The Day the Micro-Rotor Was Introduced: Buren Super Slender and Universal Microtor

On February 18, 1958, representatives from Buren Watch Company and Universal Genève announced “the greatest technical advance in 30 years,” the micro-rotor automatic watch movement. This joint announcement, and the actions of the inventors and companies before and after it, contradict the oft-repeated story of conflict between them. In fact, the invention and introduction was friendly, thanks to the cordial Hans Kocher, who invented the micro-rotor yet allowed others to share the limelight and the credit.

Debunking the Legend

Like so many areas of watchmaking history, the story of the micro-rotor automatic watch is rich with folklore. And like too many other topics, most of those stories are flat-out wrong. I have been hearing this particular story for years, and was shocked to find that it is entirely contradicted by the plain facts published at the time.

Here’s the gist of what I was told about the launch of the Buren and Universal micro-rotor movements:

• Buren was first to market, introducing their micro-rotor movement in 1957 or maybe even 1954
• Universal infringed on Buren’s patent, didn’t have the technical expertise to design a new movement, and maybe never even had a patent of their own
• Buren sued Universal or tried to block them from marketing the Microtor
• And inexplicably that Universal actually produced the Buren movement because they couldn’t get it to work

None of this is remotely true.

• Technician-watchmaker Hans Kocher of Buren Watch Company invented the micro-rotor movement, filing a patent in 1954
• Jean-Michel Froidevaux and Fred Bandi, skilled technician-watchmakers at Universal, independently invented their own micro-rotor technology, filing a patent just 11 months later
• Kocher and Bandi collaborated on the launch, co-authoring an article on the technology and writing about each other’s work in supportive terms
• Buren and Universal announced their work at a joint press conference on February 18, 1958 and released their micro-rotor watches at the Basel Fair that year
• The companies targeted different markets and there is no sign of a lawsuit or any acrimony
• Both companies, along with Piaget, continued actively to develop micro-rotor movement technology for over a decade
• The technology was abandoned after both were purchased by American companies more interested in quartz electronic watches

So let’s sit back and enjoy the true story of the development of the micro-rotor watch movement!

The Rise of Self-Winding Watches

Le Locle watchmaker Abraham-Louis Perrelet is usually credited for building the first self-winding watch in the 1770s. Many1 have questioned the primacy of Perrelet’s “montre à secousses” (“shaking watch”), but many subsequent watchmakers, including Abraham-Louis Breguet, Louis Recordin, and the Jaquet-Droz family, claimed to have been inspired by his design. Perrelet’s watch used a weight mounted to the side of the movement, causing it to shake when moved. The concept of automatic winding (and even the name “perpetual”) were widely known through the 19th century but such a complex mechanism was deemed unnecessary to bring to market.

After World War I, Englishman John Harwood saw a need for self-winding watch. Soldiers were increasingly wearing wristwatches, and these were often damaged by moisture and dust. Inspired by a playground see-saw, Harwood independently2 invented a rocking weight segment that could wind the watch without a hole in the case. He patented the concept in 1923, built a prototype using a Blancpain movement, and brought the Harwood Perpetual to market with the help of A. Schild and Fortis of Grenchen. The watch only went into production late in the decade, and just a few thousand were produced before the Great Depression soon spelled the end.

You might also enjoy reading about “The Backward Evolution of the Rotating Bezel“

Harwood showed that the advent of the wristwatch had created customer demand for a self-winding movement, and the race was on to deliver a more practical one. I previously wrote about Eugène Meylan’s automatic winding mechanism, which was sold by Glycine starting in 1931. Another early player in automatic watches was Blancpain, which built a patented sliding watch called the Rolls for the French firm, Léon Hatot. Another modestly-successful automatic watch in this period was the Wig-Wag, which used the motion of the movement relative to the strap to wind the watch. But these oddball automatics soon fell by the wayside3.

It was the Rolex Oyster Perpetual that brought together all of the elements of the modern automatic wristwatch. Introduced about 19344, Rolex used a centrally-mounted rotor and winding mechanism stacked on top of their excellent movement. This technique was impractical in a pocket watch (which tended to sit vertically in a pocket) but made much more sense when strapped to a wrist. But the Rolex Oyster Perpetual movement was so thick it had to be mounted in a so-called “bubble-back” expanded case.

