491 articles · 96 videos found · page 12 of 20
Quill & Pad
The 2022 GPHG finalists have been announced and GaryG gives a shoutout to several of the entries that he feels are of special merit or interest. He suspects that some, but not all, of them will be his winner picks but reserves the right to change his mind when the annual round tables commence.
Revolution
Quill & Pad
The rules for the GPHG's Jewellery category state that the watches must demonstrate exceptional mastery of the art of jewelry and gem setting and are also distinguished by the choice of stones featured in them. Once again our panel has a favorite, but there's no consensus.
Quill & Pad
Timepieces entered into the Chronograph category are mechanical watches comprising at least one chronograph indication, and here only two of the entries are brand-new models. Our panel has very differing opinions as to which of these six chronographs will (or should) win. Follow the discussion here!
Quill & Pad
Complication abounds in the 2021 GPHG Calendar and Astronomy category: two perpetual calendars – one of which is of world record-holding thinness – a complete calendar with chronograph, a clever day-date that you can’t help but smile at, a mind-blowingly beautiful moon phase watch, and the world’s smallest planetarium. And our panel members all (well, nearly all) have different favorites to win!
Video
Quill & Pad
The Iconic category emphasizes men’s or women’s watches from a brand’s emblematic collection, meaning one that has had a lasting influence on watchmaking and its history as well as having been on the market for more than 20 years. Five of the watches pre-selected here are either time-only or time with date; one lone chronograph completes the set.
Quill & Pad
The watches here are as different as day and night, with only two perhaps comparable to each other because they both have jump hour displays (but even these two are as different as it gets with one very classic in looks and the other ultramodern). Additionally, we have two chronographs, a worldtimer, and a mechanical opus with two time displays. It will be hard to choose among all this mechanical charm, but our panel pushes on.
Quill & Pad
It might be hard to find six more diverse pieces! Three shaped watches, two with visible movement parts, one gimmicky “troll” watch, one Japanese timepiece, one by a fashion brand turned serious watchmaker, and one designed by one of the best watch designers of all time. Whew, this is gonna be tough!
Quill & Pad
Complicated ladies' watches are not as rare as they once were, and the best thing is that they are not converted men's watches anymore but purposely designed and built specifically for female wrists. While there are a lot of absolutely stunning watches in the Ladies Complication category this year, they aren't that complicated and there are quite a few tourbillons. Nonetheless, our panel reaches something of a consensus.
SJX Watches
Singaporean collector Benjamin Chee has long been involved in watchmaking as a hobbyist, having set up two brands in the last decade, Maison Celadon for dress watches and Millechron for sports watches. While his earlier endeavours were powered by excellent Vaucher movements, Mr Chee’s latest venture is the most haute horlogerie to date. Taking its name from Mr Chee’s initials, the BCHH Celestial Voyager combines fine watchmaking with metiers d’art in series of pièce unique world-time wristwatches executed by independent watchmaker Andersen Genève. Cased in platinum, each of the seven watches in the series features a cloisonné enamel dial depicting a different stylised map. At the same time, the watches are accented by details like soldered lugs and a mother of pearl inlay on the back. Initial thoughts The Celestial Voyager is typical of Andersen’s products, meaning it’s classical in design and well made in an artisanal manner. But like many of Andersen’s watches, the Voyager is bespoke, so it reflects Mr Chee’s preferences and eye for detail. Take for instance the dial, which is elaborate in a discreet manner. The cloisonné enamel centre is the highlight, and most watches would stop there, but here the cities ring is made of sparkly aventurine glass. Elements like the cities ring play a supporting role, but getting them right often distinguishes the great from the good. The Celestial Voyager gets most of it right, and is one of the better looking...
Video
Quill & Pad
The GPHG Aiguille d’Or rewards the best of the best. Which watch will be watch of the year? Our panelists think that there are three contenders, with two in particular most likely to take the prize. Which watch do you think deserves the accolade for best watch of 2020?
