![[Watch Industry News] GPHG 2026 Winners Announced | Independent Horologist Rexhep Rexhepi Takes the Aiguille d’Or](https://blog.aristohk.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/Blog_GPHG-2026得獎名單-02-1024x536.webp)
GPHG 2026（Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève）officially concluded its ceremony on November 7th in Geneva. Regarded as the “Oscars of the Watch Industry,” this year marked the 26th edition of the prestigious event. With nominations from over 1,000 GPHG Academy members, an international jury awarded 20 distinct prizes. The ultimate accolade, the Aiguille d’Or (Golden Hand), was claimed by independent horologist Rexhep Rexhepi for his Chronograph Flyback.
Rexhep Rexhepi Chronograph Flyback（RRCHF）
Rexhep Rexhepi Chronograph Flyback（RRCHF）
Securing the highest honor of the evening, Rexhep Rexhepi’s victory with the Chronograph Flyback stands as the most compelling storyline of this year’s GPHG. This flyback chronograph is a continuation of his uncompromising pursuit of traditional horological vernacular: slender, pure, and meticulously refined, yet retaining the pragmatism of daily wear. Upon accepting the award, Rexhepi stated that this timepiece embodies his sheer passion for watchmaking; his initial intent was merely to construct a “thin, daily-wearable” chronograph, leading to an unexpected triumph on the industry’s grandest stage.
The victory of the Chronograph Flyback signals the GPHG jury’s affirmation that haute horlogerie need not rely on ostentatious aesthetics. It eschews exaggerated skeletonization and diamond pavé, winning instead on the merits of its chronograph architecture, caliber proportions, finishing execution, and tactile wearing experience, effectively redefining the modern high-end chronograph.
Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Chronographe Mystérieux
Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Chronographe Mystérieux
Parmigiani Fleurier’s Tonda PF Chronographe Mystérieux secured the Chronograph Watch Prize. Presenting outwardly as an elegant three-hand timepiece, its concealed chronograph hands only reveal themselves upon actuation. This execution offers both mechanical intrigue and utilitarian function, demonstrating the manufacture’s adept balance between understated design and complex horology.
GPHG 2026 Complication Watch Prize:
Cleguer Inspiration One
Cleguer claimed the Complication Watch Prize with the Inspiration One. Crafted by Mathieu Cleguer, a watchmaker with provenance at Akrivia, this dark-horse entry features an in-house developed escapement mechanism. It proves that emerging independent watchmakers possess the capability to challenge the established frontiers of high complications.
GPHG 2026 Mechanical Exception Watch Prize:
Blancpain Grande Double Sonnerie
Blancpain was awarded the Mechanical Exception Watch Prize for the Grande Double Sonnerie. Integrating the exceedingly difficult chiming complications of both a grand sonnerie and a minute repeater, this timepiece represents the zenith of traditional high-complication watchmaking. It reiterates that acoustic striking mechanisms remain one of the most arduous and captivating domains in mechanical horology.
GPHG 2026 Tourbillon Watch Prize:
Ferdinand Berthoud Chronomètre FB 2TV
Ferdinand Berthoud’s Chronomètre FB 2TV took home the Tourbillon Watch Prize. Equipped with a one-minute flying tourbillon and a fusée-and-chain transmission system, it articulates the technical pinnacle of contemporary haute horlogerie through the language of classical chronometry.
GPHG 2026 Calendar and Astronomy Watch Prize:
Audemars Piguet 150 Heritage
Audemars Piguet secured the Calendar and Astronomy Watch Prize with the 150 Heritage. This creation distills complex calendar and astronomical functions into a pocket watch format, housing 22 distinct complications. It bridges historical provenance with contemporary relevance, perfectly echoing the manufacture’s 150th-anniversary celebrations.
Ferdinand Berthoud Naissance d’une Montre 3
Ferdinand Berthoud Naissance d’une Montre 3
Ferdinand Berthoud claimed the Chronometry Prize with the Naissance d’une Montre 3. Promoted by the Time Æon Foundation, this project emphasizes the complete artisanal lifecycle—from R&D and fabrication to final regulation. For Ferdinand Berthoud, precision is not merely empirical data, but the continuation of the traditional chronometer-grade watchmaking ethos.
GPHG 2026 Time Only Watch Prize:
Chopard L.U.C 1860
The Chopard L.U.C 1860 won the Time Only Watch Prize, proving that a timepiece displaying only hours, minutes, and seconds can still command center stage. This watch triumphs on its proportions, caliber finishing, and holistic tactile quality, rather than reliance on complications. Notably, the win coincides with the 30th anniversary of Chopard’s Fleurier manufacture, adding a layer of historical resonance.
