GPHG 2019 reaches Geneva for the main event

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The Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève has made it home, just in time to announce the winners.

GPHG, known as the Oscars of Watchmaking, has been touring the world, taking the 84 stunning timepieces selected by its jury to as far-flung destinations as Australia, Thailand, Mexico and Dubai. The event offers GPHG’s international audience the chance to discover the most recent technical and artistic achievements at the very top of the watchmaking industry - and to see the future winner of the prestigious Aiguille d’Or Grand Prix.

In partnership with The Hour Glass, the 84 watches by almost 50 brands - including giants such as Chanel, Hublot and Audemars Piguet, along with master craftsmen from brands such as Girard-Perregaux, D.Candaux and Ressence - first took in Sydney and The Hour Glass’ King Street boutique. Michael Tay, Co-group managing director of The Hour Glass and member of the 2019 GPHG jury, said that the retailer’s mission “is to advance watch culture around the world and it gives us no greater pleasure than to introduce the Grand Prix D’Horlogerie de Genève to watch enthusiasts in Sydney - particularly so as it is the GPHG’s inaugural appearance in Australia.

It is without doubt to be ranked as the most exciting cultural event in Australia’s horological calendar for 2019.”

Like in Australia, the next stop, Bangkok, was a first for GPHG, with a series of events centred around the finalists. In parallel with inauguration cocktails, exclusive events run by LGT private bank and the Swiss Embassy gave connoisseurs and clients the opportunity to get to grips with some of the most advanced timepieces in the world.

Mexico was a grand affair, with the tour on show at Salón Internacional Alta Relojería (SIAR) in Mexico City, the largest watch show in Latin America, followed by an exhibition in the cultural and artistic hub of Puebla.

With a glass-free view of all the timepieces, SIAR’s presentation was a brand new way of showcasing near-priceless watches, and one that Carlos Alonso, Director General of SIAR, was keen to achieve: “for watch lovers, enjoying the pieces selected for the GPHG live is a dream. Mexico and SIAR were fortunate to receive the exhibition for second time since 2017. It was a recognition for the passion that this country has for haute horlogerie but also a way to promote nominated brands were never present in Latin America before.”

Now, the timepieces have finally arrived for the main event, on show at the Musée d’art et d’histoire in central Geneva until November 14th. Alongside the collection, the public will be able to view treasures from the museum’s Palatine rooms, a series of watchmaking, enamelling, jewellery and miniature collections from the 16th to the 19th century; original projects by students of the Chair of Watch Design at the Geneva University of Art and Design; and winning pictures from the Watch Photo Awards. The public also have the chance to take part in free watchmaking initiation workshops, run by the Geneva Watchmaking School, to really see just how intricate and skilled a craft the profession really is.

The next big date in the GPHG calendar is only a few days away, on November 7th, when the 2019 winners will be announced at the Théâtre du Léman. Check back in with Living for a round-up of all the glamour - and winning watches - at the 19th GPHG prize-giving ceremony.