just like the Oscars, these awards generate plenty of conversation and controversy when the nominations are announced, with this year proving to be no different. We went around the team and asked everyone to pick just one watch as their favourite from all the nominated timepieces, and one watch they felt got snubbed and should have made it.

Borna’s favourite: Otsuka Lotec No. 6

As someone who doesn’t have unlimited funds to splash on the eventual winner of the Aiguille d’Or, and as a matter of fact, most other nominations, the Challenge category is always the most interesting one to me personally. A special shout-out here goes to the Furlan Marri Disco Verde, which is a fantastic revival of a bygone design, but I can’t not give my vote to the Otsuka Lotec, though I do it with great hesitation. Let me explain. For starters, Jiro Katayama builds his own modules for the retrograde time displays, and his designs perfectly capture the low-tech (hence the name) intentions of the brand. What’s more, the watches are still affordable without overstepping design constraints due to the lower cost – think huge proportions or gimmicky design choices. So, why am I so hesitant? I’ve been lusting over it ever since the original No. 6 came out in 2022. Well, the brand still hasn’t reached mainstream recognition, and while I’m happy to see it finally get that, it’ll also make it more difficult to obtain than it already is, given the watches are only sold in Japan.

Borna’s vote for snubbed: Kallinich Claeys Einser Zentralsekunde

When two ex-Lange watchmakers take all of two years to develop a new watch from the ground up, you can be almost sure the result is going to be incredible. And it was, so it absolutely baffles me how the Kallinich Claeys Einser Zentralsekunde did not make it to the list of nominees. It could easily pip multiple entrants in the Time Only or Men’s categories as one of the most exciting releases of recent times. For just a smidge of background information, the development of the case was one of the more difficult parts, as it necessitated the integration of a sapphire crystal window in the side to show off the power reserve. The case itself is machined from a solid piece of steel, while the dial is naturally adorned with either hand-engraved guilloché or a tessellated engraving, while the minute track and circle surrounding the logo are hand-hammered. I love a good handset, and the Einser has one of the best I’ve seen (though not yet in person) – with a bevelled central potion and flat-brushed surrounds.

But the real treat is on the caseback, courtesy of the in-house developed KC001.1. It’s manually wound, with bridges and plates in wonderfully warm German silver, and no bevel left unchamfered. There are gears with anglage on their teeth, all the screws are blued (of course), the colourless jewels are set in gold chatons, and the polished steel pieces define what black polishing means. As the watch was only revealed recently, I’d understand if it missed the cut-off, but the Einser is actually on the GPHG website, making me believe it was entered, and making it even more difficult to understand how it missed a nomination.

Jamie’s favourite: Czapek Promenade Goutte d’Eau

For my picks, I’ve gone for two watches with pretty dials. Some fantastically technical watches were nominated for the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève this year – like the IWC Portugieser Eternal Calendar and the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra COSC, for example – but I’ve decided to go back to first principles and go for two watches that move me by the beauty of their faces (although interestingly they’re in different categories). Nominated in the Time Only category, my favourite out of all the competing watches is the Czapek Promenade Goutte d’Eau, as it’s the most elegant and emotive watch in the competition this year. Its grand feu enamel is restrained but utterly exquisite: the ripples of texture emanating out from the small seconds, like a droplet in a pond, is a masterful touch. You could just dive into that dial, it’s so rich. It’s deceptively simple, which to me is the essence of a good time-only watch.

Jamie’s vote for snubbed: Oris ProPilot X Calibre 400 Laser

Entered into the “Petite Aiguille” category (which is watches with a retail price between CHF 3,000 and CHF 10,000, and one of the categories that saw the most entrants this year), the Oris ProPilot X Calibre 400 Laser is easy to overlook, especially if you don’t know anything about it. The ProPilot X Calibre 400 is a great watch, but not a new one: what’s interesting here is the Laser’s dial, which features a technique never seen in watchmaking before. Buffy explains it in length here, but in short, it features a spectacularly shiny blue-green optical effect, similar to the iridescence of a butterfly’s wing or a beetle’s exoskeleton. What’s particularly wild is that this effect is achieved through high-tech laser-etching alone – there are no pigments on the dial at all. It’s biomimicry rather than paint. That’s bloody cool! Perhaps if Oris had debuted this innovative technology on a dressier watch and submitted it in the Time Only category, they would have been nominated.

