On November 13, 2025, the horological world gathered at Geneva’s Bâtiment des Forces Motrices to celebrate excellence in watchmaking at the 25th Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève. The 2025 GPHG winners represent a fascinating cross-section of creativity, technical mastery, and artistic vision—but it was a watch with just one hand that stole the show. In what many are calling a philosophical statement about the essence of watchmaking, the jury crowned Breguet’s Classique Souscription 2025 with the coveted “Aiguille d’Or” Grand Prix, marking a surprising departure from recent years’ trend toward hyper-complication.
A Night of Surprises and Celebration
Often referred to as the “Oscars of Watchmaking,” the GPHG stands as the watch industry’s most prestigious awards ceremony, celebrating the finest achievements in contemporary horology. This year’s ceremony was particularly momentous, marking not only the event’s 25th anniversary but also serving as a farewell tribute to Nick Foulkes, the journalist, author, and historian who has presided over the 30-member jury for the past five years.
Raymond Loretan, GPHG president, captured the evening’s significance: “Watchmaking represents an alliance of art and industry, mechanics and poetry, mystery, mastery of the microscopic and the pursuit of the infinite. Despite the current difficulties, it displays remarkable vitality.”
From 90 nominated timepieces across 15 categories, the 2025 GPHG winners emerged as a testament to an industry that continues to push boundaries while honoring centuries-old traditions. What makes this year’s selections particularly intriguing is the jury’s clear pivot away from the ultra-complications that have dominated recent years. Indeed, it’s a refreshing acknowledgment that sometimes less truly is more.
The Aiguille d’Or: A Tribute to Simplicity
“It looks simple, but it embodies one of the greatest challenges of watchmaking: simplicity,” the jury noted in their citation for the Breguet Classique Souscription 2025. This statement perfectly encapsulates what makes this year’s top prize winner so remarkable.
Released in April 2025 as the first creation marking Breguet’s 250th anniversary, the Classique Souscription 2025 pays homage to Abraham-Louis Breguet’s groundbreaking 1796 Souscription pocket watch. That original timepiece pioneered the concept of branding in watchmaking, offering a simplified yet precise timepiece that made haute horlogerie more accessible—though still at considerable cost.
The modern interpretation transforms this pocket watch concept into a 40mm wristwatch crafted in bespoke Breguet gold. The face is adorned with a dazzling white, grand feu enamel dial that faithfully reproduces the spirit of the timepieces once produced at the Quai de l’Horloge workshop. A single flame-blued steel hand sweeps across Breguet numerals and a chemin de fer minute track, displaying time with a resolution of plus or minus two minutes. Exactly as the original did.
Beneath the elegantly proportioned case lies the Calibre VS00, a manual-winding movement comprising 21 jewels with a 96-hour power reserve. The movement is treated in gilded brass in the same shade as Breguet gold, while the case back features handmade “Quai de l’Horloge” guilloché work and a crystal engraved with “BREGUET 250 YEARS”.
What makes this win particularly significant is its historical context. Following several years of ultra-thin watchmaking dominating the GPHG—with wins by Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak Selfwinding Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin in 2019, Piaget’s Altiplano Ultimate Concept in 2020, and Bulgari’s Octo Finissimo Perpetual Calendar in 2021—the jury’s choice represents a return to fundamental horological values. Gregory Kissling, CEO of Breguet, accepted the award by recalling how the original souscription pocket watch embodied a blend of tradition and modernity that continues to inhabit the brand today.
The Complete Roster of 2025 GPHG Winners
While the Aiguille d’Or commands the spotlight, the 2025 GPHG winners across all categories represent an extraordinary showcase of contemporary watchmaking’s breadth and depth. Let me walk you through each category and what made these timepieces stand out.
Ladies’ Watch Prize
The Gérald Genta Gentissima Oursin Fire Opal captured the Ladies’ prize with its flame-hued dial surrounded by 137 individually set fire opals. This bold, colorful creation demonstrates that ladies’ watches can be both technically sophisticated and visually arresting.
