The Oscars of watchmaking: Who decides which watches deserve to win?

In the watchmaking world, there are three major awards worth knowing. There’s the Louis Vuitton Watch Prize for Independent Creatives, a biennial event. There’s also the Cartier Talents of Tomorrow Prize, an annual competition formerly dedicated to watchmaking that was recently expanded to include jewellery.

And then there’s the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Geneve (GPHG), an annual affair that brings the watchmaking awards season to a close with a glitzy, celebrity-studded ceremony in November. This year, it takes place on Nov 7.

All this raises the question: Why does watchmaking need awards in the first place?

Well, the same could be asked of the Emmys, Grammys or Oscars. Beyond the trophies and slightly self-congratulatory red carpets, awards generate industry buzz, raise international profiles and give watchmakers something to aspire to. The GPHG puts the spotlight on watches as creative and cultural objects, rather than just expensive, shiny baubles worn on the wrist.

A win can also bring prestige, greater visibility and, in some cases, increased sales and higher prices on the secondary market. For established brands like Audemars Piguet, Grand Seiko, IWC or TAG Heuer, a GPHG prize is unlikely to affect a watch’s retail price. But for independent watchmakers or microbrands, victory could be rocket fuel.

Japanese watchmaker Jiro Katayama experienced this firsthand. In 2024, his Otsuka Lotec No. 6 won the Challenge Prize. Priced at CHF 2,260 (about US$2,747 or S$3,500) at retail, a stainless steel example fetched US$60,300 (about S$77,200) at a Phillips auction in Hong Kong days after the win. A unique blackened steel edition sold for US$68,500.

The GPHG isn’t the watch world’s ultimate authority, though. No single organisation can claim that title.

While the GPHG operates as an independent, regulated organisation with a strictly controlled voting process, brands have to nominate their watches and pay to participate. And it doesn’t come cheap. Entry alone costs CHF 800 in administrative fees, with a further CHF 7,000 payable if a watch is nominated, to cover promotional expenses.

Crucially, some of the industry’s biggest names, including Patek Philippe and Rolex, typically don’t participate.

So yes, the GPHG is important. But is it the final word on the world’s best watches? Not quite. And therein lies the fun.

WHO DECIDES WHICH WATCH WINS?

Well, here’s the Singapore connection. And mind you, it’s a strong one. Presiding over the 2026 GPHG jury is Wei Koh, founder of watch magazine Revolution. Koh also served on last year’s jury.

Also among the 24 jurors is Michael Tay, group managing director of The Hour Glass. He is no stranger to judging watches, having served as jury president for the 2023–2024 Louis Vuitton Watch Prize for Independent Creatives.

The rest of the jurors comprise journalists, editors, auction house specialists, watch fair organisers, brand executives and collectors.

But how does the GPHG actually work?

First, participating brands submit their watches, while the GPHG Academy, an international group of more than 1,000 industry experts, can also propose candidates. Eligible watches must have been released between May 2025 and the end of October 2026. Brands can enter up to six watches, each in only one category.

It’s a bit like entertainment industry awards shows, where organisers can suggest nominees, but studios still have to say yes.

In 2026, there are 14 categories spanning everything from time-only watches and chronographs to gem-set watches and mechanical clocks. For the first time in its 26-year history, the GPHG has also done away with gendered watch categories.

NOT JUST FOR EXPENSIVE WATCHES

The GPHG also has categories for watches at more accessible price points. The Petite Aiguille (French for “small hand”) category covers watches priced between CHF 4,500 and CHF 10,000, while the Challenge category is for those priced below CHF 4,500.

Beyond the 14 categories, there is the coveted Aiguille d’Or Grand Prix (Golden Hand Grand Prize), the equivalent of Best Picture at the Oscars. Five other prizes are also awarded, including Audacity, Chronometry, Horological Revelation, Iconic Watch and the Special Jury Prize.

Then come two rounds of voting. In the first, the Academy evaluates the entries, with each member ranking six watches in every category. The six highest-scoring watches in each category become the 84 finalists.