Seeing their success, especially though World War II, every Swiss company was racing to compete with Rolex with their own waterproof automatic watch. Felsa’s 1947 Bidynator brought bi-directional winding to the table5, ETA’s 1948 Eternamatic showed the potential of a rotor supported by ball bearings6, and Patek Philippe developed a “circumferential” rotor that extended down and around the movement. But all of these mechanisms added thickness, even as stylish consumers of the 1950s demanded ever-thinner watches. But making a thin automatic watch was inconceivable until the late 1950s, and the slimmest offerings (Zenith’s Cal. 133 and Movado’s Cal. 331) were bumper automatic movements, thin by accident rather than intentional design.

Hans Kocher and the Micro-Rotor

Hans Kocher grew up in the shadow of the H. Williamson watch factory in Büren an der Aare, Switzerland. He ran errands for the company as a young boy, and his work ethic so impressed the company’s chairman that he was sent to London to learn the business. But Kocher’s life took a turn when he met Austrian-born Josefine Rinner, a confectionary entrepreneur living in Zürich. The couple moved to Spain after the war, and their son (also named Hans) was born there in 1919. Kocher only settled down in 1923, marrying Josefine and returning to Bienne to work for the Williamson company. But the factory was bankrupt by 1931, with a group of local businessmen purchasing it. They invited Hans Kocher to return to Büren to take over management of the factory in 1932, and he spent the rest of his career there.

But this is the story of the younger Hans Kocher, who apprenticed in Büren before studying at the Technical school in Bienne. Following World War II, young Hans Kocher moved to Saint-Imier and worked in the technical department of the nearby Cortébert Watch Company. He was a wunderkind, filing patents, developing a central-seconds movement, and reorganizing the company’s manufacturing process. In 1951, after he proved himself, Kocher returned home to become technical director of the Buren Watch Company7.

Kocher believed that technology could elevate Buren in the competitive Swiss watch market and decided to build the best-possible automatic watch movement. Although many aspects of automatic winding were already patented by others, he saw an opportunity to address some of the shortcomings of contemporary automatic watches. For example, Kocher invented a mechanism to allow an automatic watch to be wound by hand, addressing widespread anxiety about power reserve. He also invented a few different bi-directional winding mechanisms and a more effective jewel pivot.

Another Kocher invention seemed to go nowhere: He embedded a tiny rotor inside the main winding rotor, creating a “Tilt-A-Whirl” effect to accelerate startup. Although this didn’t make it into production, this was the first glimpse of a micro-rotor winding system. A month later, Kocher filed a patent that he would later call his greatest work.

On June 21, 1954, Buren Watch Company filed a patent for a fully-realized micro-rotor automatic watch movement. Rather than adding a rotor on top of an existing movement, Hans Kocher redesigned the entire ebauche, reorganizing the wheel train to sink a tiny rotor inside. This was much more than a re-packaging effort, with nearly every component re-designed.

It would take nearly four years of development to bring the micro-rotor movement to market. The Swiss government had largely restricted companies from producing their own ebauches, but this was allowed for in-house and complicated movements. And the micro-rotor was indeed a very complicated movement, requiring entirely new design and tooling to be installed at the factory in Büren!

Kocher’s original micro-rotor movement design was elegant and symmetrical, already quite well-developed even in 1954. He called it a “planetary rotor” because he thought it resembled the planetary gearsets in automatic transmissions. But he spent years working on the construction and mechanics of the rotor and the exact arrangement of the wheels and bridges. And he soon had an unexpected collaborator.

Universal, Froidevaux, and Bandi

On May 27, 1955, Manufacture des Montres Universal of Geneva filed a remarkably similar patent for a micro-rotor movement. This was 11 months after Buren’s filing, yet three years before either patent would be published. Although the Swiss patent is un-signed, the American patent specifies that the inventors were Jean-Michel Froidevaux and Fred Bandi, two technician-watchmakers even younger than Hans Kocher. Both were incredibly talented and had made numerous inventions related to automatic watch winding and other areas of horology.

