The Winning Watches of GPHG 2024

The watch world’s biggest award show just wrapped up and we have a new slate of this year’s winning watches to admire. For those who aren’t familiar with the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG), it’s essentially the Oscars of the watch industry where nominated timepieces are selected as “Best Chronograph,” “Best Men’s Watch,” “Most Iconic,” and so on. The biggest prize of the night, however, is the “Aiguille d’Or Grand Prix,” which rewards the best overall timepiece among all categories. While most of the categories are self-explanatory, it’s worth pointing out that the “Challenge Prize” is awarded to exceptional watches with a retail price equal to or under CHF 3,000 whereas the “Petite Aiguille” award goes to watches with a retail price between CHF 3,000 and CHF 10,000. With that in mind, let’s get to the winning watches of GPHG 2024.

Challenge – Otsuka Lotec No.6

Otsuka Lotec, a Japanese watch brand founded by independent watchmaker Jiro Katayama, takes a unique approach with its latest release, the No. 6. The No.6 draws inspiration from an analog meter with a Japanese fan-shaped display. Its retrograde hour and minute hands overlap, rotating on a single axis for a clean, streamlined look. The watch is powered by a Japanese Miyota movement, with an additional in-house module supporting its unique features: retrograde hour and minute hands, a central seconds disk, and a date display on the right.

Designed by Katayama himself, the No. 6 achieves a slim profile by housing the hour and minute hands within the lower part of the fan-shaped dial. The dial is carefully screwed onto the movement, ensuring perfect alignment with the bezel. For a refined finish, the edges of the hands and screw heads are beveled. Precision is key in this model — the retrograde hour and minute hands are set to return to zero in sync at 12:00, with a return timing difference controlled to within 60 seconds. Adjustments to the hour hand’s cam allow for precision down to 0.1 degrees, demonstrating Katayama’s meticulous approach to design and function.

Price: CHF 2,260

Petite Aiguille – Kudoke 3 Salmon

Independent watchmaker Stefan Kudoke’s brand, KUDOKE, is known for handcrafted timepieces that combine traditional techniques with innovative design. The HANDwerk collection’s signature style is instantly recognizable in the KUDOKE 3, but this model takes a unique approach to time display. Minutes are indicated traditionally with a blued steel hand on the top dial ring, while the hours are shown by a triple-armed hand with each arm of a different length. As each arm completes its hour scale, the next continues the sequence, making hours 2, 6, and 10 appear twice — a simple yet clever feature.

The salmon upper dial and silver-plated lower dial, secured with screws that double as minute markers, feature diamond-edged accents for subtle play with light. The HANDwerk infinity symbol appears in multiple spots, from the minute hand to the engraved balance cock. Housed in a 39mm stainless steel case with an onion crown, the KUDOKE 3 is powered by the hand-wound KALIBER 1 movement, visible through the sapphire crystal case back.

Price: CHF 9,905

Sports – Ming 37.09 Bluefin

Ming, known for its minimalist and innovative watch designs, unveiled its latest dive watch, the 37.09 Bluefin. This model balances technical dive standards with the brand’s customary good looks, offering functionality without bulk. Initially aimed at surpassing the technical achievements of the 18.01 H41, Ming took a new approach to create a slim and versatile dive watch. The re-engineered 38mm steel case features dual crowns, reinforced sapphire crystals, and extra gaskets, achieving a 600m water resistance rating. At 12.8mm thick, including the domed sapphire crystal, the Bluefin wears comfortably while maintaining a strong visual presence with its nearly bezel-free design and polished and brushed finishes.

The dial, developed over two years, features laser-engraved sapphire with proprietary chromium-based metallization and layered Super-LumiNova X1 for depth and subtle color shifts. Instead of a standard rotating bezel, the Bluefin’s timing bezel is internal, with a unidirectional mechanism at 4 o’clock designed for underwater use. Completing the design is an FKM rubber strap, shaped to follow the wrist’s curve. The Bluefin is Ming’s most comfortable dive watch to date, balancing practical dive features while maintaining the watchmaking signature style.