The second round of voting is almost as secretive as the election of a new pope. The jury gathers behind closed doors in Geneva, with two notaries present, to examine and evaluate all 84 finalists. Once the jury has scored each watch, the rest of the Academy votes electronically.

The final result combines scores from the jury and Academy, with the jury accounting for two-thirds and the Academy the remaining one-third.

To prevent any one brand from dominating, no brand can win more than two awards. Votes are independently counted and verified by two notaries, while the GPHG itself receives only the final results, without access to individual voting records. Somewhat like a presenter at the Oscars holding the envelope.

GPHG: THE WORLD TOUR

Geneva might be the capital of the luxury watch industry, but the buzz surrounding the GPHG extends well beyond Switzerland. Ahead of the awards ceremony, the nominated timepieces go on a world tour, giving collectors and enthusiasts a chance to gawk at, and even handle, them in person.

Only a handful of cities outside Geneva host the travelling exhibition each year. In 2026, Mumbai and Bangkok showcased the nominated watches ahead of the Geneva ceremony, while London will host an exhibition of the prize-winning timepieces in November. Previous host cities have included Dubai, Istanbul, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Ho Chi Minh City.

With Asia accounting for a substantial share of the global luxury watch market, it’s little surprise that the region has become an important destination for the GPHG’s travelling exhibitions.

7 noteworthy watches from the GPHG 2026 nominees

From old-school craftsmanship to playful mechanical wizardry and boundary-pushing designs, these seven watches caught our attention. Win or lose, what matters more is representation: This year’s crop of nominees acknowledges Asia’s growing indie watchmaking scene – from China’s BEHRENS to Malaysia’s MING.

Audemars Piguet – Neo Frame Jumping Hour

Category: Essential

If any watchmaker has the cachet to dig deep into its archives, dust off an old design and reimagine it for a new age, it has to be Audemars Piguet. Its 151-year history is full of possibilities.. 

The Neo Frame Jumping Hour takes inspiration from a 1929 Audemars Piguet timepiece, but features an entirely new movement, Calibre 7122, the brand’s first self-winding jumping-hour calibre. The hour numeral in the upper window changes instantaneously every hour, while a retrograde mechanism drives the minutes display below.

Stylistically, the watch wouldn’t look out of place at a Great Gatsby-themed party. Elegant, stepped gadroons in 18K pink gold frame a black PVD-treated sapphire dial, which forms part of the case architecture. The design flows into an integrated, textured black calfskin strap.

Behrens x Vianney Halter – Master Collection KWH

Category: Complication

What happens when an old-school electricity meter, classic video games Snake and Tetris, and two of the most ingenious minds in modern watchmaking – one Chinese, one French – collide? Well, the Master Collection KWH is what. The steampunk aesthetic is a bonus.

The story goes that Behrens founder Lin Bingqiang chanced upon an antique electricity meter while visiting Vianney Halter’s workshop. Inspired by its square shape and industrial design, Lin proposed a collaboration with Halter, and the rest is history.

How does one tell time? By following the head of the “snake”. No, really. A ruby-bearing micro-chain system winds its way clockwise around the dial. The “snake” comprises seven lume-coated dots; find the leading dot and you’ll decipher the hour. As for the minutes, they’re read off the axle on the right. 

Chopard – Beehive Chiming Table Clock

Category: Mechanical Clock

Modern mechanical clocks often take on futuristic, sci-fi or cosmic themes, so for Chopard to apply an organic, nature-inspired concept is a stroke of brilliance. 
The beehive concept isn’t random though; it actually carries deep meaning for the watchmaking and jewellery powerhouse. In the 19th century, brand founder Louis-Ulysse Chopard likened the beehive to his workshop – a symbol of collective skill and industriousness.

In 1996, Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, whose family has owned Chopard since 1963, revived the motif when he established a new manufacture in Fleurier, Switzerland. The table clock was created in collaboration with specialist clockmaker L’Epee 1839.