Patek Philippe filed for a patent their own micro-rotor movement in 1975, bringing their Cal. 240 to market a few years later. It has been continually updated and is one of the most-loved movements by enthusiasts like me. Chopard Manufacture leaned into the micro-rotor concept with the launch of the L.U.C movements in 1997, and it remains a highlight of the company’s offerings. A new Universal Genève launched in 2005, bringing a new Microtor (Cal. UG-100) to market in 2006. Schwarz Etienne and Parmigiani Fleurier both introduced new micro-rotor movements in 2010, and both supply these to other fine watch makers to this day. Armin Strom, Hermès, Girard-Perregaux, Bulgari, and many others have also released high-end micro-rotor movements. And Piaget never stopped developing their micro-rotor movements.

At a glance, the Universal patent looks very similar to Buren’s, but a closer examination shows that nearly every aspect of the design is different. The American patent authorities examined it closely, rejecting only the most broad claim made by Universal. Given these differences, and the evident skills and imagination of Froidevaux and Bandi, I believe that it was independently invented.

Froidevaux left Universal by 1956, just as the company was developing the micro-rotor watch movement for production. This was the same year that Universal opened its own new factory near Geneva, severing ties with the chronograph factory in Ponts-de-Martel that had been the source of complicated in-house movements for Universal since 1941. The new Carouge-Genève factory was likely outfitted with new machinery to produce the micro-rotor, along with other in-house movements developed by Fred Bandi.

It is very likely that the amiable Hans Kocher knew of the work underway in Geneva by this time, and he may have offered Fred Bandi some technical advice. Indeed, we know that the two collaborated on a paper outlining the benefits of the micro-rotor movement, which was published in the September/October 1957 edition of Journal Suisse d’Horlogerie. They cite the improvements gained by this design in reducing movement height, stress on the rotor bearings, and ease of servicing.

Up this point the thinnest automatic watch movements (Zénith’s Cal. 133 and Movado’s Cal. 331) had “bumper” movements rather than a free rotor. This is no surprise – the “sandwich stack” required to have a free rotor was inherently thicker than a winding mass that sat on the same plane as the wheel train and balance. But no bumper movement could match a micro-rotor embedded completely into the ebauche. Although not much thinner than hand-winding movements, the Büren and Universal movements were 20% thinner than most automatics at 4.1 to 4.2 mm8.

The Joint Release of the Buren Super Slender and Universal Microtor

On February 18, 1958, Raoul Perret of Universal Genève and Hans Kocher of the Buren Watch Company held a joint press conference in Geneva to announce “the greatest technical advance in 30 years.” Journalists from the major Swiss papers and industry journals learned about the revolutionary new micro-rotor technology, that would enable the companies to deliver the thinnest self-winding watches in the world. The companies promised that new watches using these movements would be released at the Basel Fair in April.

Ten days before the fair, on April 2, 1958, the Swiss paper Neue Zürcher Zeitung published an article with more detail on the technology of these new movements. Noting that “the fundamental concept behind this novel winding mechanism is identical in both designs,” the article praises both companies’ products, noting that “the specific technical solutions employed differ significantly.” This article was written by Fred Bandi, Technical Director for Universal Genève. Hans Kocher also wrote articles about the two companies’ launches, both independently and jointly with Bandi.

Finally, on April 12, 1958, the Basel Fair opened, with both companies showcasing watches housing their new micro-rotor movements. They even placed a joint advertisement in the Journal Suisse d’Horlogerie, featuring the logos of both companies.

The Buren Watch Company showed off their new Super Slender watch line at the fair, featuring Cal. 1000. This was a new ultra-thin watch line with a case meant to make the most of their “thinnest-ever” automatic watch movement. Confusingly, the company’s Basel Fair booth was a generic paean to post-war globalization, dedicated to the theme “l’universalité.” The new Super Slender movement was depicted on a small card at the corner, with the ultra-thin watches arranged among other more mundane products.

Universal Genève presented a strong contrast, dedicating their entire display to the new Microtor movement. They even built a large model in a transparent plexiglass case, demonstrating the internal relationship between the micro-rotor and wheel train. The new Cal. 215 was used in an existing product line, the Polerouter (which had been introduced as “Polarouter” in 1954). Although Universal offered new dial designs for 1958, the Microtor’s slimmer profile was not leveraged for a watch that was notably thin.

