Here are the Winners of the 2026 GPHG Watch Awards

The annual Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) awards ceremony took place in Geneva this past Saturday, celebrating the finest achievements in watchmaking in 2026. Often dubbed the Oscars of horology, this year’s 26th edition also marked one of the biggest shake-ups in the competition’s history: the gender-based Men’s and Ladies’ categories have been retired in favor of new Essential, Complication and Gemset prizes, with 84 shortlisted timepieces vying for 20 prizes in total. Under the watch of first-time jury president Wei Koh, the evening’s most coveted honor, the Aiguille d’Or, went to independent watchmaker Rexhep Rexhepi for his Chronograph Flyback. Selected by a jury of collectors, journalists and watchmakers alongside the votes of the GPHG Academy, check out all the winning timepieces from the event below.

Aiguille d’Or – Rexhep Rexhepi Chronograph Flyback

Rexhep Rexhepi’s Chronograph Flyback – or RRCHF for short – has secured the prestigious Aiguille d’Or, crowning a remarkable rise for the Kosovo-born, Geneva-based watchmaker who first made his name with Akrivia’s AK-01 back in 2012. Fittingly, the top honor arrives for his very first chronograph under his own name, a complication long regarded as the ultimate test of a watchmaker’s technical credibility.

At its heart lies an entirely new in-house, hand-wound calibre that integrates a flyback chronograph with a column wheel, lateral clutch and an instantaneous jumping-minute counter – 320 components in all, delivering 72 hours of power reserve. Remarkably, Rexhepi packs it into a 38.8mm case measuring just 9.7mm thick. The platinum version pairs a storm-blue Grand Feu enamel dial crafted in his own workshop with smoked sapphire subdials that offer a peek at the movement below, while a rose gold variant completes the offering. Priced at 150,000 CHF (approx. $193,000 USD), the RRCHF showcases the black polishing, inward angles and hand-finishing that have made Rexhepi one of independent watchmaking’s most sought-after names – and the jury’s verdict confirms he has now made the chronograph his own.

Time Only – Chopard L.U.C 1860

Celebrating the 30th anniversary of its Fleurier manufacture, Chopard went back to the watch that started it all – and walked away with the Time Only Watch Prize for its efforts. The new L.U.C 1860 stays faithful to the original’s slender 36.5mm proportions, now rendered in the Maison’s proprietary Lucent Steel and paired with a hand-guilloché blue dial.

Inside beats the self-winding L.U.C 96.40-L calibre, complete with a 22k gold micro-rotor and twin barrels offering roughly 65 hours of power reserve. The movement is both COSC-certified and stamped with the Poinçon de Genève – a rare double distinction for a watch housed in steel. The win builds on the reference’s growing cult status following the limited-edition Lucent Steel L.U.C 1860 of 2024, and caps off another strong night for Chopard, which also took home the Jewellery Watch Prize this year.

Essential – Daniel Roth Extra Plat Rose Gold Skeleton

Daniel Roth goes back-to-back at the GPHG. A year after the Extra Plat Souscription took the Time Only title, the revived Maison claims the inaugural Essential Watch Prize with the Extra Plat Rose Gold Skeleton, which debuted at LVMH Watch Week 2026 in January. The watch marks a significant step forward for the brand’s revival – the Extra Plat was never skeletonized during Roth’s founding era, making this its first foray beyond faithful archival reinterpretations.

At the heart of the openworked masterpiece is the new DR002SR calibre, developed and assembled in-house at La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton. Constructed in solid 18k 5N rose gold to match the double-ellipse case, its plates and bridges were reshaped specifically for skeletonization, with every inward angle – impossible to achieve by machine – hand-polished by master artisans. It still runs at 28,800 vph with a 65-hour power reserve, all while the case maintains a svelte 6.9mm profile. Priced at 85,000 CHF (approx. $106,735 USD), the Extra Plat Rose Gold Skeleton is produced in limited numbers each year.

Complication – CLEGUER Inspiration One

Proving that a debut watch can stand toe-to-toe with the industry’s heavyweights, newcomer CLEGUER took home the newly created Complication Watch Prize with its first-ever timepiece, the Inspiration One. Founded by watchmaking engineer Mathieu Cleguer, the independent Swiss brand built its debut around a proprietary “Innate” escapement – a reimagining of the natural escapement that tackles its longstanding weakness of reliable self-starting. The system pairs twin escape wheels with tangential impulse delivered through a central lever, sitting beneath an oversized 12.9mm balance at the center of a layered, architectural movement.

Housed in a 38.5mm titanium case, the watch is completed by a decentered champlevé Grand Feu enamel subdial crafted by Blandenier. The launch edition, the Inspiration One Souscription, was limited to just 12 titanium pieces allocated through a subscription model that funded the prototype – all of which sold out ahead of deliveries slated for the second half of 2026.

