Welcome to the 2021 version of Quill & Pad’s early Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève predictions through which the staff picks favorites and explains why.
The panelists are:
Elizabeth Doerr (ED), co-founder and editor-in-chief
Ian Skellern (IS), co-founder and technical director
Joshua Munchow (JM), resident nerd author
GaryG (GG), resident collector
Martin Inexperienced (MG), resident gentleman
The GPHG basis describes the Aiguille d’Or as “. . . rewarding one of the best general watch amongst all of the classes (finest in present), additionally deemed essentially the most consultant of the watch business as a complete. It’s the most prestigious award.”
Who will win the 2021 GPHG Aiguille d’Or?
ED: And we lastly come to the Aiguille d’Or, which is de facto right down to particular person interpretations. To me it must be a complete package deal: a watch combining a number of standout parts and never solely focusing completely on essentially the most sophisticated or a specific technical breakthrough. An Aiguille d’Or laureate must be a “grail” watch.
GG: I discovered 2021 a captivating 12 months for the GPHG with some very robust watches, some complete classes whose finalists weren’t as much as the requirements of prior years, and a various mixture of watches to contemplate – the latter maybe one results of the Academy construction for winnowing the preliminary entrants right down to smaller units of finalists.
Ulysse Nardin UFO Clock
As regular, I combed via the checklist of 84 finalists and picked out these I assumed merited consideration for Finest in Present, no matter whether or not I had picked them as the highest items of their classes. Whereas the foundations for the Aiguille d’Or point out “finest watch,” two of my finalists have been clocks: the Miki Eleta Svemir and Ulysse Nardin UFO.
Miki Eleta Svemir
It’s nice to see revolutionary clockmaking included within the GPHG, and so long as these items are allowed to be class finalists I discovered it honest sport to incorporate them within the Aiguille d’Or. Among the many watches, I favored the Chopard L.U.C Quattro Dash 25, De Bethune DB Form of Two tourbillon, and the MB&F LM SE Eddy Jaquet Across the World in Eighty Days.
JM: This class is commonly a tossup after the variety of cool watches entered and the shut races in every class are taken into consideration. However what occurs typically is a watch surprisingly doesn’t win in its class and I would begin to assume it bought robbed just for it to win a particular jury award or the Aiguille d’Or.
ED: To notice, Joshua: the GPHG basis tries so far as doable to keep away from a specific watch successful a couple of prize, and as such the watch that wins the Aiguille d’Or is faraway from its class. Nonetheless, that additionally implies that the watch that then wins the related class very seemingly didn’t truly win; it got here in second.
IS: Is the Aiguille d’Or winner chosen simply from the class winners, Elizabeth, or might any of the 84 pre-selected watches win the large prize? The foundations as said aren’t clear to me: “This prize rewards one of the best general watch amongst all classes (Finest in Present), additionally deemed essentially the most consultant of the watch business as a complete.”
ED: Any of the 84 nominated watches can take the large prize, Ian. If the successful watch occurs to have gained its class, although, it is going to be faraway from that class.
IS: The large query right here for me is whether or not clocks rely as “finest general watch” once they have already been pre-selected (and accepted) by the GPHG? There are two clocks (by Miki Eleta and Ulysse Nardin) nominated within the Mechanical Exception class though the primary sentence of the class guidelines state, “. . . males’s watches which might be outstanding by way of their mechanical creativity and complexity.”
If males’s watches embrace clocks within the Mechanical Exception class, then my guess is that they qualify for the Aiguille d’Or. And in that case they’re each robust frontrunners as Gary already famous.
JM: With the unbelievable watches on show this 12 months, it truly is anyone’s guess which one will win the large prize. Whatever the winner, this 12 months is sure to have quite a lot of unbelievable items acknowledged, and that’s the GPHG exists.
2021 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève Aiguille d’Or Predictions
MB&F LMX Titanium
MG: Whereas there are such a lot of deserving watches this 12 months, I really feel that the LMX Titanium might be awarded the Aiguille d’Or. It unites so many options of the Legacy Machine that all of us have come to like in a single timepiece, but with one other distinctive twist via the ability reserve indicator. Plus, it has a inexperienced dial, and I really feel that you’ve got to have a inexperienced dial to win the highest prize this 12 months!
MB&F LMX Titanium
ED: You and I each have this one right down to win its personal class, Males’s Complication. And that’s already a tricky class, Martin.