Both watches were brought to market in the following months with no hint of production delays. They are widely seen and advertised over the next few years in press coverage, company advertising, and retail promotion. For example, an April 1958 ad for international retailer Turler lists the Universal Polerouter Microtor for 270 francs in steel or 820 francs in gold. Meanwhile, the Buren Super Slender was advertised in 1959 for 170 francs in steel or 185 francs for the model with a calendar complication, called Cal. 1001.

What Happened Next

Buren and Universal leaned heavily into their micro-rotor watch movements for the next few years, developing and updating them continually. And two more ultra-thin automatic movements appeared at Basel in 1959 and 1960: The Sandoz 333, which used a peripheral rotor movement designed by FHF, and Piaget’s knock-out 2.3 mm thin micro-rotor Cal. 12 P. But the introduction of the Bulova Accutron on October 25, 1960 upended the entire industry.

Buren actually introduced two micro-rotor movements at Basel in 1958: The base Cal. 1000 was truly “super slender” at 4.2 mm, but they also showed Cal. 1001, which added a date complication and 0.6 mm thickness. Although not as revolutionary as the micro-rotor, Paul Marmier’s patented date mechanism was quite innovative. It used an eccentric cam to keep the advance finger safely back from the date wheel teeth to avoid the risk of damage. The date advanced in just 12 minutes at midnight, and the mechanism also allowed quicker setting of the date by moving the time back to 11:30.

By 1959 Buren added Cal. 1002 and 1003, which featured a thinner balance cock to make way for an elongated wheel train bridge screwed to the base plate for greater stability. The original Cal. 1000 and 1001 remained in production, however, into the 1960s.

Universal added a date complication as well, though theirs added over 1 mm to the thickness of the base Cal. 215. This did not pose an issue because the Microtor was used in watches of more ordinary thickness like the Polerouter Date. But the Geneva company did finally lean into the thin profile of the basic Microtor movement with the new 1959 Polerouter Jet, boasting that it was as thin as a hand-winding watch and the thinnest waterproof automatic watch in the world. Universal put the Microtor-Calendrier movement on a diet over the next few years, beveling the edges and slimming it to 4.7 mm (once again 0.1 mm thinner than the competing Buren movement). And Universal proved the robustness of their movement by equipping members of the Swiss Greenland Expedition with Microtor-powered Polerouters during the International Geophysical Year.

Other watches had previously been advertised for their ultra-thin profile, including Omega’s Centenaire and Cyma’s Navystar, but Movado, Sandoz, and Piaget were the strongest contenders. Movado had claimed the crown for the thinnest watch in 1935 with the Novoplan and delivered the automatic Cal. 331 in 1952, which was just 4.3 mm thick thanks to a beveled bumper rotor.

Sandoz announced the “thinnest waterproof watch” in 1954 with their hand-winding Cal. 55, allowing them to produce a 6.9 mm watch. And they saw an opportunity in a peripheral rotor concept under development at the Fabrique d’Horlogerie de Fontainemelon. Unaware of the micro-rotor8, Sandoz and FHF targeted the 1959 Basel Fair to launch this new ultra-thin automatic watch. Despite being upstaged, the Sandoz 333 remains the first peripheral-winding automatic watch to market.

Piaget claimed outright victory for the thinnest watch in 1957 with the 4 mm Ref. 904, housing the 2.0 mm Cal. 9 P. Valentin Piaget of their specialist movement maker Complications SA saw unrealized potential in the micro-rotor concept. His Cal. 12 P, patented in 1958 and announced at the Basel Fair in 1960, dispensed with the center wheel and radically sliced away the ebauche. Measuring just 2.3 mm thick, this movement allowed Piaget’s Ref. 12 watches to stay at just 4 mm thick overall. Piaget has remained committed to this design, producing Cal. 1200 to this day!

Buren embraced Piaget’s ideas, and their Cal. 1280 was similarly stripped-down, coming in at just 2.85 mm thick. This was used in their modern Intra Matic9 line, launched at the Basel Fair in 1965. Variations with date and central seconds ranged up to 3.60 mm, still over half a millimeter thinner than their original Super Slender.