Price: CHF 4,950

Chronograph – Massena Lab x Sylvain Pinaud Chronograph Monopoussoir

Independent watchmaker Sylvain Pinaud, known for his meticulous craftsmanship and award-winning designs, teamed up with Massena LAB, a platform focused on unique collaborations in high watchmaking, to create the Chronograph Monopoussoir. This monopusher chronograph was crafted almost entirely by hand in Pinaud’s workshop in Sainte-Croix, Switzerland. Powered by a hand-wound, fully integrated chronograph movement with a column wheel and horizontal clutch, it operates through a single pusher subtly integrated into the crown for start, stop, and reset functions. With its chronograph mechanism exposed on the dial side, every detail was hand-finished by Pinaud.

Sapphire crystal windows along the sides of the 42mm titanium case, as well as a sapphire caseback, provide near-complete visibility of the dial and movement. The movement was built on Pinaud’s original chronograph that earned him the prestigious Meilleurs Ouvriers de France award. The watch is fitted with a Jean Rousseau Paris strap in aged calfskin with a crocodile lining. Limited to only 10 pieces, this collaboration highlighted the best of Pinaud’s talent and Massena LAB’s focus on exceptional, small-batch creations.

Price: CHF 130,000

Iconic – Piaget Polo 79

In 1979, Piaget introduced a watch that would come to define the brash, bold, and opulent vibe of the 1980s. Now, for the Maison’s 150th anniversary, that iconic design was brought back as the Piaget Polo 79. The watch’s unique and instantly recognizable construction, with alternating polished gadroons and brushed block links, flows uninterrupted from bracelet to case and onto the dial, creating a cohesive design that sits naturally on the wrist. The bracelet’s craftsmanship was so precise it looks as though it was sculpted from a single piece of gold.

Today’s Piaget Polo 79 watch stays true to the essence of the original, with updates that modern buyers will appreciate. The case has been resized to 38mm, and the quartz movement was replaced with Piaget’s ultra-thin 1200P1 self-winding caliber, visible through the sapphire caseback. This is a watch revival that further underlines the current trend towards yellow gold watches.

Price: CHF 68,500

More About Piaget Watches:
New for 2024: Piaget Polo Skeleton Ceramic
Five of The Best Piaget Watches
Quick Guide to the Thinnest Watches in the World: Bulgari, Piaget, and Everyone Else

Ladies Watch – Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Jour Nuit

Inspired by the wonder of the night sky, Van Cleef & Arpels has reimagined the famed Lady Arpels Jour Nuit watch, originally introduced in 2008, into a new 33mm white gold model that took three years to develop. A diamond-paved moon and stars gracefully follow a guilloché yellow gold sun in an endless dance across the dial, which features a 24-hour rotating disk that moves almost unnoticeable. Murano aventurine glass creates a depth effect on the dial, capturing the magic of a starlit night. The aventurine dial includes intricate openwork to house the diamond-set white gold stars, while painted blue mother-of-pearl with a guilloché finish takes up the bottom portion of the dial.

A sapphire crystal back reveals the oscillating weight of the self-winding movement, decorated with a polished, starry sky. The caseback also features a delicate enamel decal, showing a fairy that watches over the celestial dance from behind — a whimsical nod to Van Cleef & Arpels’ poetic vision.

Price: CHF 86,500

Jewelry – Chopard Laguna High-Jewelry Secret Watch

Chopard’s latest addition to its Red Carpet Collection is a one-of-a-kind jewelry watch that merges high jewelry with fine watchmaking. Designed under the vision of Co-President and Artistic Director Caroline Scheufele, this secret watch is hidden within a delicately crafted seashell, showcasing Chopard’s commitment to artistry and nature-inspired themes.

Meticulously designed and executed, this limited edition one-of-one cuff watch is decorated with a maritime mosaic with a shimmering pearl and a palette of precious stones in hues of blue, pink, and violet surrounding the dial. Creating this intricate piece required over 1,000 hours of work to bring ethical white gold, ethical rose gold, and titanium together with all the gems including pink, violet, and pastel blue sapphires, topaz, a natural pearl, emeralds, diamonds, purple, Demantoid, and Mandarin garnets. Flipping open the seashell cover reveals a small dial punctuated with a pair of blue hands for the hour and minutes.