Ladies’ Complication Watch Prize
Chopard’s Imperiale Four Seasons features a rotating disc that completes a full revolution over 365 days, following the cycle of the seasons. This poetic complication transforms the watch into a wearable calendar that connects its wearer to the natural rhythms of the year.
Time Only Watch Prize
Daniel Roth’s Extra Plat Rose Gold claimed this category, marking the brand’s first major GPHG accolade since its relaunch. The jury praised how “the Extra Plat Rose Gold represents purity and savoir-faire, masterfully balancing modern elegance with time-honoured craft.” In a competitive field that included Ming, Raúl Pagès, and Piaget, the beautifully simple Roth timepiece demonstrated that successful minimalism requires exceptional skill.
Men’s Watch Prize
Urban Jürgensen’s UJ-2: Double wheel natural escapement won this category, featuring a mechanism whose elegance belies the complexity of its creation. The watch showcases a hand-finished 39mm case with guilloché dial and the rare double wheel natural escapement—a mechanism originally conceived by Breguet but perfected here with modern precision. It prevailed over strong competition, including Grand Seiko’s “Ice Forest” and Zenith’s G.F.J. Calibre 135.
Men’s Complication Watch Prize
The Bovet 1822 Récital 30 earned this prestigious prize, marking a significant return to the winner’s circle for Bovet, whose previous top honor was the Aiguille d’Or Grand Prix in 2018 for the Récital 22. The timepiece prevailed over complicated perpetual calendars from Audemars Piguet and Parmigiani Fleurier.
Iconic Watch Prize
Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar “150th Anniversary” Openworked took the Iconic prize. To mark the beginning of its 150th anniversary celebrations, Audemars Piguet unveiled a new generation of self-winding perpetual calendar movement, Calibre 7138, which for the first time ever enhances user comfort by making all function corrections possible via its “all-in-one” crown. This recognition reaffirms the enduring cultural significance of the Royal Oak line more than 50 years after Gérald Genta’s legendary design first debuted.
Tourbillon Watch Prize
Bvlgari’s Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon won this category by integrating a skeleton tourbillon into a movement with a total thickness of just 1.85 mm, demonstrating the Roman jeweler’s Swiss watchmaking division’s horological expertise with watchmaking’s most emblematic complication. This victory adds an eleventh world record to Bvlgari’s legacy of ultra-thin innovation.
Chronograph Watch Prize
The Angelus Chronographe Télèmètre Yellow Gold, a monopusher chronograph that made quite an impression at Watches and Wonders, took this category. The revival of the Angelus brand continues to gain momentum with designs that honor the manufacture’s golden age while incorporating modern refinements.
Sports Watch Prize
Chopard’s Alpine Eagle 41 SL Cadence 8HF won the Sports category as a 250-piece limited edition with one of the lightest ceramicised titanium builds in its class. This technical achievement demonstrates how luxury sports watches continue to evolve in terms of materials and wearability.
Jewellery Watch Prize
Dior Montres’ La D de Dior Buisson Couture captured the Jewellery prize, showcasing the Maison’s ability to merge haute couture aesthetics with sophisticated watchmaking.
Artistic Crafts Watch Prize
Kari Voutilainen’s 28 GML Souyou won this category, celebrating the Finnish master watchmaker’s exceptional skills in traditional decorative arts, including guillochage, enameling, and hand-finishing.
“Petite Aiguille” Watch Prize (CHF 3,000-10,000)
M.A.D.Editions’ M.A.D.2 took this accessible price category, proving that horological creativity and quality aren’t exclusively reserved for six-figure timepieces.
Mechanical Exception Watch Prize
Greubel Forsey’s Nano Foudroyante claimed this prize for extreme technical achievement. In a memorable moment, CEO Michel Nydegger accepted the award on behalf of the company’s 130 employees and gave a shout-out to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg for wearing a Greubel Forsey and appreciating mechanical watchmaking at a time when electronic technology dominates the world.
Mechanical Clock Watch Prize
L’Epée 1839’s Albatross L’Epée 1839 X MB&F won this category, featuring a striking hour function—chiming both the specific hours on the hour and a single strike on the half-hour—and an automaton composed of 16 pairs of propellers that launch into action every hour. A mechanical computer lets the owner choose between full operation mode, full quiet mode, silent mode with the propellers running, or just the chime.