The Intramatic movement made history on March 3, 1969 when Hans Kocher10 and Gerald Dubois announced the Chronomatic movement, built on Buren’s micro-rotor ebauche. This would be the first Swiss automatic chronograph in customer hands, used by Breitling, Heuer, and Hamilton, which had purchased Buren in February of 1966. Hamilton-Buren was taken over by the SIHH group in 1971 and the once-great Büren factory was closed the following year, with all assets sold. This came just as the Chronomatic was gaining market traction and sadly just before the launch of Buren’s great Calbre 8211.

Universal also collaborated with Piaget, filing a joint patent in March of 1959 for a slim ratcheting winding system for micro-rotor movements. They continually updated their Microtor movement line, culminating in the 1966 introduction of the re-designed Cal. 66. Unlike the hand-made Piaget Cal. 12 P, the new Universal and Buren movements were designed for mass production and daily wear. And Universal once again beat Buren’s mark, with their ebauche measuring just 2.50 mm thick. This time Universal leaned into the thinness of the movement, matching Piaget with a new Golden Shadow watch line just 4 mm thick.

Everything changed for Universal in August of 1966, as the Bulova Watch Company of New York purchased the company. Flush with cash from the Accutron, a global phenomenon never before seen in watchmaking, Bulova sought to solidify its control over the luxury watch industry by bringing the Geneva firm under its control. Universal continued production of the Microtor family into the 1970s and even developed the world’s thinnest quartz movement in 197512. But Bulova was slow to embrace quartz as the market for the Accutron evaporated. The Universal factory in Geneva was bankrupt by the late 1970s and was sold in 1983 to new investors.

The Micro-Rotor Lives On

The micro-rotor is not dead. Far from it: There are more micro-rotor movements on the market today than ever before!

Universal was re-launched as an upscale sister brand to Breitling on April 8, 2026 and two new Microtor movements form the core of the new offerings. The new double-barrel Polerouter Microtor is a lovely tribute to Hans Kocher, who was deeply involved in both innovations. And the new Compax Microtor movement recalls the pioneering Chronomatic movement.

Research Notes

ピアジェ「カクテル」リング、”フルーツカラー”きらめくストーンをストロー風フレームに
https://www.fashion-press.net/news/146224?media=line

#fashionpress #ピアジェ #Piaget #ファッション #アイテム #ターコイズ #ジュエリー #リング

ピアジェ「ポセション」に新作、”くるくる回転する”ペンダント＆リングが幻想的なブルーで
https://www.fashion-press.net/news/145064?media=line

#fashionpress #ピアジェ #Piaget #ファッション #アイテム #ターコイズ #モチーフ #ジュエリー #ピアジェ_伊勢丹新宿 #Piaget_Shinjuku_Isetan

ファッションデザイナーのジャクリーヌ・ド・リブさん死去 – FashionNetwork 日本

By AFP 掲載日 2025年12月31日 「パリの最後の女王」と称された伯爵夫人ジャクリーヌ・ド・リブは、ファッションデザイナーで実業家、ジェットセットの象徴的存在であり、特に米国でパリのエレガンスを体現する人物とし [...]
#MoeZine #JP #JAPAN #Fashionファッション #fashion #fashionnetwork、ファッション #piaget #SAINTLAURENT #VALENTINO #アパレル #ショー #テキスタイル #トレンド #ニュース #ビジネス #ファッション #フランス #ブランド #マーケット #ランウェイ #化粧品 #小売 #業界 #海外 #繊維
https://www.moezine.com/2230740/

My Predictions and Picks for GPHG 2025

The Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) winners will be announced tomorrow, so I thought I would get a jump on things by picking the winners today. Now I don’t want to guess I’ll be 100% correct in my predictions, but it’s always fun to try. And I’ll re-visit this post after the ceremony to show where I was right and where I missed the mark!

Ladies’ and Jewellery Watches

I don’t know nearly as much about ladies and jewellery watches as some, but I’ve been watching the GPHG for a number of years and have spotted a few trends in the vote: The jury tends to pick watches that catch the eye with innovative designs and spectacular finishing, while also focusing on a few popular brands. With that in mind, here are my predictions for the winners in these categories.

