This year’s Grand Prix d’ Horlogerie de Geneve (GPHG)  — what some refer to as the Academy Awards of watchmaking – has announced the 84watch nominees for the 2020 edition. The nominations have been selected by more than 350 members of the watchmaking community, from brand executives, to watchmakers, watch educators and leaders and journalists and other bloggers or writers. I, for one, am proud to say that this year I am part of the Academy that votes. That doesn’t mean I have nominated all of these 84 brands. It is a “majority rules” situation.

The GPHG Nomination Process

At the beginning, the Academy was asked to nominate potential timepieces for each for the 12-plus awards.  Those initial suggestions were then contacted to discuss their potential participation. Next, the Academy was given a list of all brands submitting watches, and from there we were asked to nominate our top choices for each of the awards. The timepieces with the most votes comprise the final six entries for each of the award categories.

The next step is for a jury of 30 members from the Academy to meet behind closed doors in Geneva to go hands-on with the watches, discuss them and cast a final vote. At the same time, the rest of the Academy members will vote via a digital platform. That in-person voting takes place soon, since the GPHG 2020 Award Ceremony takes place on November 12, 2020.

GPHG And COVID-19

Unfortunately, since America is still in the height of the pandemic, and currently not welcomed in most countries without a two-week quarantine,  most likely no one from the USA Academy will be part of the final 30 in-person judges this year.  However, I look forward to voting on line – but with such a huge number of judges, which brand will be the winner in each category is truly a mystery. The GPHG is an event that I have enjoyed attending for the past few years, and am sad that this year, thanks to COVID-19 in the United States, I most likely will be unable to attend.

GPHG 2020  Nominees

Because there are 84 nominees, I am listing the nominees and showing just one watch per category. But you can view in their entire list and images of the GPHG 2020 Final nominees on their site.

It should be noted that once again, all of the brands from the Swatch Group, as well as  a good number of other big name independent brands opted not to participate, so there are many good brands missing from the list.

It also is interesting to me to note that many of these final nominees also made my “Top Watches of 2020” list published in the Fall issue of Elite Traveler.

Ladies’ :

Beauregard Lili

Bovet 1822 Miss Audrey

Chanel Mademoiselle Prive’ Bouton Perle

Dior Montres Dior Grand Bal Ruban

Hermes Arceau Petite Lune Sprinkling of diamonds and sapphires

Piaget Limelight Gala Precious Sapphire Gradient

Ladies’ Complications:

Bulgari Serpenti Seduttori Tourbillon

Charles Girardier Tourbillon Signature Mysterieuse

Jacob & Co. Astronomia Fleurs de Jardin Rainbow

Maurice Lacroix Masterpiece Embrace

Piaget Altiplano Tourbillon

Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Arpels Ballerine Musicale Diamant

Men’s:

Bulgari Octo Finissimo S Blue Dail

DeBethune DB28XP Starry Sky

Laurent Ferrier Classic Origin Green

Petermann Bedat Ded beat second

Romain Gauthier Insight Micro-Rotor Squelette Manufacture-Only Carbonium® edition

Voutilainen 28SC

Men’s Complications:

Bovet 1822 Recital 27

DeBethune DB28XP Touribllon

Girard-Perregaux Quasar Light

Greubel Forsey Hand Made 1

Hermes Slim d’Hermes GMT

MB&F HM10 Bulldog Ti

Iconic:
Breitling Chronomat B01 42

Bulgari Aluminium Chronograph

Girard-Perregaux Laureato Infinity Edition

IWS Schaffhausen Portugieser Chronograph

Piaget Altiplano Origin Automatic

Seiko Professional Diver’s 1000M

Chronometry:

Armin Strom Gravity Equal Force Stainless steel

Bernhard Lederer Central Impulse Chronometer

Brivet-Naudot Eccentricity

Chronometrie Ferdinand Berthoud FB 2RE.2

Moser & Cie. Endeavour Cylindircal Tourbillon H. Moser X MB&F

Theo Auffret Tourbillon in Paris

 

 

Calendar and Astronomy:

Behrens Apoloar

Chopard L.U.C  Perpetual Twin

IWC Schaffhausen Portugieser Yacht Club Moon & Tide

Parmigiani Fleurier Hijri Perpetual Calendar

Sarpeneva Watches Lunations Harvest Moon

Vacheron Constantin Overseas Perpetual Calendar UltraThin Skeleton

 

Mechanical Exception

Armin Strom Minute Repeater Resonance

Bovet 1822 Recital 26 Brainstrom Chapter 2

Jacob & Co. Bugatti Chiron

MB&F Legacy Machine Thunderdome

Piaget Altiplano Concept

Ressence Type 2A

 

Chronograph:

Atelier de Chronometrie Split-Seconds Chrongraph

Breitling Top Time Limited Edition

Moser & Cie Streamliner Flyback Chronograph Automatic

Kurono Tokyo by Hajime Asaoka Kurono Chronograph 1

Louis Moinet Memoris Superlight

Parmigiani Tondagraph GT Steel Black

 

Diver’s:

Breitling Superocean Automatic 28 Boutique Edition

Doxa Sub300 Carbon Aqua Lung US Divers

Grand Seiko 9RA5 Profession Diver’s 600M

Ming Ming18.01 H41

Reservoir Hydrosphere Bronze x Revolution “The Maldives Edition”

Ulysse Nardin Diver X Cape Horn

 

Jewelry:

Bulgari Serpenti Misteriosi Intrecciati

Chopard Magari

Dior Montres Dior Grand Soir Reine des Abeilles

Jacob & Co The Mystery Tourbillon Full Ruby

Piaget Limelight Gala Haute Joaillerie Opale Noire

Van Cleef & Arpels Montre Frivole Secrète

 

Artistic Crafts:

Andersen Genève Heures Sautantes 40ème Anniversaire

Bovet 1822 Amadéo Tourbillon Squelette 7 Jours

Dior Montres Dior Grand Bal Plume

Hermès Arceau Into the Canadian Wild

Jacob & Co Astronomia Sky Phoenix

Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Arpels Soleil Féerique

 

Petite Aiguille (watches retailing for 4,000 CHF and 10,00 CHF):

Bell & Ross BR 05 Skeleton

Breitling Superocean Heritage ’57 Limited Edition II

Habring2 Chrono Felix Panda

IWC Schaffhausen Portugieser Automatic 40

Sarpaneva Watches Sarpaneva x Moomin

Trilobe Secret

 

Challenge (watches under CHF 4,000):

Behrens Rotary

Breitling Endurance Pro

Kurono Tokyo by Hajime Asaoka Kurono Anniversary Green ‘森:Mori’

Louis Erard Le Régulateur Louis Erard x Alain Silberstein

Ming 27.01 Ultra Plat

Tudor Fifty-Eight

Additional GPHG 2020 Prizes

There will also be prizes awarded for Innovation, Aduacity, “Horological Revelation,”  Special Jury and Aiguille d’Or (best of show). Also, for the first time, a prize will be awarded to a Smart watch.