GPHG 2026: Nominees, How the Prize Works and What to Watch
GPHG 2026 , the 26th Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève, names its winners on Saturday, November 7, 2026 at the Bâtiment des Forces Motrices in Geneva. Academy voters have narrowed 320 entries from 194 brands to 84 nominees in 14 categories , six per category. This page explains how the prize works, who is nominated, who is missing and what is worth watching on the night. We will update it with the results after the ceremony.
At a glance
| Detail | Specification |
|---|---|
| Ceremony | Saturday, November 7, 2026 (26th edition), livestreamed on gphg.org. WorldTempus alone gives November 8, and we could not open gphg.org to settle it |
| Venue | Bâtiment des Forces Motrices, Geneva. One outlet gives a 7 pm start |
| Nominees | 84 timepieces: 78 wristwatches and six mechanical clocks, chosen from 320 entries by 194 brands |
| Categories | 14, with six nominees each, plus prizes outside the categories |
| Prizes | 19 per Euronews and The Hour Markers, including the Aiguille d'Or Grand Prix. One outlet says 20 |
| Top prize | Aiguille d'Or Grand Prix |
| Eligibility | The previous year's Aiguille d'Or winner may not compete the next year, so 2025 winner Breguet is out |
| Voting | Academy vote worth one third of the result, 24-member jury worth two thirds; jury chaired by Wei Koh |
| Exhibition | Geneva, Musée d'Art et d'Histoire, October 29 to November 15; London, November 18 to 23 |
How the GPHG 2026 prize works
The GPHG runs in two stages. In a summer round, the roughly 1,000 members of the GPHG Academy vote for the watches that should be nominated. That produced the six-per-category shortlist. A second, digital Academy ballot then counts for one third of the final result, and the jury supplies the other two thirds, according to The Hourglass and the GPHG's own announcement as reproduced by Europa Star.
The jury has been cut from 30 to 24 members this year and is chaired by Wei Koh, who succeeds Nick Foulkes. The president and the GPHG Foundation choose 11 members, 11 more are drawn by lot from the Academy under notarial supervision, and Breguet's Gregory Kissling sits as the representative of the previous Aiguille d'Or winner. Jurors examine the nominees in person in Geneva and vote by secret ballot.
Several rules changed in 2026. The Men's and Ladies' categories are gone, replaced by Essentielle and Complication. There is a new Gemset category for pieces up to six carats, and Jewellery is reserved for exceptional work. One-of-a-kind pieces are accepted only for Jewellery and Mechanical Clock. The Iconic Watch Prize is open to the whole market, and the Special Jury Prize can now go to a brand. We could not find a public vote in any source we read. WorldTempus runs a prediction contest, but that is separate from the GPHG vote. No source we read explains how the Aiguille d'Or is chosen from the category winners, so we do not describe it.
The GPHG 2026 nominees by category
The list is varied. Chopard has six nominations , one in each of six categories, and Audemars Piguet, Bvlgari and Parmigiani Fleurier have four each. Bovet 1822, H. Moser and Piaget have three. WorldTempus notes that Blancpain returns after 12 years away and that Christiaan van der Klaauw makes its first GPHG appearance.
Euronews picked out several nominees and quotes their prices in euros, which we have not converted because we found no sourced exchange rate. The Konstantin Chaykin ThinKing Mystery (Mechanical Exception, 12 pieces) is listed at EUR 426,000, and the Christiaan van der Klaauw Grand Planetarium Eccentric Silicium (six pieces) at EUR 157,000. The URWERK x Ulysse Nardin UR-FREAK is in Complication, in a run of 100 at EUR 115,000, and our Ulysse Nardin Freak history covers the Freak line. In Sports, Euronews lists the Grand Seiko Spring Drive U.F.A. Ushio 300 Diver at EUR 10,000 and the IWC Big Pilot's Perpetual Calendar Ceralume (250 pieces) at EUR 69,000. In Challenge, Euronews lists the SpaceOne x Baltic Seconde Majeure at EUR 3,200.
Outside the watches, the six mechanical clocks include the Louis Vuitton x De Bethune LVDB-03 and the Chopard Beehive chiming table clock. The L.Leroy Vox Temporis (EUR 341,000) is nominated in Artistic Crafts.
Who is not in the running at GPHG 2026
Euronews says Rolex has never taken part, and lists Patek Philippe, Cartier, Vacheron Constantin, F.P. Journe, Richard Mille, A. Lange & Söhne and Greubel Forsey among the well-known names not competing this year. None of them appears in the WorldTempus list of the 84 nominees. We found no source that gives a reason for any of these absences.
Breguet is different, because its absence follows a rule. It won the 2025 Aiguille d'Or for the Classique Souscription 2025, and the GPHG's announcement says the winner of the Grand Prix is excluded from competing the following year. Euronews describes Breguet as barred under GPHG rules. We could not read the regulation text on gphg.org, so we report the rule as it was described to us. Brands can also win without being formally entered, since the Iconic Watch Prize and Special Jury Prize now cover watches and brands that did not submit anything.
What to watch at the ceremony
We are not predicting winners. These are things worth following, and they are our reading, not forecasts.
Chopard's spread is one. A nominee in six categories gives it more chances than any other brand, but nominations do not add up to a win, and the jury votes category by category. Audemars Piguet's four nominations include the Royal Oak Jumbo flying tourbillon chronograph carrying the 150th Anniversary name, and our Royal Oak Jumbo history covers the model.
The 2025 results are a useful reference. Last year's Time Only winner was the Daniel Roth Extra Plat Rose Gold, and Daniel Roth is back this year with a different watch, the Extra Plat Rose Gold Skeleton, in Essentielle. Zenith took the 2025 Chronometry prize, and Chopard's Alpine Eagle won Sports. The new category structure also makes direct comparison with last year harder, since there is no Men's or Ladies' prize.