Ladies’ Watch

The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Mini Frosted Gold Quartz will win. Yeah it’s got a quartz movement, but my wife at least prefers that. The Royal Oak is a 7-times winner at the GPHG but incredibly no smaller models have taken the prize. AP’s frosted gold is just luscious, making this tiny Royal Oak one of my favorites from the brand.

If I was on the jury I would choose the Tiffany & Co. Bird on a Rock Legacy Tanzanite for its incredible combination of craftsmanship and style. But Tiffany has never won an award at the GPHG, and it’s always hard to beat AP!

Ladies’ Complication Watch

I’m betting that the Franck Muller Round Triple Mystery takes the award. It has a lot going for it, with the skeletonized discs of diamonds and emeralds, but Franck Muller hasn’t won a GPHG award in two decades.

My vote would go to the Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon, but despite two recent wins I don’t think the market has warmed to the Code 11.59 design like I have.

Jewellery Watch

I can’t see anything other than the Bulgari Serpenti Aeterna taking this prize. The Serpenti has incredible buzz, and this watch is gorgeous. It would get my vote, too, even though my wife prefers the Chopard and I’m thrilled to see a sautoir in the running.

Artistic Crafts Watch

I’m really torn between the Piaget Altiplano Skeleton, Tiffany & Co. Bird on a Flying Tourbillon, and Voutilainen 28GML SOUYOU, but I’m going to give the nod to the Piaget. They’re one of the winningest brands in the history of the GPHG and this particular example is just lovely: A perfect balance of art and craft and a really compelling watch!

Time, Men’s, Iconic, and Sports

I know a lot more about men’s watches, and the next four categories are a lot tougher. There are many incredible entries, and I’m not entirely sure which one will win out! But I’ll take a stab at it, again focusing on what I think the jury and the market will prefer.

Time Only Watch

Ming won the Sports prize last year, and they’re back with the incredible Project 21. This would be my pick of this crop too, thanks in large part to the famous Frédéric Piguet Cal. FP21 beating inside. This movement was the thinnest ever made when it was introduced in 1925 and held that record for 21 years. It was used by Blancpain and Patek Philippe, and now Ming has adopted it!

Men’s Watch

This is a very tough category, but I think it comes down to the Grand Seiko Spring Drive U.F.A. and Zenith G.F.J. Calibre 135. Ultimately I think the Zenith will get the nod, thanks to its more-distinctive looks and legendary movement, now in serial production.

Grand Seiko has been more successful lately. My vote would be with the Grand Seiko Spring Drive U.F.A.!

Iconic Watch

This is my category, since I focus on watchmaking history. The Breguet Classique Souscription 2025 is really excellent and hyped, but I think the award will ultimately go to the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar. The incredible new Cal. 7138, with all adjustments through the crown, deserves a win on its own, and it comes in a flawless package! But this might end up taking the top prize, leaving Breguet to swipe a win.

My vote would definitely go to the excellent and important Andersen Genève Communication 45, but the jury has not been kind to this brand: They have never won, despite 10 nominations!

Sports Watch

Audemars Piguet entered an Offshore in this category, so I think Grand Seiko will sneak in a win here with the Tokyo Lion Tentagraph. It’s weird and ugly to my eyes, but the movement is so good. And Grand Seiko has so much buzz from collectors for this watch.

My vote would go to the Ressence GMT Sport-Chic Watch Type 7, but I really don’t think it stands a chance in this category. Although they’re cool, Ressence has very little hype and has suffered reputational damage from leaking oil-filled cases and electro-mechanical ideas that never took off.

Complicated Watches

Now we get to some more elite categories. Prices for the complicated watches are stratospheric, and most categories are packed with worthy entrants. But the jury has to pick one, and so do I!

Chronograph

I was lucky enough to see an H. Moser & Cie Streamliner Alpine Drivers Edition in the flesh, and it’s every bit as good as I thought it would be. Although the other contenders in the Chronograph category are worth a look, only the Louis Moinet revival stands a chance. I would have voted for the Moser too, and would buy one if I had the spare cash!