Quill & Pad
Watches entered into the Challenge category are offered for a retail price under 4,000 Swiss francs. This is perhaps the most popular category as it's for watches that more people can afford, and the competition is tough. Which explains why our panel of five has three different picks for the winner.
Quill & Pad
The GPHG Petite Aiguille category is for watches with a retail price between 4,000 and 10,000 Swiss francs. This is a category that stands closer to the general public as it comprises watches that are far more affordable than the other categories except the Challenge category (under 4,000 Swiss francs).
Hodinkee
One of the most sophisticated sunrise-sunset watches is drop-dead elegant as well.
Quill & Pad
Watches in the Artistic Crafts category demonstrate exceptional mastery of one or several artistic techniques such as enameling, lacquering, engraving, guilloche (engine turning), skeletonizing, and more. Which make comparisons between the different crafts extremely difficult. But our five panelists accept the challenge and come up with three predicted winners.
Video
Quill & Pad
The GPHG foundation’s rules for the Jewellery category state that the watches must demonstrate exceptional mastery of the art of jewelry and gem setting. This is an especially difficult category to judge from still photos as you really need to touch and manipulate the jewelry and see the gems reflecting from different angles. Our panelists settle on two favorites as top contenders despite the fact that they haven't had a chance to handle these treasures.
Quill & Pad
The GPHG Diver's category contains watches linked to the field of diving, whose functions, materials, and design are suited to this activity. Diver's watches are fairly straightforward and the most successful ones tend look very much alike. However most of our panelists selected a winner from the outfield that looked very different to the norm.
Quill & Pad
The Mechanical Exception category features men’s or ladies’ watches with a special mechanism such as an innovative or sophisticated display, an automaton, a belt-driven movement, a striking or other acoustic function, or any other original and/or exceptional horological concept. And we surely have an intriguing set of finalists in the Mechanical Exception category this year: everything from a tumbling triple-axis tourbillon to an electronically controlled hybrid timepiece to a paper-thin mechanical watch and an automaton minutely replicating a 16-cylinder engine. And even more!
Quill & Pad
The GPHG Calendar and Astronomy category emphasizes astronomical and/or calendar complications included in men’s watches. Sorry, ladies' watches, you don't seem to count here. The six nominated watches cover quite a wide gamut of styles, complications, and price categories. And our panelists' picks for winner cover a rather wide gamut as well.
Quill & Pad
In the GPHG Chronometry category, we find mechanical watches that contain at least one tourbillon, and/or a special escapement, and/or another development improving precision timekeeping. What we don't find, though, is much hard data regarding precision like timing test results or in most cases even a second hand. Precision watches without a second hand? Despite that, our panel predicts a clear winner.
Video
Quill & Pad
The Iconic category emphasizes men’s or women’s watches from a brand’s emblematic collection, meaning one that has had a lasting influence on watchmaking and its history as well as having been on the market for more than 20 years. Our panelists have mixed feelings about the Iconic category and are (nearly) split down the middle on picking a favorite.
Quill & Pad
The GPHG foundation describes the Men’s Complication watches as remarkable in terms of their mechanical creativity and complexity. But many of our panelists are scratching their heads as the perennial question "is a tourbillon a complication?" comes up yet again.
Quill & Pad
Relatively simple men's watches are perhaps the most popular watches by sales, and the nominated watches in the 2020 GPHG highlight that this is a vintage year for the genre. So it's not surprising that our panelists are split three ways in their predictions for the winner. Find out what we think about all of the contenders and how ruthless we were in comparing them here.
Quill & Pad
The GPHG foundation describes the Ladies Complication category for watches entered as “women’s watches that are remarkable in terms of their mechanical creativity and complexity." And our panelists wonder: is a tourbillon enough to take home the prize?
Quill & Pad
The GPHG foundation describes the Ladies category for watches entered as “comprising only the following indications: hours, minutes, seconds, date, power reserve, and/or classic moon phase. These timepieces may be adorned with a maximum of eight carats’ worth of gemstones.” While our panelists aren't quite unanimous, we do have a clear favorite as a winner here. Read on to find out why.
Video
Question, suggestion, or just want to say hi? Drop a note.