The Aiguille d’Or prize is equivalent to the Oscars’ Best Picture. Presented by last year’s winner, IWC CEO Chris Granger-Herr, the Aiguille d’Or is not on the nomination list but is chosen by the jury as the most significant piece among all entries, which this year went to Breguet. The Classique Souscription is a 40 mm epitome of classicism, and a single-handed purist vision. The prize was accepted by a visibly moved Gregory Kissling of Breguet, who thanked his collective team of craftsmen. The meaning of Aiguille d’Or implies a “golden peak” of watchmaking, and the minimal perfection of the Classique Souscription is this and more, with a movement architecture directly inspired by the architecture of the first Souscription watches signed by Abraham-Louis Breguet.

Debates on unisex watch design aside, there was an unmistakable femininity in all watches nominated in the Ladies’ category. Enjoyably, the fiery rebirth of the Gérald Genta Oursin—originally a 1994 design for his wife—won out for its outré flamboyance. With a matte yellow-gold case set with a myriad polished fire opals, it lives up to its French name for a sea urchin, with the mythical watchmakers Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasini on stage to accept the award. Barbasini thanked the jury and Jean Arnault for proposing the rebirth. He and Navas have come full circle from working for Genta to now being entrusted with keeping his iconic spirit alive at LVMH’s manufacture La Fabrique du Temps.

The audacious Imperiale Four Seasons takes Chopard’s expertise in Mètiers d’Art and gem setting to a glittering conclusion, with Caroline Scheufele proudly accepting the award on behalf of the family, before inviting her brother Karl-Friedrich to join her on stage, underlining the Imperiale’s creation as a cooperative effort. This is the first time a Ladies Complication from Chopard has won, and within its dial lies a rotating disc that completes a full revolution over 365 days, evoking the gentle cycle of the seasons.

Purity of purpose is a term that aptly describes this category, with a bare minimum of markings and hands to show the time—watches with a singular purpose. The winning Daniel Roth exemplifies exquisite formality in rose gold, emphasising the details within the unmistakable shape of the eclectic brand. As the second winner reborn under LVMH’s wing, it was presented by Rexhep Rexhepi, the famed independent watchmaker who has collaborated with Louis Vuitton. The prize was once again accepted by masters of the craft, Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasini, who vigorously emphasised the collective efforts at La Fabrique Du Temps.

Similar to the Time Only category, but with minimal complications such as a date or power reserve, this category often prolongs jury debates, and for good reason. The UJ-2, which, at its heart, features a double-wheel natural escapement, is one of the three debut watches from Urban Jürgensen. Alex Rosenfield came to the stage with Kari Voutilainen, who accepted, visibly elated to be part of relaunching the 250-year-old brand, while acknowledging the big responsibility of fielding a modern watch that carries the original brand’s design codes. Rosenfield joined him, thanking the new watchmaking team in Biel for forming a brand that is just starting its next chapter and will try to live up to the legacy of Urban Jürgensen.

Auro Montanari, a.k.a. Goldberger, presented the award for Men’s Complication to Bovet’s Pascal Raffy, for an innovative watch with a selective timezone display. Raffy came onto the stage, saying he was very moved by the award, explaining the birth of the idea of this watch during the pandemic, and his three children contributing to the colours and vintage inspiration. The Recital 30 has a 42 mm titanium case, and its information-packed display allows world travellers to accurately display the global time zones during the four time periods of the year.

Perhaps not the easiest to define, the Iconic category this year featured a wide range of watches, from retro to wild futurism, all with immense wrist presence. Mechanical innovation came to the fore, and the reimagined 41 mm Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar rendered in the brand’s proprietary Sand Gold was a worthy winner. Featuring the brand-new Calibre 7138, CEO Ilaria Resta was immensely proud to receive the prize for what is an important evolution of the Genta icon, and fittingly, in their 150th Anniversary year.

The Tourbillon is a centuries-old regulating organ that will easily distract the owner from time itself, and remains the ultimate complication. Bulgari has mastered it within the wafer-thin Finissimo, in its honed, perennially record-breaking form. Boss Jean-Christophe Babin accepted the award with a lot of emotion, acknowledging the importance of a flying tourbillon within the exceptionally thin mastery devised by product creation executive director for Bulgari, Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani. For Babin it was a fitting way to mark his own 25 years in the watch industry, thanking colleagues, well knowing he won’t be there for another 25. But the Finissimo will be, and probably still breaking records.