Men’s Complication Watch

Chalk up another win for Audemars Piguet! I will be shocked if the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar “150th Anniversary” Openworked doesn’t take the award. It marks the swan song of the old Cal. 5135 and offers so much to love (apart from the nearly-$200k price tag).

My vote would go to the Chopard L.U.C Lunar One, which finally gives the excellent L.U.C Calibre 96.13-L a proper home. And it’s a bargain at half the price!

Tourbillon

I see the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon running away with a win. This line has won 5 GPHG awards, including a 2017 win in this same category (then called the Tourbillon and Escapement Watch Prize) for the direct ancestor of this watch. But this one is even better. I want Urban Jürgensen to win something, but I just can’t see their UJ-1 beating the Bulgari.

Mechanical Exception

How do you beat a $3 million watch? Louis Vuitton is about to find out, as the modestly-priced (in comparison) $500k Greubel Forsey Nano Foudroyante takes this prize. Now a real watch rather than an experiment, the nanomechanical marvel is a jaw-dropping tour-de-force (if you’ll forgive the pun) with a foudroyante hand to show just how slick it is.

I would have voted for the $95k Armin Strom Dual Time GMT Resonance Manufacture Edition. It’s lovely, mechanically exceptional, and a great value, but it honestly has no chance of winning in this crowd.

Price-Based Categories

The next two categories are based on price bands. I love that there’s space for lower-priced entries to win, and that these categories attract so many interesting newcomers and alternative brands. But this makes it even harder to break through – it takes a very special watch to win the “Petite Aiguille”, let alone the Challenge prize!

Challenge Watch

The “Challenge Watch Prize” goes to a watch that retails under 3,000 Swiss Francs, the most-affordable price brand. This limits the “Swiss” content, not to mention the finishing and movement selections, so it’s always a pleasure to see some interesting entrants.

Christopher Ward has been doing some phenomenal work lately, and their collaboration with Mr. Jones ought to take the prize. The C1 Celestial Moonphase x Mr Jones uses a Sellita SW220-1 with additional components to create a whimsical animated dial showing the phase of the moon, with the time marked by two birds. Yet somehow the result is charming rather than gimicky.

China is deeply involved in watchmaking, but the contributions of the factories there are rarely celebrated. It’s time to set that right. The Atelier Wen Millésime 2024 睦 (MÙ) is a remarkable watch with real craftsmanship, including a hand-turned guilloche dial, lovely design, and a thin automatic Liaoning Peacock movement. I would have wanted to examine it in person, but suspect it would have earned my vote.

“Petite Aiguille” Watch

The “Petite Aiguille” prize goes to a watch in the middle price band, between 3,000 and 10,000 francs. This ought to be the richest territory for watches with mass appeal, but the entrants this year are uniformly odd.

In 2022, M.A.D. Editions won the Challenge prize for their highly sought-after M.A.D.1, and they are the clear favorites to win the next prize with the M.A.D.2 Green. It’s priced just over the limit at 3,135 francs, but is frankly a much more appealing design. The turntable-inspired aesthetic might be lost on you, but the overall look is remarkably balanced and interesting.

I love the Christopher Ward C12, but I’m a Moser guy so my vote would have gone to the H. Moser & Cie Streamliner Alpine Mechanics Edition. But I do wonder if it should even be listed here, since it’s not generally available for purchase, and smartwatches are supposed to be limited to the Challenge category. Still, I would drop 4,500 francs on this beauty tomorrow if only the Meylan family would cash my check!

The Big Prize (and the Others)

The winner of the Aiguille d’Or Grand Prix is drawn from the entrants in the other categories, are the discretionary prizes. This makes it much harder to predict which watch will win, and confounds the above predictions since my pick could be bumped for a bigger prize. Still, let’s take a look and consider who might win.

Aiguille d’Or Grand Prix

It is incredibly difficult to pick the best watch among the 90 nominated entries, but we can limit things a bit. It is unlikely that a clock, Challenge, or “Petite Aiguille” would win, so we can reduce the field to 75. And the overall winner is usually a complicated model for men rather than a ladies’ or jewellery watch. The Aiguille d’Or Grand Prix usually goes to a model that is important, complicated, and pioneering, as it should.

