The dust has settled on this year’s edition of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, and while I’m sure the champagne is still flowing in certain quarters (well done MB&F!), here at Revolution, some of the editorial team have put our collective heads together to focus on some winners that we have a particular soft spot for.

Cheryl Chia’s Pick – Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Arpels Heuers Florale Cerisier

The Lady Arpels Heuers Florale Cerisier is a well-deserved winner of the Innovation Prize, but perhaps also the least obvious to anyone who has yet to see what it does. The ingenious mechanics are put in service of a completely innocent-looking display of flowers and butterflies. The hours are indicated by the number of flowers that blossom at each hour but more than that, the order in which the flowers open and close from hour to hour appear to be entirely random as it is based on a cycle on three sequences. Adding to its complexity, the animation of the flowers also follows a distinct pattern – they close slowly but burst open quickly. The movement is not only incredibly complicated but it is also constructed in a highly unusual way. It consists of a small automatic base movement with a full, circular gold rotor. But also located on the base plate on the periphery of the automatic movement is an additional barrel and gear train controlled by a centrifugal governor that regulates the speed at which the flowers open and close. The display module itself consists of four hour program wheels, each with a different number of teeth to achieve the seemingly randomized pattern. Each program wheel governs the motion of three flowers; themselves made up of five tiny pinions – one for each petal – with a center pinion controlled by a spring-loaded rack. It is simply ingenious, and the fact that all of this is buried beneath a bejeweled garden of métiers d’arts makes it all the more extraordinary.

Felix Scholz’s Pick – Sylvain Pinaud’s Origine

I’ve gone back and forth on my ‘pick’ quite a lot. Grand Seiko’s well-deserved ‘Kodo’ almost took the prize, as did Van Cleef & Arpel’s whimsical Fontaine Aux Oiseaux Automaton, but in the end I couldn’t look past the winner of the Revelation prize, Sylvain Pinaud’s Origine. I will admit that a large part of this is because I had a lovely Zoom interview with Mr Pinaud to discuss his Origine. The watch itself is an exceptionally worthy winner, with a stonking big balance and traditional architecture — a loving ode to the golden age of chronometry. On its own, the watch is enough, but what really sold me — as I suspect is the case with all indies, was the watchmaker himself. Pinaud is emblematic of a new generation of indie makers, who have come onto the scene at a time of unprecedented respect and recognition for the sort of watchmaking he does. And while Pinaud has decades of experience, I can’t wait to see what he makes of this higher profile and the impressive platform of the Origine in years to come. Well done Sylvain!

Ross Povey’s Pick – Tudor Pelagos FXD

I know, I know; but what did you expect? Fifteen categories, each with six watches in. It’s a veritable horological smorgasbord with a watch for every wrist, every occasion and every taste under the stars. Some of the most incredible feats of horological ingenuity, the most mind-bending complications, praise-worthy artistry and ‘eff-you wrist candy. It would be rude to say that this assemblage of timepieces is anything other than a stellar line-up. I make no secret of my love for Tudor; it’s a significant part of my life. There were two Tudors that made it to the finals, and whilst I wished the Ranger nothing but the best, it was the Pelagos that had my heart. In fact, it’s not just my favourite watch of the GPHG, it might be my favourite modern watch of all time, and if there was a candidate for a ‘one watch collection’, that I could wear for every occasion, then I think this would be my choice

Let’s be clear, even if you have no more than a passing interest in military watches, then you cannot ignore the FXD, the winner of the Diver category. It’s not just a watch that is just inspired by military timepieces or with a badge or motif of a naval force; the FXD is a proper MilSub designed in collaboration with those badass Commando Hubert combat divers that legend tells us wore Tudor MN watches in the 1950s to 1980s. Cut me in half, and it would say Wilsdorf through my core like a stick of rock, and I make no apologies for this. I cut my teeth on Tudor and am regarded as the foremost expert on vintage pieces, especially military-issued watches. For me, then, the Pelagos FXD was the stuff of dreams. A blue snowflake inspired by the 1970s Marine Nationale (MN) Tudors… what’s not to love?

In some fans’ minds, the Pelagos has always been the purer of the Tudor tool watches. The square hour markers and professional application was arguably truer to the brand’s dive watch roots than the Black Bay. In my mind, it was certainly the logical line for a collaboration watch with one of Tudor’s oldest research and development partners, the French national navy – Marine Nationale. The most elite unit in the MN is Commando Hubert, the combat swimmers, and it was this group with whom Tudor worked to develop the FXD. There were a few questions when the watch was launched, such as why there was no gas escape valve like on other Pelagos watches? Well, combat swimmers generally go no deeper than a few meters. Why a retrograde bezel that is bi-directional? It’s a countdown bezel, a key part of Commando Hubert’s underwater navigation. There are other elements that raised questions, and all could actually be answered with “because that’s what the MN wanted!”