Made from mineral glass, brass, stainless steel, ethically sourced goldand gemstones, the clock features rotating glass discs that display the hours and minutes. Three gold bees, decorated with precious stones, represent three generations of the Scheufele family, which has owned the brand since 1963. A chiming mechanism sounds the hours and half-hours.

Franck Muller – Round Triple Mystery Skeleton

Category: Gemset

Mystery movements aren’t new. They’ve been around since the 19th century. What sets Franck Muller’s Round Triple Mystery Skeleton apart is its openworked architecture, which reveals the mechanics behind the illusion.

The mystery concept is easy to describe but tricky to execute. The hours, minutes and seconds are displayed on three separate, concentric discs that rotate at different speeds. According to Franck Muller, the biggest technical challenge was driving the seconds disc while keeping it as light and stable as possible.

Of course, we have to mention the sheer beauty of it all. The diamond-set arabesque patterns swirling around the dial create an entrancing effect. It’s unapologetically extravagant, and all the more striking for it.

Louis Vuitton – Tambour Taiko Arty Automata

Category: Artistic Crafts

Modern haute horlogerie isn’t always about reimagining centuries-old Swiss watchmaking traditions. Case in point: Louis Vuitton’s Tambour Taiko Arty Automata. On the surface, it’s bold, wacky and a riot of colour, with a childlike exuberance that belies its sophistication.

The dial features 20 miniature elements across four levels, 23 colours of Grand Feu enamel and more than 250 hours of handwork. The movement gives you a flying tourbillon and seven automata animations.Press the button at 8 o’clock and four Monogram Flowers rotate, the heart and eye come to life, and “LOVE” becomes “MOVE”. Meanwhile, the peace-symbol tourbillon completes one rotation every minute.

And this isn’t Louis Vuitton simply outsourcing a decorative dial and slapping its logo on it. La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton developed and manufactured the movement, while La Fabrique des Arts handled the artistic work. Even the white-gold rotor features miniature painting.

Talk about a party trick.

Ming x JN Shapiro – 37.06 Lightning

Category: “Petite Aiguille”

Another great meeting of the minds – this time between Malaysian watchmaker Ming Thein and American watchmaker Joshua Nathan Shapiro (JN Shapiro). The two are friends, and the 37.06 Lightning marks their first-ever cross-cultural, cross-continental collaboration.

Each titanium dial begins life in Los Angeles, where Shapiro uses his rose engine to create a rhythmic, hypnotic guilloche pattern they call “lightning”. The dials then travel to Kuala Lumpur, where Thein carefully applies heat with a butane torch, controlling the colours that emerge.

Only about one in three dials survives the process. The heat treatment can go wrong, or the guilloche can expose variations in the titanium. On the bright side, each finished dial is unique.

The watch is powered by a manual-winding Sellita movement exclusive to Ming. Although it isn’t a limited edition, production is constrained by the labour-intensive process.

Rexhep Rexhepi – Chronograph Flyback

Category: Chronograph

Rexhep Rexhepi has earned a devoted following among serious watch collectors. His Chronograph Flyback demonstrates why.

The Kosovan watchmaker wanted to produce a chronograph flyback to his liking – one that’s slender and compact enough to be worn inconspicuously under a dress shirt. So he developed a movement with an integrated chronograph. 

The result? A watch measuring just 9.7mm thick, considerably slimmer than some of its rivals. For comparison, first-generation A. Lange & Sohne Datographs (1999–2012), often considered a benchmark for flyback chronographs, measured 12.8mm thick. Later versions measured 13.1mm or more.

The dial is wonderfully restrained, combining storm-blue Grand Feu enamel with smoked sapphire counters.

Under the hood, you get the old-school stuff: German silver movement plates and bridges, hand-bevelled wheels, black polishing, Geneva stripes, perlage and engraving. Even components hidden from view receive meticulous hand-finishing. Divine.

Source: CNA/bt