Smaller names are another thread. Independents such as Konstantin Chaykin, Laurent Ferrier and Rexhep Rexhepi share the lists with large groups, and Petite Aiguille includes a Christopher Ward and a Frédérique Constant, while Challenge has a King Seiko. Our Christopher Ward and King Seiko pages give background on two of those brands.
GPHG 2026 and Geneva auction week
The ceremony lands on the same weekend as Geneva's November watch auctions. Our October auction results and Geneva preview lists the schedule it found: Phillips and Antiquorum on November 7 and 8, Sotheby's from November 8 and Christie's on November 9. The nominated watches are on public view at the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire until November 15.
GPHG 2026 categories and selected nominees
| Category | Selected nominees (of six) |
|---|---|
| Time Only | Chopard L.U.C 1860; Laurent Ferrier Classic Origin Beige; Bvlgari Octo Finissimo 37 |
| Essentielle | Audemars Piguet Neo Frame Jumping Hour; Daniel Roth Extra Plat Rose Gold Skeleton; MB&F SP One Platinum |
| Complication | Ulysse Nardin x URWERK UR-FREAK; Czapek Time Jumper; Vianney Halter x Behrens KWH |
| Mechanical Exception | Blancpain Grande Double Sonnerie; Chopard L.U.C Grand Strike; Konstantin Chaykin ThinKing Mystery |
| Gemset | Chopard L'Heure du Diamant; Piaget Swinging Pebble; Tiffany & Co. Paradise Bird Toucan |
| Tourbillon | Ferdinand Berthoud Chronomètre FB 2TV; Girard-Perregaux Laureato Fifty Three Gold Bridges; Louis Vuitton Escale Worldtime Flying Tourbillon |
| Chronograph | Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Jumbo RD#5 150th Anniversary; Rexhep Rexhepi Chronograph Flyback; TAG Heuer Monaco Evergraph |
| Calendar & Astronomy | Audemars Piguet 150 Heritage; Bovet 1822 Récital 31; Krayon Anyday Rose Gold |
| Sports | Grand Seiko Spring Drive U.F.A. Ushio 300 Diver; IWC Big Pilot's Perpetual Calendar Ceralume; H. Moser Streamliner Pump |
| Jewellery | Bvlgari Tubogas Manchette; Dior Grand Bal Nuit des Indes; Jacob & Co Billionaire Double Tourbillon |
| Artistic Crafts | L.Leroy Vox Temporis; Louis Vuitton Tambour Taiko Arty Automata; Audemars Piguet Établisseurs Nomade |
| Petite Aiguille | Christopher Ward Loco Classic; TAG Heuer Monaco Chronograph; MING x J.N. Shapiro 37.06 Lightning |
| Challenge | SpaceOne x Baltic Seconde Majeure; King Seiko VANAC; Favre Leuba Chief Skeleton |
| Mechanical Clock | Louis Vuitton x De Bethune LVDB-03; Chopard The Beehive; L'Epée 1839 The Gekko |
Background
The GPHG began in 2001, and recent Aiguille d'Or winners include IWC for the Portugieser Eternal Calendar in 2024 (per Wikipedia, which we did not cross-check) and Breguet in 2025. Several nominated brands have pages in our history section: Audemars Piguet, Blancpain, Grand Seiko, H. Moser & Cie, IWC, the TAG Heuer Monaco and Ulysse Nardin. Zenith, which won the 2025 Chronometry prize, is covered in our Zenith history.Sources: Euronews (September 1, 2026), WorldTempus (finalists and full category lists), The Hour Markers (September 1, 2026), The Hourglass (September 7, 2026), Europa Star (GPHG announcement, May 2026), Watch Collecting Lifestyle (jury), Monochrome and Watchonista (2025 results), Wikipedia (Aiguille d'Or list), all retrieved October 25, 2026. We could not open gphg.org, so the date conflict, prize count and regulation wording are not checked against the organiser's site. This page will be updated after the ceremony.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the GPHG 2026 ceremony?
Saturday, November 7, 2026, according to Europa Star, The Hour Markers, The Hourglass, Watch Collecting Lifestyle and Euronews. WorldTempus gives November 8, and we could not check gphg.org.
Where is the GPHG 2026 ceremony held?
At the Bâtiment des Forces Motrices in Geneva. It is livestreamed on gphg.org.
How many watches are nominated for GPHG 2026?
84 timepieces in 14 categories, six per category. They are 78 wristwatches and six mechanical clocks, chosen from 320 entries by 194 brands.
How does GPHG voting work?
The Academy of about 1,000 members chose the nominees. Its second digital vote counts for one third of the result and the 24-member jury, chaired by Wei Koh, for two thirds.
Why isn't Breguet competing at GPHG 2026?
Breguet won the 2025 Aiguille d'Or, and the GPHG's announcement says the winner is excluded from competing the following year. Euronews describes it as barred under the rules.
Is Rolex nominated for GPHG 2026?
No. Euronews says Rolex has never entered the GPHG. It also lists Patek Philippe, Cartier and Vacheron Constantin among brands not competing, without giving reasons.
Which brand has the most nominations at GPHG 2026?
Chopard, with six, one in each of six categories. Audemars Piguet, Bvlgari and Parmigiani Fleurier have four each.
Can the public vote in the GPHG?
We found no public vote in the sources we read. WorldTempus runs its own prediction contest, which is separate from the awards.
When will this page show the GPHG 2026 winners?
We will update it after the ceremony on November 7.
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