Welcome to the 2022 version of Quill & Pad’s early Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève predictions through which the crew 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
GPHG 2022 Girls’ Complication class short-list: Andersen Genève Tempus Terrae baguettes Aquamarines, Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Extremely-Skinny “RD#3”, Chaumet Sous Le Soleil Artistic Complication Timepiece, Chopard Imperiale Flying Tourbillon, Hermès Arceau Le Temps Voyageur, Van Cleef & Arpels Girl Arpels Heures Florales Cerisier
The Girls Complication class constitutes ladies’s watches which are outstanding when it comes to their mechanical creativity and complexity. These watches could function every kind of traditional and/or modern problems and indications (e.g., annual calendar, perpetual calendar, equation of time, advanced moon phases, tourbillon, digital or retrograde time show, world time, or twin time) and don’t match the definition of the Girls and Mechanical Exception classes.
JM: As we dive into these classes, we run into the identical questions we’ve had for the reason that starting concerning what qualifies as a complication, what constitutes a girls’ watch, and what needs to be the successful standards for the class. The six nominated items within the Girls’ Complication class are all superior, however solely three are what I’d truly take into account difficult watches, to not point out solely three are clearly “girls’ watches.” This makes my job of choosing a winner a lot simpler, nevertheless it demonstrates how this class is just not as easy as one would possibly count on.
GG: Now we’re speaking! If (with apologies to the makers) I discovered the assortment within the Girls’ class a bit flat, the alternative is true right here with a number of fascinating entries within the Girls’ Complication group.
I received’t be a stickler concerning the tourbillon not being a complication as in any other case I’d must disqualify the spectacular entries from Audemars Piguet and Chopard.
MG: I want to see the GPHG get a bit stricter with its entry necessities, Gary. It makes little sense to have a selected tourbillon class after which nonetheless enable tourbillons within the complication watch classes for each women and men with none further features. A part of the mission of the GPHG, in my view, can be to teach, and a tourbillon is just not a complication however a part of the regulating organ of the watch.
ED: Precisely, Martin. I’m with you on that one!
IS: One of the best factor about these six 2022 Girls’ Complication watches is the number of problems. Sure, we nonetheless have two conventional tourbillons, however the different 4 problems are something however conventional. And I don’t perceive why the tourbillons for girls usually are not competing in the primary tourbillon class anyway.
Andersen Genève Tempus Terrae Baguettes Aquamarines
MG: I believe that the Tempus Terrae Baguettes Aquamarines represents Andersen Genève at its finest. Even with the usage of the baguette-cut aquamarines, the timepiece has a refined and nearly understated character. Whereas I really like the worldtime complication, I additionally adore the usage of blue gold on this watch.
This watch additionally strengthens my opinion that the GPHG ought to let go of the precise males’s and girls’s classes, I’d gladly put on this watch as my very own day by day wearer.
Andersen Genève Tempus Terrae Baguettes Aquamarines (photograph courtesy Italian Watch Spotter)
ED: Me too, Martin! That is an impressive new interpretation of a Svend Andersen traditional, and I completely find it irresistible. Aquamarines are such an underrated and underused stone. And utilizing it right here along side the Andersen-typical blue gold and the advanced motion is beautiful.
Nonetheless, I’m afraid even the intense magnificence and traditional complexity of this watch is barely overshadowed by one other within the class this yr . . .
JM: Andersen Genève makes some improbable impartial items and is well-known for its worldtime watches. The Tempus Terrae Baguettes Aquamarines is a terrific instance of one in all these with a stunning blue gold dial and bezel set with aquamarines, however that doesn’t make this a sophisticated girls’ watch.
Maybe it’s the common assumption {that a} gem-set watch is for ladies, however there isn’t something about this watch, from its dimension to its ornament, that stands out as female, solely fancy. I’m sure there are numerous ladies who would love this watch, nevertheless it doesn’t really feel like sufficient to take the crown on this class.
Andersen Genève Tempus Terrae Baguettes Aquamarines
GG: Andersen Genève’s Tempus Terrae Baguettes Aquamarines is a traditional worldtimer dressed up with a lovely halo of aquamarines, nevertheless it’s not on the degree of technical achievement or inventiveness of a number of the different finalists.