IS: I’m a fan of the MB&F LMX Titanium, however don’t assume it’s the strongest contender from MB&F: I charge the MB&F LM SE Eddy Jaquet Across the World in Eighty Days competing within the Creative Crafts class with a greater probability on the Aiguille d’Or.
MB&F LMX in titanium
JM: MB&F is commonly the wild card as a result of what it does is so unbelievable, however persons are additionally normally divided on the aesthetics, and this watch’s response is probably going no totally different. Because it’s a Legacy Machine it’s more likely to have broad help, however the star of the present is the mechanics on show, and it’s arduous to argue in opposition to that.
It could not symbolize world information just like the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Perpetual Calendar, however it’s the most visually putting show of horology. I feel that this might very effectively take the prize given what it has to supply.
Additional studying: MB&F Legacy Machines: tenth Anniversary Retrospective And LMX
Fast Information MB&F LMX
Case: 44 x 21.4 mm, grade 5 titanium
Motion: guide winding LMX caliber with three spring barrels, 168 hours (7 days) energy reserve, 18,000 vph/2.5 Hz frequency
Capabilities: hours, minutes, second time zone hours and minutes; hemispherical rotating vertical energy reserve
Limitation: 33 items
Value: $112,000 / CHF 106,000 / €92,000
De Bethune DB Form of Two
ED: I’ve a few favorites right here, and most come from this 12 months’s Tourbillon class. I’m particularly going forwards and backwards between the distinctive Louis Moinet House Revolution and De Bethune DB Form of Two.
It could be cool for a type of to win its class and the opposite the Aiguille d’Or. And seeing as we voted unanimously for the De Bethune DB Form of Two to win the Tourbillon class – the one time our panel was unanimous throughout this complete dialogue interval – I’d suspect that it is a nice candidate for the Aiguille d’Or. So it’s my choose right here too.
Two dials and case rotation of the De Bethune DB Form of Two Tourbillon
IS: I’m with you right here, Elizabeth: the De Bethune DB Form of Two can also be my choose to win the Aiguille d’Or. If I simply needed to have one watch (cash no object), I’d be overjoyed to have this one. Whereas I additionally assume that there are two clocks within the working which have a great opportunity to win the Aiguille d’Or, the foundations state, “. . . most consultant of the watch business as a complete.” And I feel the De Bethune Form of Two is extra consultant of the business than a clock (irrespective of how unbelievable it’s).
JM: This watch represents most of what’s unbelievable about De Bethune; the one factor it’s lacking is the spherical moon part after which I’d say it’s unstoppable. The reversible case with versatile lugs is so enjoyable and multifunctional that nary a bit within the competitors stacks up in opposition to it. Two sides each exhibiting the time with totally different aesthetics is nice for altering it up, and the everyday De Bethune high quality is on show irrespective of which facet you choose.
I feel this piece may need one of the best probability to win for the easy purpose that the basic and extra conventional jury members have a facet of the watch they are going to love, whereas the avant-garde De Bethune purists will love the reverse. The mechanical awesomeness of the watch is clear, however the query might be whether or not the jury finds the watch to be greater than the sum of its elements.
Additional studying:
De Bethune DB Variety Of Two Tourbillon: Two Dials Means Double The Pleasure
Fast Information De Bethune DB Form of Two Tourbillon
Case: reversible in grade 5 titanium, 42.8 x 9.5 mm; floating lugs, crown at 6/12 o’clock
Motion: manually wound Caliber DB2579 with 30-second tourbillon with titanium stability wheel and white gold inserts, silicon escape wheel, self-regulating twin spring barrels, silicon escape wheel, 5 Hz/36,000 vph frequency, five-day energy reserve
Capabilities: twin hours, minutes; seconds on one facet
Limitation: 10 items
Value: $250,000 / 215,000 Swiss francs
Miki Eleta Svemir
GG: Did I point out that I discovered this 12 months’s choice numerous? To chop to the chase, if clocks are certainly permitted as candidates for the highest prize, I’m going with the Miki Eleta Svemir. It’s a fantastically made, landmark piece that provides its proprietor a every day reminder of our place within the cosmos as seen from each earth-centered and heliocentric views – classes in horology, astronomy, and social historical past mixed in a single knockout timepiece.
