Six Watches Deserving The Petite Aiguille, One of The Most Prestigious Watch Prizes

22nd awards ceremony of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève announced the winners of the most prestigious awards in watchmaking.

The GPHG Academy (Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève) – regrouping 650 key figures in the profession worldwide – and the 2022 Jury chaired by Nick Foulkes saluted watchmaking excellence and expertise by attributing 21 prizes including the famous “Aiguille d’Or” Grand Prix “best-in-show” distinction, which was awarded to MB&F for the Legacy Machine Sequential Evo watch. Trilobe Nuit Fantastique Dune Edition won the Petite Aiguille trophy. The “Petite Aiguille” category encompasses watches with a retail price between CHF 3,500 and CHF 10,000. Smartwatches are also admissible in this category.

For the Petite Aiguille Award competed Zenith, Gelfman, Louis Erard, Grand Seiko, Breitling, and Trilobe.

2022 Petite Aiguille Watch Prize awarded to Trilobe “Nuit Fantastique Dune Edition”

TRILOBE NUIT FANTASTIQUE DUNE EDITION WATCH
The design of this creation favours minimalism and plays with perceptions. The elegant grained dial defies symmetrical shapes and is made up of four parts, three of which are in permanent rotation. Raw and uncluttered, this unstructured dial opens three distinct windows: the largest ring for hours; the minutes wheel that appears within an aperture; the seconds wheel, which alternates between a “Clous de Paris” centre and an azured ring.

The intertwining of the minutes and seconds gives a glimpse of the infinite and the time that goes on endlessly, within a satin-finished and polished in-dial bezel. A touch that is part of this time set in motion, always counterclockwise. An X-Centric conception of watchmaking dear to Trilobe.

Designed for a titanium grade 5 case, the Dune edition of the Nuit Fantastique collection pays tribute to the purity of Trilobe’s design.

ZENITH DEFY SKYLINE TIMEPIECE (Price: ~8’400 CHF)

The Zenith DEFY Skyline watch draws inspiration from the unique octagonal geometry of the early ZENITHE DEFY models including the recently revived Defy A3642 without attempting to merely recreate the past. Geometrically structured and whimsically celestial, the star-studded dial with a sunburst finish is embellished with a perfectly aligned pattern consisting of engraved four-pointed stars, which are in fact a modern reimagining of the Zenith “double Z” logo of the 1960s.

GELFMAN IN-16 NIXIE WATCH

The new-generation Nixie tube watch by Gelfman takes inspiration from the space-age aesthetics and offers a completely new take on telling time.

The future we know today looks very different than the one envisioned in the 1960s and 1970s, especially because it has far too few Nixie tubes. The Nixie tube is one of the oldest and retro-futuristic of digital display technologies: a glass tube containing a wire-mesh anode and multiple cathodes that, when powered, become glowing orange numbers. Using the original retro Nixie tubes from the Cold War era which boast almost 160 years of life time, Swiss manufacturer Gelfman AG turns them into fantastically retro-futuristic digital wristwatches. However, with all its dedication to the retro Nixie technology, the IN-16 has both feet firmly in the 21st century.

With the IN-16 model, Gelfman introduces an absolutely new concept for Nixie watches. The IN-16 is a luxury timepiece that combines modern digital technology with a retro elegance and cutting edge design. Taking the idea from the most famous smartwatches, which are fully compatible with computer, Gelfman adapted it to the world of 21st century watchmaking.

The refined, ultra-futuristic case conceals an electronic movement composing more than 100 high-end electronic components. This revolutionary feature means that the IN-16 watch can be fully controlled and programmed via computer, down to the remote software upgrade. By simply connecting the IN-16 watch to a PC or Mac, the user can choose the preferred Nixie tubes’ backlight, adjust the brightness, any many more. The watch is powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery with capacity of 320 mAh, offering a 7-day power reserve, while a USB magnetic charging cable provides a safe and high speed charging.

LOUIS ERARD LE RÉGULATEUR LOUIS ERARD X MASSENA LAB GOLD WATCH

This is not a watch, it is a meeting place. A centre of gravity. Louis Erard production, Massena LAB co-production, against a backdrop of classic chronometry with the Régulateur Louis Erard as the training ground for this new collaboration, adding to an already impressive list of names: Alain Silberstein, Vianney Halter, Atelier OÏ, Seconde/Seconde/, Eric Giroud.