IS: The Andersen Genève Tempus Terrae Baguettes Aquamarines affords lots: iconic worldtimer from world-class indie watchmaker Svend Andersen; lovely Andersen signature blue gold dial; and a perfect 39 mm case dimension. The bluish aquamarine gems across the bezel complement the blue dial and add low-key sparkle. This Tempus Terrae can be a extra unisex watch than a devoted girls’ watch, however that needs to be a plus. Sadly, the competitors right here is robust. Too sturdy for it to win in my view.
Additional studying:
Andersen Genève, Worldtimers, And The New BCHH Celestial Voyager
Fast Information Andersen Genève Tempus Terrae Baguettes Aquamarines
Case: 39 x 9 mm, white gold with aquamarine-set bezel
Motion: automated classic AS Caliber 1876 with in-house world time module, 40-hour energy reserve, 21,600 vph/3 Hz frequency
Capabilities: hours, minutes; second time zone (24-hour show), world time
Value: CHF 67,500
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Automated Flying Tourbillon Extremely-Skinny Automatique RD#3
JM: My favourite shade is purple, and I really like the traditional, smaller-cased Royal Oak fashions from AP, so I actually recognize this piece. However, as soon as once more, I really feel it banks on assumptions {that a} watch with a shade aside from blue or inexperienced would make it mechanically really feel female, and so the superior ultra-thin tourbillon motion ought to elevate this watch to being the very best difficult girls’ watch. However I’m simply not shopping for it.
The development for extra historically sized watches has returned, and a 37-millimeter watch is simply not that small anymore. So this watch simply feels prefer it was one searching for a class the place it might throw its weight round, not one the place it made sense. For that motive, I can’t say this watch ought to win the crown for this class.
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Automated Flying Tourbillon Extremely-Skinny Automatique RD#3
IS: Okay, I’ll admit that at 37 mm, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Extremely-Skinny RD#3 technically charges as a wearable girls’ watch, particularly because it’s skinny. And its eggplant-colored dial could enchantment to some, however it’s going to take greater than a flying tourbillion to win this competitors. I’m not a fan of the dial shade, however it is a very properly sized Royal Oak for ladies.
GG: Audemars Piguet brings us the Royal Oak Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Extremely-Skinny RD#3 – and the clunky title apart, it’s a beautiful interpretation of the Royal Oak type with one thing further within the type of a flying tourbillon. I like that this piece is geared toward ladies with its 37 mm diameter and plum-colored dial, however on the similar time it’s not solely female.
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Automated Flying Tourbillon Extremely-Skinny Automatique RD#3
ED: No, it’s not, Gary. In reality, like Joshua, I’d squarely place this within the unisex class of issues. That apart, I too like the whole lot about it that you just point out, however suppose it’s nonetheless not sufficient to win this class towards the competitors.
MG: Whereas a tourbillon is advanced to make, it’s nonetheless not a complication, so this Royal Oak has no enterprise being on this class. And never within the least as a result of a good higher model of this watch is a contender within the Tourbillon class!
Fast Information Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Automated Flying Tourbillon Extremely-Skinny Automatique RD#3
Case: 37 x 8.1 mm, chrome steel
Motion: automated Caliber 2968, ultra-thin, with one-minute flying tourbillon, 50-hour energy reserve, 21,600 vph/3 Hz frequency
Capabilities: hours, minutes
Value: CHF 178,200
Chaumet Sous Le Soleil Artistic Complication
MG: Being a thriller watch is, in my e-book, additionally not a complication. That could be a pity as a result of this Chaumet is so lovely and imaginative. Once more a kind of watches that may have finished so properly in a special class however feels a bit misplaced on this one. The usage of gems is great, and the general craftsmanship is astonishing.
Chaumet Sous Le Soleil Artistic Complication on the wrist
GG: Chaumet’s Sous Le Soleil Artistic Complication Timepiece is a really specific timepiece as its vivid colours and enormous dimension aren’t going to be for everybody. That stated, the mysterious hour and minute indicators in diamond and garnet respectively undoubtedly lend visible curiosity and enjoyable to the watch.