Price: CHF 780’000

Ladies’ Complication – Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Arpels Brise d’Été

Inspired by nature, a constant muse for Van Cleef & Arpels, the Lady Arpels Brise d’Été (French for “summer breeze”)watch captures the charm of a fresh summer morning. The dial blooms with white and yellow gold butterflies, crafted in plique-à-jour enamel, set to flutter across the scene with an on-demand animation that also animates the delicate flowers and stems. The flowers, created in vallonné enamel, display shades of blue complemented by spessartite garnet pistils, set against a matte mother-of-pearl background. The champlevé enamel leaves and grass blades set with tsavorite garnets surround sculpted, hand-painted stems that add depth and texture.

This 38mm white-gold timepiece, part of the brand’s Poetic Complications collection, features a self-winding mechanical movement with 36 hours of power reserve. With its “flower breezing” animation on demand, the Lady Arpels Brise d’Été expresses a fleeting moment of nature’s cycle. The result is a layered, poetic scene where the butterflies and flowers come alive — a fabulous example of Van Cleef & Arpels’ mastery of mechanical automatons and decorative techniques.

Price: CHF 169,000

Artistic Crafts – Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Arpels Jour Enchanté

The Extraordinary Dials collection by Van Cleef & Arpels brings together jewelry artistry with fine watchmaking to create miniature worlds that bring the brand’s whimsical universe to life. Newly added to the collection is the limited-edition Lady Arpels Jour Enchanté — a 41mm white-gold watch that captures a moment of “Enchanted Nature” in three-dimensional detail. Inside the case, a graceful figure picks flowers under the morning sun, with light filtering through plique-à-jour enamel leaves and diamond-set branches. Blossoms set with yellow sapphires appear to float in a lush, endless flowerbed, achieved through a new technique called façonné enamel, creating an illusion of depth across the dial.

The watch’s white gold figure spreads wings made of translucent pearly-white plique-à-jour enamel, giving the piece an ethereal glow. Against a background of three turquoise shades, the sun sparkles with spessartites, colored sapphires, and diamonds, each stone seemingly suspended in mid-air thanks to a lifted setting technique that mimics dewdrops. The pair of hour and minute hands are placed on the right side of the dial, legible but immersed in the artistic landscape. The story continues on the caseback, where an engraved motif depicts the fairy taking flight. After two years of development and 180 hours of meticulous work, this seven-piece limited edition watch is yet another winner for Van Cleef & Arpels at GPHG 2024.

Price: CHF 358,000

Time Only – H. Moser & Cie Streamliner Small Seconds Blue Enamel

With the Streamliner Small Seconds Blue Enamel, indie watchmaking H. Moser & Cie. brings together exclusivity, performance, and craftsmanship in a watch designed for those who appreciate refined, independent watchmaking. Housed in a 39mm cushion-shaped steel case inspired by the streamlined aesthetics of early high-speed trains, this model reinterprets the brand’s signature with reworked proportions to fit the new, slimmer caliber HMC 500. Integrated into the case, the steel bracelet features arced, articulated links for seamless flow and comfort on the wrist. Its Aqua Blue Grand Feu enamel dial is achieved through a meticulous process that layers and fires three pigments to create the brand’s signature fumé effect.

Under the hood, the Caliber HMC 500, H. Moser & Cie.’s smallest 21st-century movement, showcases the company’s technical skill. A solid platinum micro-rotor mounted on a ball bearing supports its 74-hour power reserve, while a bi-directional pawl winding system keeps it efficient and slim. This movement also allows H. Moser & Cie. to incorporate new complications into smaller cases, opening doors to future designs.

Price: CHF 29,900

Men’s – Voutilainen KV20i Reversed

As its name suggests, the Voutilainen KV20i Reversed watch flaunts an unconventional “back-to-front” design that brings the movement to the front of the watch. This 39mm platinum timepiece lets you admire the movement’s intricacies, including the single-arm balance-wheel bridge and the synchronized escapement wheels (along with the hour and minute hands) from the dial side whereas the back of the watch is home to the small seconds subdial.

