Extracting Your 2011 Great Prix d Horlogerie de Geneve Prizes.

I keep in mind several years ago I became component of a thread on a single associated with the popular view forums. we stated that it was too poor we weren't alive during the 40s-60s, the thing I had thought about the "Golden Age" of mechanical watches. It seemed like right back after that, needless to say, all watches were technical, and most seemed rather affordable, even considering rising prices. But another poster quickly set me correct. The man pointed completely that were were living in the Golden Age of mechanical watches correct now! After a few occasions of consideration I realized he was absolutely correct. A strong argument could be made that we live in a Golden Age of mechanical watches today. We have the ultra-high-end brands such as MB&F, Patek, Lange, De Bethune, etc. We now have independents such as Roger Smith, Parmigiani, Peter Speake-Marin, Kari Voutilainen, Richard Mille, and F.P. Journe. And this is all aside from the usual suspects like Rolex, Omega, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and a large number of other people. But for people without deep pockets there are still other choices. A fan of mechanical watches can pick-up a Russian Vostok automatic for well under $100. And there are a seemingly endless wide range of Seiko Diver options under $300 and Seiko 5 choices for under $75. And don't forget, the Vostok and Seiko (don't forget Orient) automatics are true in-house movements, something which many of the mid-tier Swiss brands can merely claim with regards to fingers crossed behind their backs and a wink. Where I'm heading with all of this is that the 2011 edition of the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève (sometimes referred to as the "Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix") prizes were recently finished. This occasion is a sort of sector gathering at which the Swiss watch industry fetes its own. It isn't really quite clear for me how much for the event is marketing self-promotion by the market, and how much is more "pure." No matter, for us watch supporters, it's another possibility to look at the products and makes we like. The prizes are chosen by a panel picked by, well, I'm not totally positive how one will get chosen to be from the section of judges. I will envision a Swiss castle with Pascal Raffy at the gate, and puffs of white and black colored smoking coming away from a fireplace as candidates tend to be chosen. "Developed in 2001, and as of the 12 months 2011 underneath the aegis of the Geneva Watchmaking great Prix Foundation, this event is meant to salute the excellence of worldwide horological production, and annually benefits the greatest creations and by far the most vital numbers in the watchmaking world. It thus contributes to promoting horology and its prime values – namely innovation ..." The 2011 awards were held on November 19th. Cutting towards the chase, the leading honor champion had been the De Bethune DB28, which took home the coveted Aiguille d’Or award. As I've mentioned before, I think that De Bethune provides the slickest looking moonphase complication. The brand is a breath of fresh air in a world of Rolex Submariner homages plus the want. Maybe not that I dislike the Sub, it's just that it's great to see some different new designs. Additionally the prizes are awarded in large part according to development, both technical and design. "The international jury of the 11th edition, made up of watchmaking specialists, awarded the "Aiguille d’Or" big Prix, the supreme award honouring the best timepiece of the year, to the DB28 design by De Bethune." The Best Men’s view award went to the Hermès Arceau Le Temps Suspendu. I really didn't expect this; a lot of us don't think of Hermès when we all think of great Swiss/French watchmaking. Carry out read Ariel's review of this watch from earlier in the year. "The view itself will come in a 43mm wide case in metal and also as a limited model of 174 pieces in 18k rose gold. The Arceau style case provides a much more pronounced lug structure at the top and suavely rounded numerals that appear to run around the dial. ... The retrograde date dial is surprisingly easy to review and I love how the arms appears to come out of nowhere. Inside the watch is an automatic mechanized movement with the special time suspended component that was specifically created for the watch." The Best Design Watch prize had been awarded to a single of my favorite brands, Urwerk, with regards to their stunning UR-110. Skipping the technical details, the UR-110 is actually however another crazy-cool generation through the geniuses inside Urwerk. Comparable to De Bethune, these people carry on being iconoclasts and shake-up the watch industry. Urwerk defines this watch ... "The UR-110 indicates time by means of a revolving satellite complication on planetary gears featuring three parallel hour/minute modules resembling torpedoes. The amount of time is displayed from the right side of the watch, with the satellites following a vertical range - 0 to 60 minutes - in a downward motion. The ingenuity of this layout lies in allowing the individual to view the time subtly and elegantly without the necessity to pull back a cuff." And one of the most slick features? The dial side Control Board features an "Oil Change" signal to alert the user when it is time for a service. Amazing. The activity is automatic with 46 jewels and a solitary barrel. Urwerk again implements their air turbines as part of the wandering system. Perform not miss Ariel's hands-on look at this watch with pics. Together with endorsed Urwerk video? Also worth your own time. The greatest Complicated Watch reward ended up being awarded to Zenith for their amazing Academy Christophe Colomb formula of energy. It's good to find out the Zenith ship back on an affordable course after a major management shake-up and the sundown of this Theirry Nataf era. The Christophe Colomb is another over-the-top creation, and I enjoy every bit of it. Admittedly, there might still be some really good Nataf DNA in the toubillon of this piece, to his credit score rating. At first glimpse it looks muck like the Jaeger-LeCoultre Gyrotourbillon. And given the bubble casing the complication, owners ought to be REALLY mindful when going through entrances! ;-) Ariel's review of this watch describes the make-up of this tourbillon watches: "An escapement on gimbals that moves around such that the escapement more or significantly less is always located the same position. ... At the base of the "gear ball" is a polished gold fat that keeps the entire thing pointed in the right direction. ... the "tourbillon" into the Christophe Colomb moves just with the effectiveness of gravity."  So do you know the unexpected situations right here? There are three surprises for me personally:     we must admit that I never could have likely to see anything from Hermès here, they're definitely not one of the normal suspects.    It had been a bit of a shock to see TAG Heuer represented here. They're normally considered the high-end associated with the mall watch world, rather away from place with all the sleep for this group as a brand name. TAG Heuer does do some cutting-edge work with innovation, but not a lot of it seems making it away from the lab (think Monaco V4 and belt drives)   And rather conspicuous by their absence? Greubel Forsey, MB&F, and Harry Winston. As an aside, I often wonder if Rolex get's not enough credit score rating for its slow but especially helpful and practical innovations? The Parachrom hairspring for instance? Though a development like that undoubtedly isn't flashy and has now essentially no artistic appeal. And while I overall love the choices, We nevertheless find the Hermès choice a little bit of a head-scratcher. It ended up being picked over the Laurent Ferrier Galet Micro-rotor additionally the Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Traditionnelle business Time? I actually do wonder exactly how a lot of force, implicit or explicit, the judging panel is under to make their choices either popular or in-step with "approved" choices. When reading different watch magazines one wonders why all of us can go years without reading a poor review, and why excuses are often produced for the infrequent poor classification rating. We of course question if the anxiety about offending an advertiser (current or potential) is the reason. I've no clue what forces are at play in these honors, but I think it could be naive to assume you'll find none at all. Regardless of my nit-picky statements, awards and events like the large Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève are generally indeed fun for us watch enthusiasts. They keep us entertained throughout the year, hopefully holding us over until we become to start talking about Basel 2012 in only a couple months. ;-) And in addition to becoming good entertainment, they're also great for clients. Such events continue competitive pressure on the watch manufactures to continue steadily to innovate and introduce new technologies and products. Customers victory in the long run.