The Nano Foudroyante is, at 37.9 mm, much smaller (even demure) compared to what we are used to from the brand. But don’t be fooled: At the heart of this timepiece lies a disruptive idea—nanomechanics, the control of energy at the nanojoule scale within a mechanical movement. Michel Nydegger, Greubel Forsey’s young CEO, joked about taking full credit for other people’s work, work that he deeply respects and admires. With a smile, he thanked the 130 Greubel Forsey watchmakers, finishers and engineers, as well as Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey, who started the company, for a well-deserved prize.

Angelus is the sister brand of high-complication master Arnold & Son, and in this 37 mm monopusher chronograph, it has hit the right vintage notes. The grained, white-nickel dial with applied markers features a mid-century design and information-packed graphics. It represents the smallest Angelus model, featuring a slim, sweeping case that houses a hand-wound movement with a 42-hour power reserve. CEO Pascal Bechu can be proud of what is a distinctive, near-perfect vintage chronograph, with a balanced dial featuring recessed small seconds at 9 o’clock and a 30-minute totaliser at 3 o’clock, powered by the A5000 calibre—a technical cornerstone for Angelus.

In a hotly contested category, the Alpine Eagle stood out with its modernity, and mostly as a stand-out piece within the Chopard range. We have been used to the 2019-revived Alpine Eagle appearing as a bona fide alternative to integrated bracelet grails like the Nautilus and Royal Oak, but this is very different, a fact acknowledged by the jury. Chopard’s Karl-Friedrich Scheufele accepted the award on behalf of a creative team that has transformed the dressy sports watch into a stealthy player in ceramicized titanium, powered by the cutting-edge, high-frequency, chronometer-certified Chopard 01.14-C movement, much lighter than its predecessor, thanks to a mainplate and bridges also made of ceramicized titanium.

CEO Benoit de Clerck has every right to be proud of Zenith’s achievements this year, accepting the award for their new-for-2025 halo model, celebrating its 160th Anniversary. The G.F.J. Calibre 35 offers pure inspiration from the past, with a brand-new movement named after the 1865 founder, Georges Favre-Jacot, and his quest for absolute perfection. And the brand didn’t hold back on the artisanal flourish: the G.F.J is housed in a polished platinum case, featuring a lapis lazuli dial encircled by a brick guilloche pattern, and an inset small seconds subdial at six o’clock rendered in blue mother-of-pearl.

Far from chronometric perfection, this is a watch made for pleasure—which is why one barely notices the hands for telling the time. The dazzling gem-set flora of the Dior makes a sparkling case for being fashionably late, thanks to its extraordinary gem setting. The prize was accepted by Dominic Bacs, general manager of Dior Central Eastern Europe, in recognition of an exceptional work of art created by the brand’s artisans. He made it clear that it was an honour to accept the award on behalf of Dior, to be nominated and chosen, and he offered special thanks to Victoire de Castellane, artistic director of Dior Joaillerie, for creating this tribute to Monsieur Dior’s love of his garden.

Presented by Rowing Blazers founder Jack Carlson, the Metiers d’Art or Artistic Crafts prize went to multiple GPHG-award winner Kari Voutilainen, for a watch boasting a maddeningly intricate artwork of a dial featuring Japanese lacquer, seashell fragments and gold sheets and powder, all competing against a meticulously decorated movement. Vuotilainen was visibly proud of what is a very special timepiece, a GMT with a deceptively easy crown push-adjusment—a creation born of working with artists in Japan—including lacquer artist Tatsio Katamura. Each dial takes over a thousand hours to produce.

These two prizes stand out in a world of mortgage-sized price tags, offering a chance to sample creative watchmaking at affordable prices. With young brands jostling for attention, the raffle-available M.A.D. Editions brand of MB&F’s Max Büsser was designed by Eric Giroud, and represents a superbly affordable entry ticket to Busser’s avant-garde world.