Nearly a century ago, back in 1929, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences inaugurated what has come to be known as the Academy Awards. What you may not know is that the watch industry has a similar annual event honoring the year’s best timepieces, called the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG); better known as the Oscars of watchmaking.
Unlike the Academy Awards, which take place at the start of each year and celebrate films from the year prior, the GPHG is a closing ceremony. Each November, top members of the industry, from CEOs to select designers, journalists, and retailers alongside collectors who’ve applied for one of the coveted spots, come together for one star-studded night in Geneva to commemorate the year’s watchmaking achievements.
But smart collectors know the event serves a bigger purpose—it is a forecast of what to expect in the new year. The colors, shapes, sizes, and complications that will set the tone are on full display. And, perhaps most importantly, collectors see which brands to keep a sharper eye on.
This year, we were fortunate enough to receive one of the prestigious invites to the GPHG ceremony, which gave us not only a first look at the winners but also key insights from the speeches and commentary throughout the event as some of the top brand executives ascended the stage to receive their awards. Here, we break down our analysis of some of the notable winners and what it tells us about the outlook for the industry in 2026.
The Top 5 Stand-out Winners at GPHG
Among the GPHG winners, five watches stand out as trend setters for the year to come. These models exemplify what’s performing well and resonating within the industry and among the collecting community. Here, we look at straightforward style trends in materials and color stories alongside sweetspot pricing and the ever-present tension between heritage and modernity.
Dennison—Challenge Prize Winner
The first comes as no surprise—Dennison’s win for its Natural Stone Tiger Eye watch in gold.
We’ve been calling out the popularity of stone dials since 2024, and it clearly isn’t slowing down. What’s key here is not just the continued interest in attractive dials and natural stones but the specific category win: the Challenge Prize. This category is for wristwatches with a retail price of CHF 3,000 or less, recognizing high-quality yet attainable timepieces. While we have seen brands like Bulgari and Cartier, as well as members of the Big Three like Audemars Piguet and Rolex, showcase stone dials, the trend isn’t exclusive to the top Maisons.
MB&F—Petite Aiguille Prize Winner
Speaking of accessibility, MB&F took home an important win in an unexpected category that will send collectors reeling.
The Maison built its reputation on its highly unattainable horological machines produced in extremely limited quantities, carrying price tags that start at six figures. But in 2021, 16 years after the brand’s founding, it introduced its M.A.D. Editions line, a more affordable subset with prices starting around $3,000. Why? Because MB&F noticed a very important shift: The growing interest over the past five years in unique, accessible designs over traditional luxury. The GPHG recognition for this line, with the “Petite Aiguille” Watch Prize for its M.A.D.2 Green, exemplifies that expanding the range of your catalog is very likely the future of luxury.
Urban Jürgensen—Men’s Watch Prize Winner
Still, the tension between tradition and modernity remains. The Men’s Watch Prize went to Urban Jürgensen for its UJ-2: Double Wheel Natural Escapement. The once-defunct heritage brand was revived earlier this year with a fresh perspective thanks to Kari Voutilainen, one of the modern era’s most renowned master watchmakers. Its combination of contemporary oversized proportions and mechanical complexity represents the type of timepiece that collectors will consider a vintage icon decades down the road.
Zenith—Chronometry Prize Winner
Zenith’s win of the Chronometry Prize for its G.F.J. Caliber 135 marks another example of the delicate balance between past and present that remains at the forefront of watchmaking.
The historic, award-winning caliber has withstood the test of time since its creation in 1948. The continued importance of longevity in the watch industry emphasizes the need for mechanical breakthroughs and designs that are more than quick wins—they must be built to last. Zenith perpetuates the legacy of this model, bringing it into the present with contemporary casing. Zenith’s approach is a masterclass in how to keep heritage relevant—a challenge all longstanding brands constantly face.