Miki Eleta Svemir
IS: I additionally strongly thought of Miki Eleta’s wonderful Svemir clock for the Aiguille d’Or, Gary, however the guidelines state the winner must be each finest, in present and be “. . . deemed essentially the most consultant of the watch business as a complete.” IMHO, Miki Eleta is an outlier, consultant of nobody apart from himself. Nonetheless, as we effectively know, the GPHG appears to stay by the motto “guidelines are there to be damaged.”
Fast Information Miki Eleta Svemir
Case: 330 x 600 mm, gold-plated brass, walnut base
Motion: manually wound motion, 144-hour energy reserve, 4,160 vph frequency
Capabilities: soar hours, minutes; perpetual calendar with date, date, month, 12 months, moon part, zodiac, seasons, equinoxes, solstices, ecliptic, equation of time; energy reserve indication, worldtime, day/evening indication, shows of geocentric and heliocentric time
Limitation: one distinctive piece
Value: 200,000 Swiss francs
Chopard L.U.C Quattro Spirit 25
GG: Among the many watches, it’s a tricky name between the Chopard and the De Bethune, however I’ll choose the Chopard for its clear appears, stunning ending, and eight days of energy reserve in a leaping indication watch. It meets my primary criterion – coherence – in a giant means and is a complicated watch that appears in tune with the sober but hopeful spirit of our occasions.
Chopard L.U.C Quattro Spirit 25
IS: The Chopard L.U.C Quattro Dash 25 was my choose to win the Males’s Complication class too, Gary, however I feel it appears just a bit “too regular” to win the Aiguille d’Or – that assertion ought to assure that it romps residence with the large prize, although!
Fast Information Chopard L.U.C Quattro Spirit 25
Case: 40 x 10.3 mm, pink gold
Dial: high-fire enamel
Motion: manually wound Caliber L.U.C 98.06-L with two serially working units of spring barrels (4 whole), energy reserve 192 hours (9 days); 28,800 vph/4 Hz frequency; Geneva Seal
Capabilities: soar hours, minutes; energy reserve
Limitation: 100 items
Value: 44,700 Swiss francs
Audacity Prize
GG: For the Audacity Prize, the Louis Vuitton Tambour Carpe Diem is my choose. It’s a watch I’d by no means purchase or put on, however for me it’s a reliable piece and the jaquemart motion is a strong piece of horological work.
Louis Vuitton Tambour Carpe Diem open (telling time) and closed (at relaxation); be aware the tail of the snake
ED: Fascinating thought, Gary. I hadn’t thought of it in that gentle.
IS: If the Miki Eleta Svemir doesn’t win the Aiguille d’Or then I feel it’d take the Audacity Prize. The Ulysse Nardin UFO clock can also be a powerful contender right here, and it’s my runner-up.
Innovation Prize
GG: For Innovation I’ll go along with the Bernhard Lederer Central Impulse Chronometer. Sure, it’s a re-packaging of final 12 months’s Lederer entry, however a considerably reworked one on the dial facet and nonetheless extraordinarily intelligent in its motion development.
Bernhard Lederer Central Impulse Chronometer
IS: If neither of the clocks win the Mechanical Exception class, then I feel the Bernhard Lederer Central Impulse Chronometer will win it and we are going to see clocks in these jury prizes. Nonetheless, if one other – maybe the Miki Eleta Svemir – wins the Mechanical Exception class, then I feel the Central Impulse Chronometer effectively deserves recognition right here. I’ll rely Lederer’s entry final 12 months as a trial run.
Beautiful view via the show again to the motion of the Bernhard Lederer Central Impulse Chronometer
JM: The Bernhard Lederer Central Impulse Chronometer is a watch that has shock Aiguille d’Or winner written throughout it. Given the completely unbelievable motion and the distinctive and technical escapements, it captures consideration. Add to that the very fact it has had its appears improved, permitting it to now current as a really sound basic watch with fashionable attraction, it might get sufficient help to assist it rise to the highest. It wouldn’t be the primary time a small impartial model has gained the Aiguille d’Or, so it’s not unattainable. The principle factor that might work in opposition to it’s how technical it’s and if the jury will perceive it effectively sufficient to validate the impressiveness of the piece.
Total I feel it’s worthy of a win, however I worry it could not get broad help, at the least outdoors of its class, for the Aiguille d’Or. This prize may very well be a great answer.