GPHG 2026 Essential Watch Prize:
Daniel Roth Extra Plat Rose Gold Skeleton
Daniel Roth’s Extra Plat Rose Gold Skeleton earned the Essential Watch Prize. The juxtaposition of a rose gold case against a skeletonized caliber strikes a balance between elegance and the display of pure craftsmanship. It suggests that true high watchmaking does not necessarily demand the most complex functions, but can manifest in ultimate proportions and finishing.
GPHG 2026 Iconic Watch Prize:
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak “Jumbo” Extra-thin Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Chronograph RD#5 “150th Anniversary”
Audemars Piguet captured the Iconic Watch Prize with the Royal Oak RD#5. Conceived for the manufacture’s 150th anniversary, this piece integrates an ultra-thin self-winding caliber, a flying tourbillon, and a chronograph within the emblematic Royal Oak Jumbo architecture—a seamless fusion of a classic motif and contemporary mechanics.
GPHG 2026 Sports Watch Prize:
Grand Seiko Spring Drive U.F.A. Ushio 300 Diver
Grand Seiko’s Spring Drive U.F.A. Ushio 300 Diver secured the Sports Watch Prize. Housing the brand’s signature Spring Drive technology within a professional dive watch architecture, it delivers precision, durability, and wearability. Emerging victorious against formidable competition from Laurent Ferrier, Hermès, IWC, and H. Moser & Cie., the win indicates the jury’s prioritization of robust sports watches built for genuine sub-aquatic and daily utility.
GPHG 2026 Jewellery Watch Prize:
Chopard Mystery Nut
Chopard claimed the Jewellery Watch Prize with the Mystery Nut. This creation synthesizes jewelry design, organic inspiration, and horological craftsmanship, showcasing Chopard’s distinct vernacular in the realm of high-jewelry timepieces and elevating the mechanical watch into wearable, miniature objet d’art.
GPHG 2026 Artistic Crafts Watch Prize:
Louis Vuitton Tambour Taiko Arty Automata
Louis Vuitton’s Tambour Taiko Arty Automata was awarded the Artistic Crafts Watch Prize. The timepiece marries an automaton with meticulous decorative arts—even the eyelashes on the dial exhibit subtle articulation—transforming the mechanism from a mere time-telling instrument into a wearable, miniature theater.
GPHG 2026 Gemset Watch Prize:
Piaget Swinging Pebble
Piaget won the Gemset Watch Prize with the Swinging Pebble. Long renowned for merging gem-setting with watchmaking, the brand continues to demonstrate its acute sensitivity to curvature, material integration, and stone arrangement, resulting in one of the most poetic jewelry timepieces of this edition.
GPHG 2026 Horological Revelation Prize:
Dominique Renaud Pulse60 Titanium Black
Dominique Renaud received the Horological Revelation Prize for the Pulse60 Titanium Black. This titanium timepiece utilizes a 1Hz beat rate, a massive balance wheel, and an unconventional escapement design, delivering an almost hypnotic cadence. Crucially, its relatively accessible price point ensures that groundbreaking mechanical architecture is no longer the exclusive purview of astronomical collector budgets.
GPHG 2026 Audacity Prize:
Konstantin Chaykin ThinKing Mystery
Konstantin Chaykin’s ThinKing Mystery was awarded the Audacity Prize. Renowned for its extreme thinness—the prototype measured a mere 1.65mm thick—the timepiece challenges the physical boundaries of mechanical watchmaking, perfectly illustrating the independent horologist’s propensity for shattering established conventions.
GPHG 2026 Petite Aiguille Watch Prize:
Otsuka Lotec No.8
Japanese independent brand Otsuka Lotec secured the Petite Aiguille Prize with the No.8. Targeted at timepieces priced between CHF 4,500 and CHF 10,000, Otsuka Lotec’s industrial design ethos and unique aesthetic successfully cut through this fiercely competitive price segment.
GPHG 2026 Challenge Watch Prize:
SpaceOne x Baltic Seconde Majeure
The collaborative Seconde Majeure by SpaceOne and Baltic claimed the Challenge Watch Prize. Open to watches priced under CHF 4,500, this creation—developed jointly by SpaceOne, Baltic, and Auffret Paris’s Théo Auffret and Guillaume Laidet—proves that French watchmaking is re-entering the international arena with formidable character.
GPHG 2026 Mechanical Clock Prize:
La Vallée Cosmo
La Vallée’s Cosmo was awarded the Mechanical Clock Prize. Within the wristwatch-dominated GPHG, this accolade serves as a poignant reminder that the allure of mechanical timekeeping is not confined to the wrist, but can extend into monumental art installations.
GPHG 2026 Special Jury Prize:
Patek Philippe Watch Art Grand Exhibition
The Special Jury Prize was bestowed upon the Patek Philippe Watch Art Grand Exhibition. Rather than recognizing a specific timepiece, this award acknowledges the manufacture’s monumental efforts in preserving, exhibiting, and transmitting horological knowledge, craftsmanship, and history through its global touring exhibitions.
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