IS: I don’t suppose that tourbillons geared toward ladies needs to be mechanically positioned within the Girls Complication class (whereas the “males’s tourbillons” have their very own class). And I don’t suppose that, regardless of the final phrase in its title, the Chaumet Sous Le Soleil Artistic Complication actually charges as a complication. This seems to be extra like a jewellery watch to me. It’s a surprising wristwatch, however it’s going to take greater than hours and minutes displayed by rotating gems to win right here.
Chaumet Sous Le Soleil Artistic Complication
JM: Going so as of the listed watches on this class we lastly have a really female watch with a fully beautiful assortment of gems and a design that focuses on form and shade earlier than anything. It additionally has a really creative show utilizing gems that appear to drift for the hours and minutes, protecting the dial freed from almost something that isn’t a faceted gemstone.
However the show is just not a complication, neither is it whilst difficult as a show could possibly be utilizing floating gems, so for me it misses the primary mark of being a sophisticated watch.
ED: I couldn’t agree extra with what my colleagues have all stated. That apart, this watch by itself is simply beautiful, however very doubtless unwearable for me at that dimension: not solely is 42 mm far too large in diameter for my wrist, the peak of 16.3 mm takes it absolutely out of the working. Is it the gems that take up a lot room?
Fast Information Chaumet Sous Le Soleil Artistic Complication
Case: 42 x 16.3 mm, yellow gold set with brilliant-cut diamonds
Dial: set with brilliant-cut diamonds, baguette-cut and spherical rubies, rose-cut Mandarin garnets, and pink chalcedony
Motion: undisclosed automated motion, 40-hour energy reserve, 28,800 vph/4 Hz frequency
Capabilities: hours, minutes
Limitation: distinctive piece
Value: CHF 275,000
Chopard Imperiale Flying Tourbillon
GG: Simply when Audemars Piguet impresses by telling the saga of constructing a flying tourbillon motion slot in a 37 mm case, Chopard comes together with the Imperiale Flying Tourbillon and achieves the trick in a 36 mm dimension – and with chronometer certification and Geneva Seal besides. The jewels, aventurine dial, and inset mother-of-pearl make this watch the visible reverse of the Royal Oak, however I fairly prefer it.
Chopard Imperiale Flying Tourbillon
ED: And whereas the Audemars Piguet RD#3 is available in at 8.1 mm in top, this beautiful Chopard is just one millimeter larger at 9.1 – with gems and all these certifications. I’d completely like to do a side-by-side comparability of those two in the future. So far I’ve solely dealt with the Chopard watch and located it placing.
MG: Additionally a surprising watch, however just like the Royal Oak there isn’t a complication to talk of right here! Each the Chaumet and this watch ought to have been entered within the Jewelry class, the place they’ll shine for the best causes.
Chopard Imperiale Flying Tourbillon
JM: Now we come to one thing that’s each female and sophisticated, however solely within the loosest definitions for my standards. A watch with a tourbillon is commonly lumped into the class, and if it wasn’t for different far more difficult items it could possibly be a strong contender, however I actually really feel it falls quick for what is required right here.
The type of the tourbillon matching the mother-of-pearl lotus blossom on the dial may be very elegant, and I’d argue this is without doubt one of the most thematically coherent tourbillons designed for a girl this yr. It’s easy and prepared for an evening out in town in a phenomenal outfit, maybe with matching jewellery, however within the face of my prime two picks, it simply misses the mark as the very best difficult girls’ watch.
IS: If a flying tourbillon was to win this class, it could be this Chopard Imperiale Flying Tourbillon. It’s a sensational girls’ watch in each respect. I find it irresistible! Nice dimension, diamonds are in all places however not too visually dominating, the in-house automated motion is great, and the 36 mm case dimension ultimate for smaller wrists. However (and repeat after me): it’s going to take greater than a flying tourbillon to win right here. And, once more, why aren’t all tourbillon watches, each males’s and girls’, in the identical class?
