All the winners from the 2025 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève

THE GRAND PRIX D’HORLOGERIE DE GENÈVE has become the watch industry’s annual checkpoint. A way of taking stock of where the craft is heading and which ideas are shaping it. For an event that began in 2001, it now carries unusual weight: heritage maisons, independents and engineering specialists all submit their strongest pieces to be judged side-by-side. A win doesn’t just acknowledge technical achievement, it becomes part of a brand’s long-term identity.

This year’s top honour, the “Aiguille d’Or”, went to Breguet for the Classique Souscription 2025, a watch that revisits one of the maison’s earliest commercial ideas. Abraham-Louis Breguet’s original subscription watches were intentionally straightforward, created for clients who paid part of the cost upfront. The 2025 interpretation respects that philosophy. It’s restrained, confident and mechanically precise, leaning into the same clarity that defined those late-18th-century pieces. A nice win for those who value quiet refinement on their wrist in lieu of an eye-popping showstopper.

Precision received its own spotlight through the Chronometry Prize, awarded to Zenith’s G.F.J. Calibre 135. The movement draws on a lineage that once dominated observatory trials, returning to an architecture built for accuracy above all else. Updated materials and contemporary regulation techniques bring the calibre into modern territory, but its purpose remains unchanged: deliver stable, reliable timekeeping. In an era where many brands chase visual novelty, Zenith’s victory felt like a vote for fundamentals.

At the other end of the spectrum, the Tourbillon Watch Prize went to Bvlgari’s Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon. The brand has spent years pushing ultra-thin construction to increasingly ambitious extremes, and this piece continues that trajectory. The tourbillon isn’t presented as an ornament or theatrical flourish; instead, it becomes part of a structural exercise in reducing mass and compressing space. The result is a watch where the complication feels engineered rather than embellished.

Audemars Piguet also took home a major category, winning the Iconic Watch Prize with the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar. Few designs from the 1970s have maintained relevance as consistently as the Royal Oak, and the perpetual calendar iteration demonstrates why. It marries a recognisable silhouette with a high-function calendar movement, balancing familiarity and complexity without diluting either. The award acknowledged not only the model itself but the way AP continues to evolve a design that could easily have remained static.

In the Sports Watch category, Chopard’s Alpine Eagle 41 SL Cadence 8HF stood out for its use of an 8Hz high-frequency calibre, giving the model a sharp, responsive beat rate uncommon in mainstream sport watches. The design remains wearable and contemporary, but its technical architecture is what secured the prize – a reminder that performance is becoming a central expectation in this segment.

Independent craft was equally recognised, with Bovet 1822 winning the Men’s Complication Prize for the Récital 30. The watch reflects the maison’s signature approach: sculptural casework, layered displays and a complication set that favours depth over spectacle. Its success reinforces the GPHG’s long-standing support of small ateliers willing to break from traditional formats.

All the 2025 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève winners:

“Aiguille d’Or” Grand Prix : Breguet, Classique Souscription 2025 

Chronometry Prize: Zenith, G.F.J. Calibre 135 

Horological Revelation Prize: Anton Suhanov, St. Petersburg Easter Egg Tourbillon Clock 

Audacity Prize: Fam Al Hut, Möbius 

Iconic Watch Prize: Audemars Piguet, Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar 

Mechanical Exception Watch Prize: Greubel Forsey, Nano Foudroyante 

Chronograph Watch Prize: Angelus, Chronographe Télémètre Yellow Gold 

Tourbillon Watch Prize: Bvlgari, Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon 

Sports Watch Prize: Chopard, Alpine Eagle 41 SL Cadence 8HF 

Men’s Complication Watch Prize: Bovet 1822, Récital 30 

Men’s Watch Prize: Urban Jürgensen, UJ-2: Double wheel natural escapement 

Time Only Watch Prize: Daniel Roth, Extra Plat Rose Gold 

Jewellery Watch Prize: Dior Montres, La D de Dior Buisson Couture 

Artistic Crafts Watch Prize: Voutilainen, 28GML SOUYOU 

Ladies’ Complication Watch Prize: Chopard, Imperiale Four Seasons 

Ladies’ Watch Prize: Gérald Genta, Gentissima Oursin Fire Opal 

“Petite Aiguille” Watch Prize: M.A.D. Editions, M.A.D.2 Green 

Challenge Watch Prize: Dennison, Natural Stone Tiger Eye In Gold 

Mechanical Clock Prize: L’Épée 1839, Albatross L’Épée 1839 X MB&F 

Special Jury Prize: Alain Dominique Perrin

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