Iconic – Audemars Piguet Royal Oak “Jumbo” Extra-Thin Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Chronograph RD#5 “150th Anniversary”

Audemars Piguet makes it two Iconic wins in a row. Following last year’s victory for the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar, the Maison claims the title once again with the Royal Oak “Jumbo” Extra-Thin Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Chronograph RD#5, unveiled as part of its 150th anniversary celebrations. The timepiece marks the final chapter of AP’s pioneering Research & Development series, and is the first “Jumbo” to combine two major complications.

At its core is the newly patented Calibre 8100, which pairs a flyback chronograph with a flying tourbillon beating at six o’clock and a rare instant-jump minute counter, flanked by two radial subdials – all within the slim 39mm titanium case that has defined the Jumbo since 1972. Beyond its technical prowess, the RD#5 is a reminder that an icon stays relevant by evolving, layering new watchmaking onto Gérald Genta’s legendary design without compromising the proportions that made the Royal Oak a cultural touchstone in the first place.

Calendar and Astronomy – Audemars Piguet 150 Heritage

Audemars Piguet’s second trophy of the night went to the 150 Heritage, a 50mm ultra-complicated pocket watch that serves as the third pillar in the Maison’s storied lineage, following L’Universelle of 1899 and La Grosse Pièce of 1921. Powered by the newly developed hand-wound Calibre 1150 and its 1,099 components, it orchestrates 47 functions and 30 complications – including a Grande and Petite Sonnerie with Supersonnerie acoustics, a minute repeater, a flying tourbillon, a split-seconds flyback chronograph and a semi-Gregorian perpetual calendar.

What sealed the Calendar and Astronomy title, however, hides beneath a secret caseback: a first-of-its-kind Universal Calendar. Operating independently of the movement, the mechanical calculator maps solar, lunar and lunisolar cycles to display solstices, equinoxes and nine major cultural celebrations, from Ramadan and Diwali to Easter, Pesach and Chinese New Year. The fully hand-engraved case frames a translucent blue Grand Feu enamel dial, with production limited to two unique pieces in platinum alongside eight in white gold.

Mechanical Exception – Blancpain Grande Double Sonnerie

Billed as the most complex watch in the Maison’s history, Blancpain’s Grande Double Sonnerie was a natural fit for the Mechanical Exception prize. Eight years in development, the 1,053-component movement brings together a grande sonnerie, petite sonnerie and minute repeater with a retrograde perpetual calendar and Blancpain’s signature flying tourbillon – the latter modernized with a silicon balance spring beating at 28,800 vph.

Its acoustic architecture is equally remarkable. Four hammers strike four gongs, allowing the owner to choose between the classic Westminster chime and an original melody composed by KISS drummer Eric Singer. The project generated some 1,200 technical drawings and 21 patents along the way, 13 of which made it into the final watch.

Tourbillon – Ferdinand Berthoud Chronomètre FB 2TV

Ten years after unveiling its first movement, Chronométrie Ferdinand Berthoud has turned its mechanics inside out – and earned the Tourbillon Watch Prize in the process. The Chronomètre FB 2TV opens the new “Mesure du Temps 1787” collection, which brings the regulating system to the dial side for all to see. Its Calibre FB-TV.FC pairs a 15mm flying tourbillon without an upper bridge with a fusée-and-chain constant-force mechanism, comprising 1,240 components enhanced by 300 hours of hand-finishing.

Two precision-focused complications join the mix: a stop-seconds mechanism and a flyback-style zero reset for the central seconds hand, activated via a coaxial pusher within the crown. A redesigned fusée geometry also extends the power reserve to 60 hours. Housed in a 44mm white gold case and COSC-certified, the watch is produced in just 10 to 12 pieces per year, priced at 325,000 CHF.

Chronograph – Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Chronographe Mystérieux

Parmigiani Fleurier’s Tonda PF Chronographe Mystérieux swept the Chronograph category by doing something chronographs rarely do: disappearing. Unveiled at Watches & Wonders 2026 as part of the Maison’s 30th anniversary, the world premiere hides its complication in plain sight. At rest, five coaxial hands sit perfectly superimposed so the dial reads like a clean three-hander; press the integrated monopusher at 7:30 and three chronograph hands fly to zero to begin timing, while the civil time hands carry on undisturbed.

The illusion is made possible by Calibre PF053, a 362-component integrated manufacture movement developed exclusively for the watch, featuring a triple-clutch architecture and a skeletonized 22k rose gold oscillating weight. It’s housed in a 40mm stainless steel case topped with a knurled 950 platinum bezel.

Sports – Grand Seiko Spring Drive U.F.A. Ushio 300 Diver

Grand Seiko claimed the Sports Watch Prize with the Spring Drive U.F.A. Ushio 300 Diver, bringing its Ultra Fine Accuracy technology to the depths. Debuting at Watches & Wonders 2026 in blue (SLGB023) and green (SLGB025), the “Ushio” – meaning tide – features gradient dials inspired by light streaming into the deep ocean and tranquil coastal shallows. At 40.8mm wide and 12.9mm thick in High-Intensity Titanium, it’s the smallest diver in Grand Seiko’s history, yet still offers 300 meters of water resistance and a ceramic bezel insert.