The result, Le Régulateur Louis Erard x Massena LAB, comes in two variations. The only defining element between the two is the dial: on one, the lower plate is plated in 2N gold, while the other is rhodium-plated. Both models come in a limited edition of 178 pieces—a symbolic number meaning “together we are stronger”, a principle dear to Louis Erard’s work—and are available at the same price: CHF 3,600.

The meeting place is the regulator: a mechanical complication linked to the history of chronometry and to Louis Erard’s history. The reference to the marine chronometer results in an even more advanced search for readability than usual. The result is an unusually sophisticated dial for a watch in this price category.

The dial is made up of two levels. The two flanges on the hour and seconds counters (at 12 and 6 o’clock) are rhodium-plated with circular satin finish, with centres in silver-plated opaline. The large central minute hand points towards the outer rhodium-plated flange with circular satin finish. The lower plate is rhodium- or gold-plated, with a grained finish to further increase the contrast with the counters and enhance the readability of the blued steel leaf hands. The polished steel case is fitted with a signature Massena LAB crown.

GRAND SEIKO SPRING DRIVE GMT 9R66 TIMEPIECE

This Grand Seiko Spring Drive GMT sport watch from the Evolution 9 Collection features an intricately textured dial pattern inspired by the morning mist in autumn in the rustic Shinshu region, often a harbinger of a sunny day. Shinshu is home to the studio where all Grand Seiko Spring Drive watches are made.

The watch exhibits the Evolution 9 Style, a new grammar of design that enhances the Grand Seiko Style established in 1967. The Evolution 9 style takes the beauty, legibility and comfort of Grand Seiko to a new level. Its Zaratsu polished, distortion-free mirror finish and delicate hairline finish alternate to give the case a quiet and harmonious glow. The hands are bolder and more clearly differentiated for even greater legibility and to ensure the highest possible legibility. A new font has been created for the numerals on the bezel especially for the collection.

The watch’s case and bracelet are made of high-intensity titanium, which is about 30% lighter than stainless steel and brighter in color. The hands and indexes are coated with sufficient Lumibrite to further enhance the legibility of the time at night. The crown guard is carefully designed to avoid being caught on the sleeve in both sport activities and everyday use.

The watch is powered by Spring Drive GMT 9R66. The movement has an enhanced precision rate of ±15 seconds per month, a calendar, and a GMT hand with an hour-adjust function that allows the time zone to be changed without affecting the accuracy of the watch. With its unique glide motion seconds hand, Spring Drive mirrors the continuous, silent and smooth passage of time. To watch the seconds hand move serenely and with no ‘tick’ across the dial is to be brought as close as is possible to the nature of time itself.

BREITLING TOP TIME TRIUMPH WATCH

For Triumph fans, the Breitling Top Time Triumph watch is an absolute must-have, but you don’t have to have a head-turning motorcycle to fall for this attention-grabbing design.

Breitling Top Time is an unconventional chronograph that became an instant hit with a sporty in-crowd of men and women equally drawn to the watch’s bold proportions. ​In 2022 that freewheeling 1960s spirit is back in a spectacular new Top Time collaboration between Breitling and British motorcycle brand Triumph. ​The star of this watch is the ice-blue dial with its striking take on a Top Time motif known as the “Zorro” design. While it usually takes the form of a contrasting color that frames the two sub-counters like the wily swordsman’s mask, here it’s achieved with a brushed finish that creates a radiant play of light and texture.

The unique ice-blue color has two major archival references: a blue Triumph Thunderbird 6T from 1951 and a rare ice-blue Breitling Top Time Ref. 815 from the 1970s.​ Features include oversized mushroom pushers that allow for easy control over the chronograph’s stop-start and reset functions.

A high-contrast tachymeter scale provides clear legibility of speed readings. The subdued racing-themed calfskin leather strap lets the hero dial shine, while the Breitling and Triumph logos sit subtly at 12 and 6 o’clock. 41mm, the diameter is, like the original, a fit for both sexes. ​