My prediction, and my choice, is simple: No watch on this list is more important, in-demand, and iconic than the new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar. If it takes the top prize, I suspect that Breguet will take home the Iconic Watch prize with their Breguet Classique Souscription 2025.

What else could win? Theoretically any of my winners could take the prize, but the most likely is the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon. Its cousin, the Octo Finissimo Perpetual Calendar, took home the top award in 2021, and this offering is even better. But I’m not sure who wins the Tourbillon award in that case: Czapek or Urban Jürgensen, I suppose.

Discretionary Prizes

Although they don’t have to give any award in the discretionary categories (thus the name), the jury only skipped one prize in the last few years. So it is likely that these will also shake up the ceremony!

Audacity Prize

The Audacity Prize recognizes “a non-conformist, offbeat approach to watchmaking.” Last year it was won by the Berneron Mirage, which ought to have taken the Horological Revelation prize if I had been on the jury.

A look at past winners shows that the jury truly values unusual design, and we have that in spades this year. While I’d love to see the prize go to Behrens, Otsuka Lotec, or Amida, these lower-priced oddballs are unlikely to be rewarded. The same is true of the offbeat Artistic Crafts entries from Louis Vuitton and Hermès. Instead, my pick for Audacity is the Bvlgari x MB&F Serpenti: No other watch combines haute horology, iconic design, and sheer funkiness like this wild little arm-biter. Audacity barely does it justice!

Horological Revelation Prize

Is there a young brand (less than 10 years old) that deserves recognition among this crowded roster? This prize was skipped last year, and is the most-skipped discretionary award of all. It previously went to Simon Brette, Sylvain Pinaud, Furlan Mari, Petermann Bédat, Ming, Laurent Ferrier, and Ressence.

This list might include Raúl Pagès, Otsuka Lotec, Fam Al Hut, Tasaki, Garrick, Hazemann & Monnin, and Luca Soprana. Of these, only Pagès has yet contributed enough to be considered. Companies like Amida and Czapek position themselves as re-launches of historic brands, which is too bad since Czapek fits the bill perfectly on their 10th anniversary. Ultimately, I think this award will again be skipped for 2025.

Eco-Innovation Prize

The Innovation Prize became the Eco-Innovation Prize last year, recognizing “significant developments linked to sustainability: traceability, ethics, materials, etc.” Chopard took home the first trophy for their L.U.C Qualité Fleurier, but I’m not sure who might get it this time around: None of the entries seem particularly eco-friendly. Perhaps the jury skips this one in just its second year!

Chronometry Prize

The Chronometry Prize recognizes a watch that is officially certified and stands out for its remarkable precision timekeeping. Grand Seiko won it in 2022 for their constant-force tourbillon, then Ferdinand Berthoud in 2023, followed by the perfectly-fit Bernhard Lederer 3 Times Certified Observatory Chronometer.

Eligible models include the Chopard L.U.C Quattro Mark IV and the Armin Strom Dual Time GMT Resonance. Sadly, it appears that the Urban Jürgensen watches are not chronometer certified, exempting them from eligibility. And it’s tragic that Seiko’s Spring Drive Caliber 9RB2 (with a rate of 20 seconds per year) isn’t certified either. If I was on the jury I would give the award to the audacious Armin Strom, but I wonder if they will pick Chopard (one of their historic favorites) over that never-awarded brand.

The Grail Watch Perspective

By the time you read this, it is likely that the 2025 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève will be finished and all of my picks and predictions will be wasted. But this won’t be the last time I write about the GPHG this year: I’ll publish a response to the awards soon, and I have more in the works: A deeper look at the history of the awards and an analysis of the most-frequent winners and losers.

#arminStrom #atelierWen #audemarsPiguet #bulgari #chopard #christopherWard #franckMuller #gphg #grandPrixDhorlogerieDeGeneve #grandSeiko #greubelForsey #hMoserCie #ming #piaget

ピアジェ25年新ジュエリーウォッチ「シックスティ」台形シルエット×煌めくゴドロン装飾ケース
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#fashionpress #ピアジェ #Piaget #ファッション #アイテム #サテン仕上げ #サテン #ベゼル