The week in watches: Rexhep Rexhepi takes the Aiguille d'Or

A big week. The GPHG ceremony landed on Saturday, which meant the whole industry was watching Geneva. Alongside that, AP dropped five references at once, and a couple of smaller but very appealing stories rounded out a busy seven days.

1. Rexhep Rexhepi RRCHF Chronograph Flyback wins the GPHG 2026 Aiguille d'Or

The 26th Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève held its ceremony on November 7 at the Bâtiment des Forces Motrices in Geneva, with 84 nominated watches competing across 19 prize categories. The top prize, the Aiguille d'Or, went to Rexhep Rexhepi for the RRCHF Chronograph Flyback. It was also the first ceremony conducted entirely in English, a deliberate move by new jury president Wei Koh to broaden the event's reach. Monochrome had the full winner list up quickly, and Hodinkee covered both the livestream and the follow-up exhibition at Watches of Switzerland Knightsbridge, where the winning pieces will be on public display from November 19.

Rexhepi is about as independent as it gets, working out of Geneva with tiny production numbers and obsessive finishing standards. Giving the top prize to an independent over the major maisons sends a clear signal from the new jury. Whether you think the GPHG carries real weight or is mostly a marketing exercise, this particular result is hard to argue with on craft grounds. It's the kind of win that feels right.

2. Piaget Andy Warhol 'Camouflage' limited edition

Piaget is back with a second collaboration with the Andy Warhol Foundation, following last year's Collage edition. The new Andy Warhol 'Camouflage' takes its cue from Warhol's 1986 camouflage self-portraits, with the dial built from 27 pieces of sodalite, turquoise, rose gold, and yellow gold in a stone marquetry technique. SJX and Monochrome both had first-look coverage, with Fratello and Time+Tide also weighing in.

Stone dials are everywhere right now, but Piaget has been doing this since the 1960s, so at least they have a credible claim to the format. Translating a camouflage print, something that's normally reproduced mechanically, into hand-assembled stone marquetry is a genuinely interesting challenge. The result looks striking in the photos. If you like ornamental stone work, this is one of the more ambitious executions of it you'll see this year.

3. Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Supersonnerie and Code 11.59 stone-dial launches

AP dropped five references in one go. Three are new Supersonnerie minute repeaters: two Royal Oak models in contrasting materials and dial colours, plus a Code 11.59 Minute Repeater Supersonnerie in 18k white gold with a smoked sapphire dial showing off the cal. 2953 beneath. The other two are 38mm Code 11.59 Selfwinding watches with natural stone dials, one in yellow gold with gold obsidian, one in pink gold with black onyx and baguette-cut diamond markers, both running the automatic cal. 5909 and without a date. Monochrome, Fratello, and SJX all covered the full five-watch drop in detail.

This is a lot to absorb at once, and AP knows it. The Supersonnerie pieces are the genuinely interesting news here: the Royal Oak in titanium and, for the first time, 18k pink gold, plus the see-through sapphire dial on the Code 11.59 version that actually lets you appreciate what a minute repeater mechanism looks like in motion. The stone-dial 11.59s are competent but familiar. SJX put it plainly: neither breaks new ground, but the stones do the work. Fair assessment.

4. Serica 8315-3 Golden Green Travel Chronometer

French microbrand Serica has added a new colourway to its 8315 GMT line: the ref. 8315-3 Golden Green. The key details are a rich olive enamel dial and a two-tone ceramic bezel. Monochrome, Fratello, Worn and Wound, and Time+Tide all covered it.

Serica founder Jérôme Burgert is known for being exacting about colour, and from what the outlets described, that care shows here. The olive dial against a two-tone ceramic bezel is a combination that could easily go wrong if the shades don't sit right together. A well-executed GMT from a small French brand that takes proportions seriously is exactly what a lot of collectors say they want.

5. Breguet Classique Souscription in platinum

One day before the GPHG ceremony, Breguet announced a platinum version of the Classique Souscription. The original, in Breguet gold (a rose gold alloy), won last year's GPHG Aiguille d'Or during the brand's 250th anniversary celebrations. The timing of this platinum release is clearly not accidental. Monochrome and Fratello both had it covered with first looks.

The Souscription concept references Abraham-Louis Breguet's original subscription watch business model from the late 18th century, so there's real historical weight behind the name. Platinum is the logical next step after Breguet gold, giving the dial and case a cooler, harder character. It's a safe move commercially, but the underlying watch is strong enough that a second material variant makes sense. Worth watching if you missed the first one.

Five stories that covered everything from independent watchmaking's biggest night to a French microbrand getting a colour palette just right: a good week to be paying attention.