The Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève changes one third of the members of its jury each year. Who are the new experts for the 15th edition?
Marc A. Hayek, winner of the top prize in 2014 with Breguet (left) and James Gurney, founder of QP Magazine and QP Salon in London ©DR
The 72 watches preselected for the 2015 edition of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève will be revealed on 1st September on WorldTempus and the official site. Each of the twelve categories will then be analysed by our specialist journalists over the coming weeks up until the prize-giving ceremony on 29th October.
The new members of the jury, carefully chosen by the GPHG Foundation in consultation with Aurel Bacs, the president of the jury, will play an important role in deciding the winners. The partial rotation not only brings in new talents and varied competences but also reinforces the impartiality and independence of the jury, which is today unanimously recognised.
As with every year, the CEO of the brand that won the previous year’s Aiguille d’Or joins the 25 members of the jury. This year it is the turn of Marc A. Hayek, who won the top prize in 2014 with Breguet.
The Professionals
Industry expert Gianfranco Ritschel could probably devise the most exhaustive quiz about the watch industry, based on over a quarter of a century of theoretical and empirical knowledge as a watchmaking consultant and trainer, after twenty years in distribution (at Bucherer, among others).
Our media colleagues from three different countries and cultures also have the honour of being selected for the jury this year. Stephan Ciejka is to watchmaking what the obelisk is to the Place de la Concorde in Paris, as editor-in-chief of French magazine Revue des Montres, with the highest frequency of publication in the country. On the other side of the Channel, James Gurney not only established the specialist QP magazine, setting up franchises around the world, but also created the eponymous watch exhibition in London. In Switzerland, Pierre Maillard flits between the 12th Art and the 7th Art, with his legendary and respected contributions to the trade magazine Europa Star increasingly competing with his activities as a film producer.
The Exotic
Watchmaking has no borders on the world-wide web. The global and digital visions of the cosmopolitan Swiss nationals David Sadigh and William Rohr add a new dimension to the jury. As CEO of the Digital Luxury Group, David Sadigh publishes each year the much-anticipated World Watch Report, while William Rohr puts his expertise as a collector at the service of Bonhams Auctioneers in the USA and the website timezone.com.
Eric Singer, drummer of hard rock group Kiss © DR
The GPHG also calls upon gifted celebrities in their own fields who have an affinity with the world of watches, like designer Philippe Starck and musician John Mayer in the past. Would you have imagined the drummer from hard rock group Kiss to be a watch collector? Well Eric Singer is indeed one, and one with very eclectic tastes. On an entirely different level, Swiss artist Dieter Meier is also interested in watches, but also in music (everyone remembers his group Yello), the cinema as an actor and distinguished director, and in business – and rather successfully, too.
The Safeguards
Collectors, renowned retailers, gemmologists, historians and journalists from around the world complete the jury, with the full list available on the GPHG website.
Last but not least, watch expert and former curator at the International Museum of Watchmaking Ludwig Oechslin is the Jury Commissioner responsible for ensuring compliance with the rules and that competing watches meet admission criteria.
Vote for your favourite in the public prize category and you could win a DeWitt watch. Click here to enter
This article originally appeared on WorldTempus.com