IWC Wins Acadamy Awards ‘Best Picture’ Of Watchmaking With Portugieser Eternal Calendar

This prestigious event invites the who's who in horology.

A silver IWC watch beside purple statuettes.

Image: IWC/DMARGE

  • The 2024 GPHG awarded IWC’s Portugieser Eternal Calendar the prestigious “Aiguille d’Or”.
  • Prizes were awarded across 15 categories, including Tourbillon, Calendar & Astronomy, and Chronograph.
  • The Special Jury Prize went to legendary casemaker Jean-Pierre Hagmann.

The esteemed Le Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève was held in Switzerland last night. And for those amongst us who have been dodging their Duolingo reminders — I know you have — the GPHG is essentially the Oscars of the watch world, celebrating the finest achievements in haute horlogerie over the last year.

This prestigious event invites the who’s who in horology world’s biggest watchmakers, collectors, and enthusiasts to celebrate a year of groundbreaking design, craftsmanship, and innovation in timekeeping.

In a glitzy evening in Geneva, 21 prizes were handed out across more than 15 categories, including a spectacular array of styles and specialties such as Tourbillon, Calendar and Astronomy, and Chronograph, each celebrating a unique aspect of horological mastery… and this year’s highest honour, the coveted “Aiguille d’Or” trophy went to one of our eternal favourites.

People admire IWC watches at GPHG exhibition.
The annual GPHG invites the world’s biggest watch enthusiasts to celebrate a year in haute horlogerie. Image: GPHG

IWC Portugieser Eternal Calendar

Known for its astronomical precision, the IWC Portugieser Eternal Calendar took home the GPHG’s biggest prize at this year’s edition, under the leadership of GPHG Academy and 2024 Jury President Nick Foulkes.

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Unlike a standard perpetual calendar, IWC’s revered release accounts for the intricacies of the Gregorian calendar, including centurial years, with a groundbreaking 400-year gear system that reaches further than any mechanism before it. Remarkably, IWC was able to achieve this using just eight components.

Adding to its technical prowess, the Eternal Calendar features the world’s most accurate moon phase display, with a deviation of only one day after 45 million years. This unparalleled precision was the audacious challenge set by IWC’s engineers, who deployed computing simulations of more than 22 trillion combinations of wheels and mechanisms to produce an entirely new moon phase reduction gear of unprecedented precision.

IWC Portugieser: luxury watch with eternal calendar.
IWC Portugieser Eternal Calendar won this year’s Aiguille d’Or. Image: IWC Schaffhausen

Winning watches at the 2024 Le Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève

Additional honours went to brands including Berneron, Bernhard Lederer, Bovet 1822, Chopard, Daniel Roth, De Bethune, H. Moser & Cie, Kudoke, Laurent Ferrier, Massena Lab, Ming, Otsuka Lotec, Piaget, Rémy Cools, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Voutilainen, each recognised for exceptional creations across various categories.

This year’s Special Jury Prize, celebrating a pivotal figure or institution in watchmaking, was awarded to master casemaker Jean-Pierre Hagmann.

A curated selection of the 90 nominated timepieces, including the 20 winners, will be on display at Geneva’s Musée Rath until 17 November, with a showcase set for 21–23 November at the Central University Library of Bucharest.

2024 GPHG Winners List

Grand Prix de l’Aiguille d’Or : IWC SchaffhausenPortugieser Eternal Calendar
Prix de l’Audace : Berneron, Mirage Sienna
Prix de l’Éco-innovation : ChopardL.U.C Qualité Fleurier
Prix de la Chronométrie : Bernhard Lederer, 3 Times Certified Observatory Chronometer
Prix Révélation Horlogère : Rémy Cools, Tourbillon Atelier
Prix de la Montre Iconique : Piaget, Piaget Polo 79
Prix du Tourbillon : Daniel Roth, Tourbillon Souscription
Prix de la Montre Calendrier et Astronomie : Laurent Ferrier, Classic Moon Silver
Prix de l’Exception Mécanique : Bovet 1822, Récital 28 Prowess 1
Prix de la Montre Chronographe : Massena Lab, Chronographe Monopoussoir Sylvain Pinaud x Massena Lab
Prix de la Montre Sport : Ming, 37.09 Bluefin
Prix de la Complication pour Homme : De Bethune, DB Kind Of Grande Complication
Prix de la Montre Homme : Voutilainen, KV20i Inversé
Prix « Time Only » : H. Moser & Cie, Streamliner Small Seconds Blue Enamel
Prix de la Montre Joaillerie : Chopard, Montre à secret de Haute Joaillerie Laguna
Prix de la Montre Métiers d’Art : Van Cleef & Arpels, Lady Arpels Jour Enchanté
Prix de la Complication pour Femme : Van Cleef & Arpels, Lady Arpels Brise d’Été
Prix de la Montre Femme : Van Cleef & Arpels, Lady Jour Nuit
Prix de la Petite Aiguille : Kudoke, 3 Salmon
Prix Challenge : Otsuka Lotec, No.6
Prix Spécial du Jury : Jean-Pierre Hagmann

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