Fast Information Bernhard Lederer Central Impulse Chronometer
Case: 44 x 12.2 mm, white gold
Motion: guide winding Caliber 9012 with twin gear practice with twin 10-second remontoirs and pure escapements, 21,600 vph/3 Hz frequency, 38-hour energy reserve
Capabilities: hours, minutes, seconds
Limitation: 50 items
Value: CHF 137,850 Swiss francs
Revelation Prize
GG: For Horological Revelation? anOrdain for me with its Mannequin 1, a design-centered watch at an interesting worth.
anOrdain Mannequin 1 Payne’s Gray Fumé
IS: I’m questioning if the Bernhard Lederer Central Impulse Chronometer is perhaps included right here? Whereas Bernhard Lederer has been round without end, the watchmaking model “Bernhard Lederer” launched with this watch so ought to qualify. If this watch hasn’t been acknowledged elsewhere (which might be a disgrace) it must be a slam dunk right here. But when Bernhard Lederer does win one other prize, then I feel this prize must be handed this 12 months.
ED: I’m unsure that Bernhard Lederer qualifies right here. However anOrdain definitely does, and I’d undoubtedly counsel that model for the prize as effectively!
Particular Jury Prize
GG: I believe we are going to see Aurel Bacs on the GPHG stage one final time now that he has stepped down as jury president, this time accepting the Particular Jury Prize for his many contributions to the group over time and his successes in facilitating a thriving marketplace for pre-owned timepieces.
IS: I really feel that I’ve seen Aurel Bacs on the stage on the GPHG so many occasions that I’d should make an effort to note if he was on the receiving finish. I’ve completely no thought who (if anybody) would possibly win the Particular Jury Prize.
Honorable mentions
Louis Moinet House Revolution
ED: This watch is quite a lot of enjoyable. However behind the enjoyable are quite a lot of attention-grabbing and complex mechanics. The motion is a masterpiece requiring greater than three years of analysis and improvement.
Louis Moinet House Revolution 2021
What we see after we have a look at it are two spaceships and two tourbillons (by the way averaged by a differential) which might be positioned on totally different ranges and cross one another 18 occasions an hour, on the lookout for all of the world like they’re partaking in an epic area battle. That’s all we see as a result of the remainder of the motion is hidden to retain the purity of the area scene. Completely masterful.
Additional studying: Louis Moinet House Revolution 2021: Science Fiction Fantasy House Battle On The Wrist
Fast Information Louis Moinet House Revolution
Case: 43.5 x 18.3 mm, pink gold
Dial: black aventurine
Motion: hand-wound Louis Moinet Caliber LM 104 with two separate one-minute tourbillons, 21,600 vph/3 Hz frequency, 48-hour energy reserve, twin mainspring barrels
Capabilities: hours, minutes; spaceship animation, crown perform selector on again (winding and time setting)
Limitation: 8 items, every with a novel meteorite within the middle
Value: 360,000 Swiss francs
Bulgari Octo Finissimo Perpetual Calendar
JM: It is a world file holder and a previous favourite for the GPHG, so it’s extremely robust coming into the 2021 competitors: being the thinnest perpetual calendar in existence is a large draw.
Bulgari Octo Finissimo Perpetual Calendar in titanium
It’s nonetheless visually similar to previous Octo Finissimo items which have gained one thing, so it could get handed over for the large Aiguille d’Or given previous efficiency as a winner merely to showcase a distinct model or mannequin this time round.
Additional studying: Bulgari Octo Finissimo Perpetual Calendar: Time Actually Is Extremely Skinny!
Fast Information Bulgari Octo Finissimo Perpetual Calendar
Case: 40 x 5.8 mm, blasted titanium or brushed platinum
Motion: computerized Caliber BVL 302, 60 hours energy reserve, 28,800 vph/4 Hz, ultra-thin 2.75 mm in peak
Capabilities: hours, minutes; perpetual calendar with retrograde date, day, month, retrograde intercalary year indication
Value: $59,000 (titanium) / 57,000 Swiss francs
Predicted winners
Elizabeth: De Bethune DB Form of Two
Ian: De Bethune DB Form of Two
Joshua: De Bethune DB Form of Two
Gary: Chopard L.U.C Quattro Dash 25 or, if clocks qualify, Miki Eleta Svemir
Martin: MB&F LMX
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