More than 1,500 personalities from the watchmaking world turned out at the Grand Théâtre de Genève on Saturday November 19 for the 2011 Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix awards ceremony. The “Aiguille d’Or” prize for the watch of the year went to the De Bethune’s DB28.
Created in 2001, and now under the aegis of the Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix Foundation, this event salutes international watchmaking excellence and annually rewards the finest creations and the most important figures in the watchmaking world. It thereby contributes to promoting horology and its prime values – namely innovation, a will to pass on expertise and the quest for excellence.
LAUREATES OF THE GPHG 2011
– “Aiguille d’Or” Grand Prix: De Bethune, DB28
– Best Ladies’ Watch Prize: Boucheron, Crazy Jungle Hathi
– Best Men’s Watch Prize: Hermès, Arceau Le Temps Suspendu
– Best Design Watch Prize: Urwerk, UR-110
– Best Jewellery and Artistic Crafts Watch Prize: Van Cleef & Arpels, Lady Arpels Polar Landscape
– Best Complicated Watch Prize: Zenith, Academy Christophe Colomb Equation of Time
– Best Sports Watch Prize: TAG Heuer, Mikrotimer Flying 1000 Chronograph
– “Petite Aiguille” Prize (for models under CHF 5,000): Montblanc, Star Worldtime GMT Automatic
– Best Watchmaker Prize: Vianney Halter
– Special Jury Prize: Patek Philippe Museum
– Public Prize: Audemars Piguet, Millenary 4101
As every year, the public was also able to express its opinion of the 70 watches pre-selected by the jury. The Public Prize is awarded by visitors to the exhibition held in Geneva and those who cast their votes online.
All the prize-winning and nominated watches in this 2011 edition will be presented at the Salon International de l’Horlogerie de Prestige Belles Montres, which will be held at the Carrousel du Louvre from November 24th to 27th.
This year, the watches pre-selected by the jury were also exhibited in Zurich, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Geneva prior to the prize-giving ceremony.
Relive the highlights and download pictures of the 2011 Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix ceremony on www.gphg.org.
Here are a few of the prize winners:
The DB28 from De Bethune.
Best Sports Watch: TAG Heuer’s Mikrotimer Flying 1000 Chronograph
Best Complicated Watch: Zenith’s Academy Christophe Colomb Equation of Time