Fast Information Chopard Imperiale Flying Tourbillon
Case: 36 x 9.12 mm, moral white gold, bezel set with brilliant-cut diamonds
Dial: aventurine set with diamonds and mother-of-pearl
Motion: automated Caliber L.U.C 96.24-C with one-minute flying tourbillon and diamond-set platinum micro-rotor, variable inertia stability, 65-hour energy reserve, twin serially working spring barrels, 25,200 vph/3.5 Hz frequency, formally C.O.S.C. chronometer licensed, Geneva Seal
Capabilities: hours, minutes, hacking seconds (on tourbillon cage)
Limitation: 8 items
Value: CHF 175,000
Hermès Arceau Le Temps Voyageur
MG: A daring transfer by Hermes to enter basically the identical watch, though in numerous sizes and colorways, in each the Girls and Males’s complication class. The Hermès Arceau Le Temps Voyageur is a extremely unique method to the journey watch, oozes type and class, and is unquestionably my runner up on this class.
Hermès Arceau Le Temps Voyageur (photograph courtesy Alex Teuscher)
IS: The Hermès Arceau Le Temps Voyageur was one of many, and for a lot of THE, prime watch of Watches and Wonders 2022. Just like the Andersen Genève Tempus Terrae, the Voyageur is a worldtimer, nevertheless it shows the world time in such a playful and tactile means – a pusher on the case band at 9 o’clock rotates the entire hour/minute subdial meeting across the dial one hour every time its pushed – that it’s my option to win this class.
Apparently, this similar watch (in a special shade) was shortlisted within the Males’s Complication class too. It could be a primary (to my data) if the identical watch received each the boys’s and girls’s classes. You don’t get extra unisex than that!
I believe that the one factor that may cease the Arceau Le Temps Voyageur successful right here is that if it took the highest prize of the night, the Aiguille d’Or, and that’s actually attainable.
Hermès Arceau Le Temps Voyageur in a 38 mm metal case
JM: I completely adore this complication reminding me of the mechanical creativity discovered within the L’Heure de la Lune, and the scale is well thought of good for many wrists. The wandering dial for altering the time zone and second time zone hour show at 12 o’clock are a top-notch design providing one thing distinctive from Hermès.
However, and it is a large however, I’m hesitant to say this was adequately designed to be a ladies’s watch. It is available in two sizes and colours, a 41 mm black model and a 38 mm blue model, which for a lot of would make the smaller blue model the higher purchase, however not inherently female simply due to its dimension.
I’m making gendered assumptions which are primarily based completely on tradition however provided that it was put into this class, which traditionally focuses on clearly gendered watches, it leaves me wanting right here. The watch is superb, I believe it deserves recognition and awards, however going face to face with my best choice for this class, it fails to win me over because the finest girls’ difficult watch.
GG: I do love the Hermès Arceau Le Temps Voyageur! The intelligent touring native time dial, the delicate house time indication at 12 o’clock, the visible depth, and the fanciful map of the “world” with continents bearing equestrian-related names are all very a lot to my style, and it’s a complication we’ve not seen earlier than. Since I’m a horrible cheater, I’ll place the watch second on this class, and preserve my Hermès-related powder dry for the Males’s Problems.
ED: For me this was actually the watch of Watches and Wonders 2022. I really like its severe playfulness – that’s by some means, amazingly, nonetheless utilitarian. AND it’s by far probably the most fairly priced watch on this six-timepiece shortlist. Nonetheless, in a devoted “Girls Complication” class I really feel it’s trumped by one other watch that debuted at that truthful. And so, like for Gary, it is available in second for me right here.
Additional studying: Hermès Arceau Le Temps Voyageur: Time Touring Round The World (And A Standout Star At Watches And Wonders 2022)
Fast Information Hermès Arceau Le Temps Voyageur
Case: 38 x 12.41 mm, chrome steel
Motion: automated Hermès Caliber H1837 with Chronode module; 4 Hz/28,800 vph frequency, 40-hour energy reserve
Capabilities: hours, minutes; worldtime, second time zone
Value: €18,000 / CHF 21,010
Van Cleef & Arpels Girl Arpels Heures Florales Cerisier
JM: The Girl Arpels Heures Florales Cerisier is my winner by leaps and bounds as a result of it does precisely what I believe a sophisticated girls’ timepiece ought to: present distinctive problems particular to the viewers that make sense in context.
