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- Rexhep Rexhepi’s Chronograph Flyback has won the prestigious Aiguille d’Or Grand Prix at the 26th Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG).
- The platinum chronograph features a hand-finished, manually wound movement, a grand feu enamel dial and a CHF 150,000 price tag.
- Twenty prizes were awarded at the 7 November ceremony, with Audemars Piguet, Grand Seiko, Louis Vuitton and Chopard among the winners.
A new champion has been crowned at one of the world’s most prestigious watchmaking awards ceremonies. Independent watchmaker Rexhep Rexhepi has taken home the prestigious Aiguille d’Or Grand Prix at the 26th Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG), with his extraordinary Chronograph Flyback crowned the top watch of 2026.
Held in Geneva on 7 November, the annual awards brought together some of the biggest names in luxury watchmaking, with 20 prizes handed out across categories ranging from sports watches and chronographs to artistic craftsmanship. Above all the category prizes, there’s one award every watchmaker covets: the Aiguille d’Or.
And although plenty of familiar names from Switzerland‘s established watchmaking houses were represented, the highest honour went to Rexhepi’s independent operation and a chronograph that puts traditional hand-finishing and mechanical ingenuity front and centre.
1/3What Makes Rexhep Rexhepi’s Chronograph Flyback So Special?
For a watch carrying a CHF 150,000 price tag (roughly AUD $266,000), Rexhep Rexhepi’s Chronograph Flyback is surprisingly understated. Its 38.8 mm platinum case measures just 9.7 mm thick, framing a storm-blue grand feu enamel dial with three smoked sapphire subdials that offer a glimpse of the mechanics beneath the surface.
It’s a clever balance between traditional watchmaking and contemporary design. The dial takes inspiration from vintage pocket-watch chronographs, while the exposed registers reveal parts of the movement without turning the entire face into a skeletonised display. It’s even more impressive, as this is Rexhep Rexhepi’s first flyback chronograph, powered by an entirely new manually wound calibre. Unlike a conventional chronograph, which must be stopped and reset before starting another measurement, a flyback chronograph can reset and restart with a single press of a pusher.
Inside the watch, a column wheel and lateral clutch govern the chronograph. Accompanied by an instantaneous minute counter, the movement beats at 21,600 vibrations per hour and offers a 72-hour power reserve.
And as we usually do, we turn the watch over to reveal the sapphire caseback and the carefully arranged movement within: German silver bridges, hand-bevelled components, black polishing and traditional Geneva stripes. Rexhepi deliberately exposes the chronograph mechanism, making the complication’s workings part of the visual appeal.
It’s not a watch trying to win you over with an endless list of complications. The achievement is in bringing this level of mechanical complexity and hand-finishing together in a relatively slim, remarkably composed package.
1/4The Other Big Winners at the 2026 GPHG
Rexhepi wasn’t the only name celebrating in Geneva. The 2026 GPHG prize list included several established heavyweights, alongside independent makers pushing watch design in less conventional directions.
Audemars Piguet collected the Iconic Watch Prize for its Royal Oak ‘Jumbo’ RD#5, alongside the Calendar and Astronomy Watch Prize for the 150 Heritage. Ferdinand Berthoud was another double winner, taking home the Chronometry Prize for the Naissance d’une Montre 3 and the Tourbillon Watch Prize for the Chronomètre FB 2TV.
Elsewhere, Grand Seiko‘s Spring Drive U.F.A. Ushio 300 Diver won the Sports Watch Prize, while Louis Vuitton‘s Tambour Taiko Arty Automata claimed the Artistic Crafts Watch Prize. Chopard also picked up two honours for the L.U.C 1860 and Mystery Nut.
Patek Philippe received the Special Jury Prize for its Watch Art Grand Exhibition, recognising the exhibition rather than an individual watch.
The wider results also included wins for Blancpain, Daniel Roth, Parmigiani Fleurier and Japanese independent Otsuka Lotec, demonstrating just how broad the field has become.
For anyone hoping to see the winning watches in person, the GPHG exhibition remains open at Geneva’s Musée d’Art et d’Histoire until 15 November. The award-winning pieces then travel to Watches of Switzerland in London’s Knightsbridge from 18 to 23 November.
All the Winners from the 26th Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) 2026 Awards
- “Aiguille d’Or” Grand Prix: Rexhep Rexhepi, Chronograph Flyback
- Iconic Watch Prize: Audemars Piguet, Royal Oak “Jumbo” Extra-thin Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Chronograph RD#5 “150th Anniversary”
- Special Jury Prize: Patek Philippe, Watch Art Grand Exhibition
- Audacity Prize: Konstantin Chaykin, ThinKing Mystery
- Chronometry Prize: Ferdinand Berthoud, Naissance d’une Montre 3
- Horological Revelation Prize: Dominique Renaud, Pulse60 Titanium Black
- Mechanical Exception Watch Prize: Blancpain, Grande Double Sonnerie
- Complication Watch Prize: Cleguer, Inspiration One
- Chronograph Watch Prize: Parmigiani Fleurier, Tonda PF Chronographe Mystérieux
- Tourbillon Watch Prize: Ferdinand Berthoud, Chronomètre FB 2TV
- Sports Watch Prize: Grand Seiko, Spring Drive U.F.A. Ushio 300 Diver
- Calendar and Astronomy Watch Prize: Audemars Piguet, 150 Heritage
- Essential Watch Prize: Daniel Roth, Extra Plat Rose Gold Skeleton
- Time Only Watch Prize: Chopard, L.U.C 1860
- Jewellery Watch Prize: Chopard, Mystery Nut
- Artistic Crafts Watch Prize: Louis Vuitton, Tambour Taiko Arty Automata
- Gemset Watch Prize: Piaget, Swinging Pebble
- “Petite Aiguille” Watch Prize: Otsuka Lotec, No.8
- Challenge Watch Prize: SpaceOne, SpaceOne X Baltic – Seconde Majeure
- Mechanical Clock Prize: La Vallée, Cosmo
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