Gérald Genta—Ladies’ Watch Prize Winner
Lastly, we look at the trends in women’s watches with the Ladies’ Watch Prize going to Gérald Genta’s Gentissima Oursin Fire Opal. Coming full circle, we again see the continued popularity of stones and the use of color. While ladies’ models have historically incorporated these elements, it has often been with diamond accents and pastel colors. Here, we see the modern evolution with bold orange and yellow tones and the use of Mexican fire opals. In addition, the design of the Gentissima Oursin Fire Opal is far more than just a pretty face. The bezel setting relies on an intricate process in which each of the 137 opals is individually threaded and screwed into the integrated case construction. The takeaway: women are continuing to demand watches that are equally complex and beautiful.
Leading the Pack: The Brands to Watch
The GPHG awards also tell us which brands to keep an eye on. So, here are the ones to watch. First, we have some major players continuing to dominate.
Audemars Piguet
Audemars Piguet took home the Iconic Watch Prize for a complicated version of its Royal Oak (a perpetual calendar to be exact).
I’d go so far as to say that this is the definition of legacy. The Royal Oak’s design is instantly recognizable. It’s been copied time and time again but never matched. Across all markets—vintage, neo vintage, modern—it performs. And for over 50 years, Audemars Piguet has managed to push the design forward—this is what it takes to truly reach icon status.
Bulgari
Nipping at AP’s coattails is Bulgari, raking in the Tourbillon Watch Prize for its Octo Finissimo Ultra.
Here, we see that the path to building a legacy can take different shapes. Bulgari and Audemars Piguet were founded within 10 years of each other more than a century ago. The Roman Maison’s roots started in jewelry, which initially brought a distinct design sensibility to its watches. But the brand was smart enough to know aesthetics alone aren’t enough to make legacy timepieces. Enter the Octo Finissimo line, which has notched 10 world records in just over a decade since the model first debuted. Today, Bulgari dominates in the realms of both form and function—a true double threat.
The GPHG also turns our attention to newcomers and heritage brands making a resurgence.
Greubel Forsey
Greubel Forsey came on the scene just 20 years ago, and in the past five years in particular, the brand has begun to secure its place as one of the strongest technical masters in the industry. From chronometric achievements to high-finishing, Greubel Forsey is a force to be reckoned with. The Maison’s win of the Mechanical Exception Watch Prize for the Nano Foudroyante is well deserved.
It achieves an incredible 1,800x reduction in energy use, allowing its delicate “lightning seconds” hand to run continuously without draining the main power reserve, demonstrating a new paradigm for energy efficiency in mechanical watchmaking and potentially paving the way for ultra-long power reserves and more complex, yet compact, high-horology timepieces.
Chopard
Chopard, like Audemars Piguet and Bulgari, is a heritage brand whose roots trace back to the 1800s. However, Chopard hasn’t followed the same linear trajectory—the brand’s success has ebbed and flowed, but it’s currently on the upswing. Since the Maison introduced its Alpine Eagle collection in 2019 as a modern revival of the brand’s St. Moritz, it’s served as a platform for both design and technical achievement.
Chopard has harnessed that momentum and proven it’s more than a one-trick pony. The Maison was the only brand to take home two awards at the GPHG: the Sports Watch Prize for the Alpine Eagle 41 SL Cadence 8HF and the Ladies’ Complication Watch Prize for the Imperiale Four Seasons.
The takeaway: brand success is more than just resting on an icon – it’s about diversity.
Breguet
We saved the best for last—literally. Each year, the Oscars of Watchmaking closes out with the Aiguille d’Or Grand Prix or “Best in Show,” rewarding the timepiece that is considered best overall across all categories and deemed the most representative of the watch industry as a whole. The win went to Breguet’s Classique Souscription, adding a cherry on top to the brand’s monumental 250th anniversary year. The depth of Breguet’s legacy spans a century more than many heritage brands. In 250 years, a brand will inevitably see highs and lows or perhaps even stagnation. In more recent years, we’ve seen Breguet hit a steady plateau in its contemporary catalog, with its vintage and secondary market pieces peaking. This year, under the new leadership of Gregory Kissling, the brand has strategically turned the tables, showing its renewed focus on its current offerings, which will set the tone for 2026 and the brand’s next 250 years.
