The Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Geneva (GPHG), the Academy Awards, if you will, of the watch industry, has announced this year’s candidates. The final winners will be announced Nov. 7th at a grand gala in Geneva. Covering 18 categories, the 84 candidates represent the very best of the watch world and are hand-selected by an esteemed international jury of 30 experts. Here are some strong candidates in six of our favorite categories. Stay tuned to mensbook.com for the final results in November! gphg.org
Men’s Watches: This category endeavors to honor the finest in men’s watches overall and pulls candidates from a variety of brands, styles and designs. Our money is on this gorgeous, and special, Grand Seiko Spring Drive in platinum. Its signature textured dial is carried over into the tactile, worked platinum case. grand-seiko.com/us-en
Men’s Complications: The addition of a fascinating, spinning tourbillon at 6 o’clock to Vacheron Constantin’s popular Overseas timepiece certainly qualifies it as a strong runner in this category. The elaborate tourbillon is a complication that fights the effects of gravity on a mechanical watch. vacheron-constantin.com
Iconic: This new category offers kudos to those timepieces that have stood, or will stand, the test of time. These are the kind of watches you can spot from across the room. And Hamilton, a watch company with its beginnings in the U.S., produces just that kind of timepiece. The Intra-Matic Automatic Chronograph is simply unmistakeable. hamiltonwatch.com
Chronometry: A chronometer, as opposed to a chronograph, is a timepiece that has been certified by the Controle Officiel Suisse des Chronometres (COSC), an indepedent body that ensures mechanical timepieces are as accurate and precise as possible. TAG Heuer has created something of a sensation with is revived Autavia Isograph watches, and the fact that they are certified chronometers is icing on the handsome, vintage-feel cake. tagheuer.com
Chronograph: A timepiece equipped with a chronograph is essentially equipped with a very precise stopwatch function. In most cases, two “pushers” on the case start, stop and reset the stopwatch and central subdials tally up the elapsed time. In Hublot’s elegant collaboration with carmaker Ferrari, the Classic Fusion Ferrari GT 3D Carbon, the start pusher gets a bold red treatment enhanced by sleek carbon fiber details. hublot.com
Diver: Diving watches are a perennial favorite for gentlemen, even if they rarely take the timepiece down to depth. Longines’ HydroConquest dive watch radiates clean, classic style in it many executions, but is, for all purposes, a full-fledged dive tool, ready to tackle the most challenging of adventures. longines.com