Inside, the new Spring Drive Calibre 9RB1 is rated to an astonishing ±20 seconds per year. A newly developed titanium clasp with micro-adjustment and a diving extension rounds out a watch that proves technical performance and wearability don’t have to be mutually exclusive.

Petite Aiguille – Ōtsuka Lōtec No.8

Two years after winning the Challenge category with its No.6, Japanese independent Ōtsuka Lōtec returns to the GPHG winners’ circle with the No.8. Designed and manufactured in Japan by founder Jiro Katayama, the rectangular steel watch takes its cues from analog mixing consoles. Its two-layered dial features a constantly rotating seconds disc that completes a revolution every 90 seconds, while the main event occurs once an hour: the jumping hour advances in a single motion as the minute “fader” – linked to a visible flywheel – snaps back from 60 to zero in a retrograde sweep. The 62-component in-house module sits atop a modified Miyota 90S5 base, keeping such inventive mechanics impressively accessible.

Challenge – SpaceOne x Baltic Seconde Majeure

The Challenge Watch Prize went to the Seconde Majeure, a Paris-made collaboration born from a five-year friendship between Baltic founder Etienne Malec and SpaceOne co-founders Guillaume Laidet and Théo Auffret. Bridging Baltic’s vintage-leaning design codes with the deconstructed, futuristic approach of SpaceOne – formerly known as Argon – the watch forgoes traditional hands in favor of sapphire discs, with a jumping-hour module developed by Auffret at its core and a long central seconds hand lending the watch its name. The 38.5mm stainless steel watch was offered through a six-day pre-order window in May, with prices starting from approx. $2,695 USD and deliveries beginning this November.

Chronometry – Ferdinand Berthoud Naissance d’une Montre 3

Ferdinand Berthoud completed a double victory on the night, adding the Chronometry Prize to its Tourbillon win – its second Chronometry title following the Chronomètre FB 3SPC in 2023. The Naissance d’une Montre 3 is dedicated to preserving traditional watchmaking know-how, crafted with historic production methods and hand-operated tools rather than the digital processes that dominate modern manufacturing. Drawing on classical precision solutions such as a fusée-and-chain transmission and a Guillaume-type bimetallic balance, the finished watch still had to satisfy contemporary chronometric standards – proving that the methods of generations past can deliver performance worthy of today’s benchmarks.

Audacity – Konstantin Chaykin ThinKing Mystery

Konstantin Chaykin has never been one for convention, and the ThinKing Mystery proves the point. First teased as a prototype at Geneva Watch Days 2024, the ThinKing is the independent Russian watchmaker’s bid for the title of the world’s thinnest mechanical wristwatch, measuring a mere 1.65mm thick. The Mystery edition raises the stakes further by layering a mysterious time display onto that ultra-compressed architecture, pushing an already unforgiving discipline to its limits. Following Fam Al Hut’s win last year, the Audacity Prize once again rewards a watchmaker willing to take risks few others would.

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The other winners include Piaget, which took the inaugural Gemset Watch Prize with its Swinging Pebble – a revival of the Maison’s 1969 Swinging Sautoirs, with each pendant watch carved from a single slice of tiger’s eye, verdite or pietersite and hollowed out to house a Manufacture movement – two years after the Polo 79 was crowned Iconic. Chopard added the Jewellery Watch Prize to its tally with the Mystery Nut, a walnut-shaped high-jewelry pendant in ethical rose gold set with brown and cognac diamonds, which opens 180 degrees to reveal a hidden moon phase watch. Louis Vuitton was honored in Artistic Crafts for the Tambour Taiko Arty Automata, whose dial uses 23 colors of Grand Feu enamel and more than 250 hours of handwork, with seven animated elements springing to life above a one-minute flying tourbillon.

Horological veteran Dominique Renaud, co-founder of complications specialist Renaud & Papi, earned the Horological Revelation Prize for the Pulse60 Titanium Black, the first watch from his namesake project, which beats at a leisurely 1Hz around an enormous 20mm balance. La Vallée’s Cosmo took the Mechanical Clock Prize – a fully mechanical astronomical clock beneath a hand-blown Murano glass dome that runs for an astonishing 406 days on a single wind. As for the Special Jury Prize, it went to Patek Philippe for its Watch Art Grand Exhibitions, which have brought the Manufacture’s history and craftsmanship to the public since 2012 – from Dubai and London to Tokyo and, most recently, Milan, where this year’s edition welcomed 68,000 visitors.

The shortlisted timepieces remain on view at Geneva’s Musée d’Art et d’Histoire until November 15. To read more about the individual winners, head over to GPHG’s official website.