The Special Prizes Among 2025 GPHG Winners
Beyond the category awards, the 2025 GPHG winners also included three special prizes recognizing broader contributions to horological excellence.
Chronometry Prize
Zenith received the Chronometry Prize for the G.F.J., a creation that reflects the Manufacture’s enduring dedication to precision and its longstanding contribution to the art of chronometry. Every element was refined with intent, from the oversized balance wheel and Breguet overcoil to the stop-second mechanism and extended 72-hour power reserve, ensuring the movement continues to embody its legacy as a benchmark of accuracy.
Audacity Prize
Fam Al Hut’s MARK 1 Möbius won the Audacity Prize as a bold debut that redefines technical miniaturisation and spatial design in haute horlogerie. This recognition of a Chinese firm signals the GPHG’s openness to new voices and approaches in contemporary watchmaking.
Horological Revelation Prize
Anton Suhanov’s St. Petersburg Easter Egg Tourbillon Clock received this prize as a far cry from tradition that strove for minimalism and wanted to give the genre of Easter egg clock a different, modern, relevant vision. The Russian independent watchmaker’s fresh approach to a classic form impressed the jury.
Challenge Watch Prize
Dennison’s Natural Stone Tiger Eye In Gold won the Challenge Watch Prize, a category for watches priced at or under CHF 3,000. The timepiece features a natural tiger’s eye dial housed in a 37mm by 33.5mm Gold PVD case with a slim 6mm profile, celebrating timeless 1960s elegance just one year after the brand’s relaunch
Special Jury Prize
Alain Dominique Perrin, president of the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, received the Special Jury Prize for his visionary role in promoting high-quality watchmaking. The former President of Richemont has spent decades advancing haute horlogerie and contemporary art, making this recognition particularly fitting.
What the 2025 GPHG Winners Tell Us About Watchmaking Today
Looking across the complete roster of 2025 GPHG winners, several themes emerge that reveal where contemporary watchmaking is heading. First, there’s a clear appreciation for historical continuity reimagined for contemporary tastes. The Breguet Classique Souscription 2025’s victory isn’t nostalgia. It’s a sophisticated reinterpretation that honors Abraham-Louis Breguet’s original vision while incorporating modern materials and techniques. Similarly, the Daniel Roth Extra Plat and Urban Jürgensen UJ-2 demonstrate how brands can draw on their archives and watchmaking heritage to create something that feels both timeless and fresh.
Second, technical innovation remains paramount, but the jury increasingly values innovation that serves a purpose beyond pure specification-chasing. The Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon achieves record-breaking thinness, but more importantly, it does so while maintaining aesthetic coherence and wearability. The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar’s new crown-operated adjustment system represents innovation focused on user experience rather than technical bragging rights.
Third, diversity in approach is celebrated. The 2025 GPHG winners span from the elegant minimalism of the Breguet and Daniel Roth to the playful mechanical poetry of the MB&F/L’Epée Albatross to the bold contemporary design of the Fam Al Hut MARK 1 Möbius. This range suggests a healthy, vibrant industry where multiple visions of excellence can coexist.
Fourth, there’s growing recognition of watchmaking beyond the traditional Swiss powerhouses. Anton Suhanov’s Russian watchmaking, Fam Al Hut’s Chinese innovation, and the continued success of independent watchmakers like Kari Voutilainen demonstrate that horological excellence knows no borders.
Experiencing the 2025 GPHG Winners
The 90 nominated timepieces, including the 20 winners, are on display at the Geneva Musée d’Art et d’Histoire until November 16, 2025. The award-winning models will then be presented from November 19 to November 23 as part of Dubai Watch Week.
For watch enthusiasts, these exhibitions offer a rare opportunity to see the 2025 GPHG winners in person, comparing approaches and appreciating details that photographs can’t fully capture. There’s something profound about standing before these timepieces, understanding the hundreds or thousands of hours of human skill invested in their creation.
Featured image: Bovet
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