Technically, the KV20i features a large, in-house crafted balance wheel and a unique balance spring with a Phillips overcoil and Grossmann inner curve for enhanced accuracy. The twin escapement wheels provide a direct impulse to the balance, lowering energy needs compared to a standard Swiss lever escapement, thus improving stability and longevity while also achieving a 60-hour power reserve. Every component, from the German-silver bridges and mainplate to hand-finished steel parts, meets Voutilainen’s exceedingly high standards of craftsmanship, which was rewarded with a well-deserved win at GPHG 2024.

Price: CHF 134,900

Men’s Complication – De Bethune DB Kind Of Grande Complication

The DB Kind of Grande Complication demonstrates De Bethune’s unique take on high watchmaking. Housed in a 43.3mm titanium case, this double-sided timepiece features eight complications: perpetual calendar, spherical moon-phase indication, retrograde age of the Moon and leap years, ultra-light tourbillon in blued titanium, jumping seconds, power reserve, and the double display of hours and minutes.

Inspired by the great classical watchmaking tradition, founder Denis Flageollet and his team designed the watch with a reversible case. One side displays the Caliber DB2529 with jumping seconds, a power reserve, retrograde age of the moon indicator, and a 36,000 vph tourbillon — one of the fastest and lightest available today. The other side reveals a more traditional dial with a perpetual calendar (day, date, month, year, and leap year) and a three-dimensional moonphase display, set against the brand’s signature starry sky dial. The manual-winding movement comprises 751 components and supplies 96 hours of power reserve.

Price: CHF 400,000

More About De Bethune Watches:
De Bethune’s DB28xs Aérolite Has an Iridescent Guilloche Meteorite Dial

Calendar and Astronomy – Laurent Ferrier Classic Moon Silver

Laurent Ferrier returns to its roots with the Classic Moon Silver, a 40mm red gold watch that introduces the brand’s first moonphase complication within its renowned Classic collection. Housed in Laurent Ferrier’s signature pebble-smooth case, this timepiece combines an annual calendar and moonphase in an elegant, hand-finished silver dial, accented by slender Roman numerals and a blue chemin de fer minute track. Twin beveled windows for the day and month sit below 12 o’clock, while a small seconds and moonphase display, crafted from aventurine glass and translucent enamel, brings an alluring depth to the base of the dial.

At the heart of this model is the updated Caliber LF126.02 manual winding movement, offering an 80-hour power reserve and packed with over 30 new or modified components to support the annual calendar and moonphase functions. Visible through the sapphire caseback, the movement’s Côtes de Genève decoration and hand-polished finishing embody Laurent Ferrier’s dedication to traditional craftsmanship. Adjustments for the calendar and moonphase can be made via flush-fitted correctors on the case sides, while the rest are handled through the ball-shaped crown, providing an intuitive user experience without compromising the watch’s understated aesthetic.

Price: CHF 86,480

Tourbillon – Daniel Roth Tourbillon Souscription

Thirty-five years after it first launched, Daniel Roth returns with a reimagined classic: the Tourbillon Souscription. Honoring the original 1988 design, it was crafted by skilled artisans at La Fabrique du Temps and fashioned in classic yellow gold. The double-ellipse 35.5 x 38.6mm case measures just 9.2mm in thickness, maintaining the proportions of the original while reshaping the lugs for an improved ergonomic fit.

The solid yellow gold dial — produced in the atelier of renowned independent watchmaker Kari Voutilainen— is decorated with Clous de Paris guilloché, echoing the original’s intricate style but incorporating updated typography. What remains is the hour/minute subdial at 12 o’clock, the unorthodox three-armed seconds hand scales below that, and the tourbillon under that. Beneath, the watch is powered by the exclusive in-house Caliber DR001 manual winding movement with 80 hours of power reserve, manufactured entirely at La Fabrique du Temps in Geneva under the direction of master watchmakers Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasini.

