GPHG 2026: The Watch Prize Reinvents Itself – Gender Categories Make Way for a Universal Approach
For 25 years, the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) has been the watch industry’s most prestigious award – widely regarded as its equivalent of the Oscars. For its 26th edition, the Geneva-based foundation is drawing clear conclusions from a changed market reality and redesigning its competition structure from the ground up. These aren’t cosmetic tweaks: they reflect a genuine shift in how the watch world thinks about itself.
Adieu Men’s and Ladies’ – Bienvenue Essential and Complication Watch
The most significant change for 2026: gender-based categories are gone. Previously, the GPHG maintained separate categories for “Women”, “Women’s Complication”, “Men” and “Men’s Complication” – a structure rooted in 20th-century retail thinking. Two technically defined categories now take their place: Essential Watch (hours, minutes, seconds, date, power reserve or classical moon phase, no gemstones) and Complication Watch (special mechanical complexities and innovative functions beyond the basics).
This is more than a renaming exercise. A Chopard ladies’ watch and a Bovet 1822 men’s piece will now compete in the same category – judged on technical merit, not on the target demographic written on the hang tag. The market itself had long moved this direction; the GPHG is finally catching up. Anyone who followed the GPHG 2025 finalists knows how blurred those lines had already become.
New Gemset Category – and Sharper Lines for Jewellery
Also new: a dedicated Gemset category for watches set with up to six carats of stones. Previously, such pieces often competed in the Jewellery category, which is now reserved exclusively for the most exceptional watchmaking-jewellery crossovers – spectacular works where the boundary between timepiece and jewel virtually disappears. The logic is straightforward: a diamond-set dial shouldn’t have to go head-to-head with a fully pavé Haute Joaillerie creation.
A new rule accompanies this: from 2026, one-of-a-kind models will only be accepted in the Jewellery Watch and Mechanical Clock categories. Everywhere else, watches must be available as part of a regular collection. This protects the comparability of the competition and prevents bespoke pieces from outcompeting commercially available watches on an uneven playing field.
Iconic Watch Prize and Special Jury Prize – Broader Reach
The Iconic Watch Prize is now open to the entire watch market. Previously limited to officially entered models, it can now recognise any watch released during the year that offers a contemporary reinterpretation of an iconic model that has shaped the industry for more than 20 years – whether or not the brand paid an entry fee. A meaningful opening for independent watchmakers who may skip the CHF 800 entry cost.
The Special Jury Prize has also been expanded. Beyond individuals and institutions, the jury may now honour a brand for a significant watchmaking development or for an exemplary approach to ethics and sustainability. That last word carries real weight: sustainability as an explicit award criterion at the most important watch prize in the world sends a clear signal to an industry navigating its environmental responsibilities.
The 2026 Jury: Leaner, Sharper – Wei Koh at the Helm
As previously covered, Wei Koh is presiding over the 2026 GPHG jury. The jury itself has been trimmed from 30 to 24 members for more focused deliberations: 11 chosen by the jury president in consultation with the GPHG Foundation, 11 drawn by lot from the Academy, plus Gregory Kissling representing Breguet as winner of the 2025 Aiguille d’Or – though Breguet itself is excluded from competing this year per the rules. For comparison, the 2025 jury of 30 members is documented here.
The voting structure remains hybrid: approximately 1,000 Academy members nominate the finalists; the jury’s vote – conducted privately under notarial supervision – accounts for two-thirds of the final result, with the digital Academy vote making up the remaining third. The ceremony takes place on 7 November 2026 at the Bâtiment des Forces Motrices in Geneva.
Conclusion
The GPHG 2026 is rewriting its own rulebook – and doing so with a clear-eyed sense of where watchmaking is heading. Dropping gender categories is overdue and coherent. The Gemset category creates fairer competition. The expanded Iconic and Special Jury Prizes open the stage to a wider cast. For anyone who followed 25 years of GPHG prize winners, this reform won’t feel like a rupture – it feels like the natural next chapter. Watchmaking is changing. The prize is changing with it.