Van Cleef & Arpels Girl Arpels Heures Florales Cerisier
It’s wonderful to make a journey watch or a chiming piece, however there needs to be a objective to creating it as a female timepiece particularly, at the least whether it is to compete for the title of finest difficult girls’ watch. The show of the time is predicated on a altering sample of automata on the dial: 12 completely different flowers blooming in configurations that shift each hour. The mechanical ingenuity alone is astonishing, however combining it with the fantastic thing about the miniature painted enamel flower petals, sculpted gold branches, and gems set into the dial and middle of every flower is what actually makes this piece such a stunner.
What’s extra, the minutes are learn alongside the sting of the case via a sapphire crystal window ensuing within the dial being utterly freed from numbers, logos, or any kind of marking. The face of the watch is pure mechanical artwork, all designed with a girl in thoughts, not only a recycled complication from a males’s watch. However the dimension of the watch isn’t too giant contemplating the advanced mechanics; it’s a little thick however nonetheless a really wearable dimension.
And because it isn’t attempting to be the very best “jewellery” watch or the very best throughout “girls’” watch, it’s a improbable option to win this class. I’m not typically extraordinarily sure of which watch would possibly win, however I legitimately will probably be stunned if this doesn’t win. It’s simply too indicative of horological excellence.
ED: Bravo, Joshua, improbable resumé of why this watch ought to win this class! I’d solely add to that the next: after I put it on my wrist at Watches and Wonders 2022, it not solely made me really feel joyful it additionally captivated everybody round me. I’d even be very stunned if this didn’t take the Girls Complication crown – or tiara because it had been.
Van Cleef & Arpels Girl Arpels Heures Florales Cerisier
MG: The Girl Arpels Heures Florales Cerisier watch is a kind of watches the place photos don’t do it justice. The opening and shutting of the flowers is one thing that it’s essential to see to really perceive the character of this timepiece. Telling time is a problem, however do we actually care? This Van Cleef & Arpels is extra a dynamic piece of wearable artwork, representing the transition of haute horlogerie to the subsequent stage of its growth. The complexity of the motion is astonishing, and the execution is ideal.
GG: My winner, by a hair over the Hermès, is the Van Cleef & Arpels Girl Arpels Heures Florales Cerisier. The wearer will spend numerous time counting up the variety of unfurled blossoms to determine what hour it’s, however I think she’s going to take pleasure in it an incredible deal. And for me this piece is a technical achievement that takes it to the highest of a really aggressive set of difficult watches.
IS: If it wasn’t for the Hermès Arceau Le Temps Voyageur, the Van Cleef & Arpels Girl Arpels Heures Florales could be my hands-down winner of this class. Right here’s a watch that makes studying the time a problem: whereas the minutes are displayed clearly across the left aspect of the case band, the hours are displayed by the variety of flowers which have bloomed (their central gems are seen) seemingly randomly across the dial, and the sequence modifications from day after day. It’s a thoughts twist, it’s enjoyable, it’s difficult, and it makes for a improbable look ahead to flower lovers. It could be a worthy winner right here, however I believe will probably be runner up (until the Hermès Voyageur will get bumped up).
Additional studying: Van Cleef & Arpels Girl Arpels Heures Florales Cerisier: A Perpetually Blooming Microcosm Of Floral Gears
Fast Information Van Cleef & Arpels Girl Arpels Heures Florales Cerisier
Case: 38 x 14.64 mm, diamond-set pink gold
Motion: automated caliber by Valfleurier, 36-hour energy reserve, 28,800 vph/4 Hz frequency
Capabilities: hours, minutes; flower automata animation
Value: CHF 247,000
Predicted Winners
Elizabeth: Van Cleef & Arpels Girl Arpels Heures Florales Cerisier
Joshua: Van Cleef & Arpels Girl Arpels Heures Florales Cerisier
Gary: Van Cleef & Arpels Girl Arpels Heures Florales Cerisier
Martin: Van Cleef & Arpels Girl Arpels Heures Florales Cerisier
Ian: Hermès Arceau Le Temps Voyageur
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