More about Daniel Roth Watches:
A Quick History of Daniel Roth Watches

Mechanical Exception – Bovet 1822 Récital 28 Prowess 1

The Bovet Récital 28 Prowess 1 addresses a longstanding issue in world timers: Daylight Saving Time. Traditionally, collectors had to set world timers for either countries that observe Daylight Saving or those that don’t, leaving many time zones incorrect. Now, thanks to a unique roller-based display, the Récital 28 Prowess 1 ensures accuracy throughout the year. The watch’s 24 city rollers and a time-period roller, each printed on four sides, adjust automatically with a press of the sapphire cabochon on the crown. This mechanism allows all 25 rollers to turn in unison, displaying the correct time for every city, regardless of Daylight Saving adjustments.

In addition to this innovative world-time solution, the Récital 28 Prowess 1 watch includes a flying tourbillon, a roller-based perpetual calendar, and a 10-day power reserve from a single barrel. Developed over five years, the limited-edition watch (only 60 will be produced) features hand-finished, hand-engraved details, and its 46.3mm case is made from grade 5 titanium (also available in 18k red gold and950 platinum).

Price: CHF 702,650

Chronometry – Bernhard Lederer 3 Times Certified Observatory Chronometer

The Bernhard Lederer Triple Certified Observatory Chronometer pays tribute to the relentless pursuit of timekeeping precision. Led by master watchmaker Bernhard Lederer, this watch with its manual-winding movement has, aside from a COSC certification, three other certifications under its belt granted by the Besançon Observatory, the Glashütte Observatory, and Geneva’s Observatory Chronométrique. Using the Central Impulse Chronometer (CIC) movement, Lederer bridges the gap between high-precision observatory chronometers and practical, everyday wristwatches. The watch features an innovative 10-second remontoire mechanism, regulating the minute hand’s movement in 10-second intervals, aligned with a unique scale on the dial.

Crafted in-house in Saint-Blaise, Switzerland, the watch’s solid silver dial, encased in a 44mm steel case, achieves its rich white finish through a complex heating process. The minute hand follows the rhythm of the remontoire d’égalité every 10 seconds, displayed on a scale divided into six steps — one scale for every 10 seconds for a total of a full minute. The watch, awarded the Chronometry award at GPHG 2024, is limited to only eight pieces.

Price: CHF 158,000

Aiguille d’Or Grand Prix – IWC Schaffhausen Portugieser Eternal Calendar

IWC Schaffhausen’s expertise in mechanical calendars began with Kurt Klaus’s revolutionary perpetual calendar in 1985, which automatically accounts for varying month lengths and leap years. Building on this significant legacy, IWC introduced the Portugieser Eternal Calendar, its first secular perpetual calendar that accounts for the leap year exceptions (if the year is divisible by 100 and not divisible by 400, the leap year is skipped; the next one will be 2100) that plagued perpetual calendars in the past. Remarkably, the watch operates with the same streamlined single-crown control as the regular perpetual calendar.

The watch also features an eternal moon phase display, which, thanks to an advanced three-wheel reduction gear train, requires adjustment only after an astounding 45 million years. Featuring a polished and brushed 44.4mm platinum case, the watch includes a glass dial and double box-glass sapphire crystal. Powered by IWC’s in-house Caliber 52640 with a 7-day power reserve, the movement uses the efficient Pellaton winding system, which leverages bi-directional rotor revolutions to maintain energy. Completing this exceptional mechanical watch, and the big winner of GPHG 2024, is a black alligator leather strap with a platinum folding clasp.

Price: CHF 150,000

More About IWC Watches:
Review: IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Top Gun Edition “Lake Tahoe”
IWC 2024 Watches and Wonders Releases
Who Owns IWC?

GPHG 2024 – Final Thoughts

It was a big night for independent watchmaking at GPHG 2024, with many smaller, niche brands like Voutilainen, Moser, De Bethune, Bovet, Ming, and Kudoke taking home big prizes. Van Cleef & Arpels also had a super sucessful evening with three of its watches winning awards.

However, despite the wins of the indies and the jewelry-focused watchmaking, it was still IWC, a top luxury watch brand, that cinched the biggest victory of the night, the Grand Prix for its exceptional Eternal Calendar. Well deserved!

More About GPHG Watch Awards
And The Winners Are… the Winning Watches of 2023 GPHG
And The Nominees Are… the Best Watches from the 2023 GPHG Field