Russell’s favourite: Daniel Roth Tourbillon Souscription

Those who know my background in this industry will not be surprised at this pick. Having worked at A Collected Man for a number of years, I was lucky enough to handle quite a few original Daniel Roth models that were made in the late 1980s and early 1990s. And so when the brand was relaunched last year, I was very excited to see how much attention to detail had been paid to all aspects. With exceptional finishing, wonderful watchmaking courtesy of La Fabrique du Temps, and true dedication to the originals shown from the man at the very top of Louis Vuitton’s watchmaking, Jean Arnault, combines for a spectacular final product.

I got hands on with this exact watch at Geneva Watch Days recently, and it is one of those watches that truly looks better in the metal. The depth of the the tourbillon cage on the dial gives an amazing effect and allows you to feel as thought you could jump in there and admire the anglage from all angles. While the argument of there being too many reissues in this industry has been going on for years, this definitely gets a pass in my book. The outstanding craftsmanship in this watch wasn’t even put on full display until the recent rose gold, standard production model was released at Geneva Watch Days, and a sapphire caseback was added. And now we know what lies beneath the highly limited, closed caseback of this Souscription model. An easy winner for me in the Tourbillon category this year.

Russell’s vote for snubbed: Anoma A1

Speaking as someone who has never founded anything, I can’t imagine how tough it really is to start your own watch brand when you’ve had no previous entrepreneurial experience. And so I was amazed to see how the efforts of young Matteo Violet-Vianello paid off when he launched Anoma earlier this year with his inaugural, asymmetrical model, the A1. He recently featured on a panel with a host of other hot, young brands, two of which were nominated – namely Berneron and Massena LAB – while the rest could easily be argued as being snubbed. But if I had to pick one out of that incredible group, it would be hard to pass up on Anoma.

The symmetrical design of the Anoma A1 centres around organic design principles, with its smooth, pebble-like form being derived from a piece of mid-century furniture. While it has been compared to various watches like the Hamilton Ventura or the designs of Gilbert Albert for Patek Philippe, I’m a huge fan of the watch. It has kept things minimal, without stripping away all aspects of its design, and would have been more than at home in the Challenge category.

Buffy’s favourite: Berneron Mirage Sienna

You may take one look at the Bergeron Mirage Sienna and think: “That’s just an homage of the Cartier Crash, except a little more normal, and not a Cartier, right?” To be honest, even if that was true, I wouldn’t care. My attraction to watches these days is solely based on looks, and the stranger, the better. I am desperate for watches to get weirder and weirder, not just in the high-end, but in affordable watchmaking too. However, the Mirage Sienna from the mind of Sylvain Berneron isn’t just weird for weirdness’ sake. The design began with the Cercle des Horlogers calibre CH233, built from the ground up with no restrictions to its layout, allowing everything to be optimised without compromise. Then, the case and dial were built around it, embracing the lack of symmetry and the warped, Dalí-esque psychedelia. The only thing trippier than its dial, is the decoration of the movement.

Buffy’s vote for snubbed: Audemars Piguet [RE]Master02

Audemars Piguet didn’t receive a single nomination for this year’s GPHG, and although there’s only so much praise you can heap on any variety of the Royal Oak, AP did have one release which deserves recognition. Audemars Piguet is the only member of the Swiss Holy Trinity which doesn’t explore its wealth of historic releases very often, so when the [RE]Master 02 came out, it was a shock. The asymmetrical, slab-like case is highly reminiscent of the imposing concrete structures erected in the aftermath of WWII. That style, known semi-affectionately as Brutalism, is a staple of modernist art which filtered through to watchmaking.

Modelled after the vintage and exceedingly rare ref. 5159BA from 1960, the [RE]Master 02 is undoubtedly bold. Its modern 41mm upscaling received some criticism, but I think it’s more characteristic of the reinforced mega-structures which still define some cities today. It may not be an entirely new design, but considering how Audemars Piguet is one of the ultimate trendsetters in watchmaking, I’m hoping it leads to a renewed interest in modernist case shapes. If it were up to me, I’d have placed it in the Iconic or the Time Only categories.