Official catalogue 2016 - Edito

We are delighted to present herewith the 72 timepieces pre-selected by the jury of this 16th Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG). They are competing in 12 categories to win one of the 15 prizes that will salute the year’s crop of watchmaking expertise, excellence and creativity.

The 2016 prize list will be unveiled on November 10th in a brand-new venue. Due to renovation work on the Grand Théâtre de Genève, our prize- giving ceremony will be held for the next two years in the plush setting of the Théâtre du Léman in Geneva, just across from the harbour and the famous Jet d’Eau fountain. This 16th ceremony, as usual bringing together representatives of the great Swiss and international watchmaking family, will be broadcast live on our official website and on the partner sites.

Since 2011, the GPHG has been pursuing its mission to celebrate the watchmaking art and also contributing to its international reputation through a travelling exhibition making various stopovers in different capitals each year. This series of exhibitions presents the pre-selected watches and subsequently the competition prize-winners, thereby offering Fine Watchmaking enthusiasts a unique opportunity to admire the technical prowess and cultural wealth conveyed by these contemporary models, exceptionally united within this context. The 2016 exhibition schedule appears on pages 10 to 12.

The independent multi-disciplinary jury of the GPHG 2016, composed of 28 experts from a wide range of horizons, is also presented in the following pages through their individual responses to a question. The jury will meet behind closed doors in early November, before the prize-giving ceremony, in order to examine each of the pre-selected watches, to deliberate and to render its second and nal verdict via secret ballot. It is worth pointing out there are already more female members than previously, and we hope to steadily achieve an even better gender balance as the jury is progressively renewed over the years. Watchmaking devotees around the world are invited to take part in the vote for the Public Prize by selecting their favorite watch from the 72 pre-selected models, either on the www.gphg.org website, or at the exhibitions.

As every year, youthful brands are competing with remark- able innovations, alongside well-established peers. We view this as an encouraging sign for the profession, whose exceptional expertise is thus perpetuated and developed in new directions. Meanwhile, other brands are taking a temporary break from the competition and plan to be back with new releases next year.

We wish to extend our sincere thanks to all the brands taking part in this 16th edition of the GPHG in a spirit of healthy competition. Whether or not they win, they all contribute to promoting the entire watchmaking sector by affirming its diversity and its vitality.

Thanks are also due to the jury members whose expertise underpins the international reputation now enjoyed by the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève.

In closing, we would like to express particular gratitude to all our public and private partners as well as to the “Friends of the GPHG” whose logos appear below. The Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève simply could not exist without their invaluable support.

BY CARLO LAMPRECHT & CARINE MAILLARD
President and director of the GPHG Foundation