00:00♪
00:04As every autumn, the watchmaking planet meets on the shores of Lake Lehman
00:08to reward the most beautiful watchmakers of the year.
00:1190 of them are in competition at the Geneva Grand Prix of Watchmaking, where they are currently exhibited.
00:17It's more than a prize.
00:19Obviously, today we have the exhibition of the most beautiful watches in the world in 2024,
00:25but our mission goes beyond that.
00:27It is really the promotion of art, but above all the promotion of love for this art,
00:32by also awakening young people not only to the values that watchmaking represents,
00:38the values of tradition, innovation, creativity, precision,
00:42but also by calling for the vocation to rediscover the trades of watchmaking
00:48and that more and more young people are interested in making watches.
00:53At the time when the jury is about to elect the winners,
00:55Euronews takes you behind the scenes of the 12th art, the watchmaking art.
00:59♪
01:03Direction the mountains of the Jura Suisse, sanctuary of high watchmaking.
01:07This is where Beauvais won the prestigious Golden Needle in 2018.
01:12This year, the Bicentenary House presents the Prowess One,
01:15which revolutionizes the measurement of universal time,
01:18thanks to a system of rollers that adapts to the different time changes around the world.
01:23An innovation presented in the category of mechanical exceptions.
01:27♪
01:32It solves a problem that dates back several centuries.
01:36It contributes to the pleasure of the collector,
01:38since without needing any tool, by pressing this crown,
01:43these 25 cylinders that turn themselves,
01:46it is objectively a mechanical exception.
01:49At Beauvais, cutting-edge techniques are mixed with handcrafted work.
01:53The impression of the cities on the rollers, like the engraving of the bridges, a factory brand,
01:58are made by meticulous hands in the workshops.
02:01We are in a house that has several centuries.
02:04It has always contributed, tried to contribute, since Mr. Edouard Beauvais,
02:10but always with the defense of a decorative art.
02:13And keeping time is in its patrimonial dimension, through its craftsmen.
02:18And in the word craftsman, you have the word art.
02:21But to express art, it is a question of education, shared philosophy, value, tradition.
02:27Fashion is ephemeral, tradition will always remain.
02:30We keep time because we cherish it.
02:33And we know that in human life, what is more precious than time itself?
02:37Back to Geneva, to visit another factory, that of Frédéric Constant, which offers a whole other universe.
02:48The young house features two Grand Prix rooms,
02:51this perpetual quarry of manufacturing, with a dark frame, in collaboration with the watchmaker Peters Peak,
02:57and in the category of small needles, dedicated to the most affordable watches,
03:01this moon face, where the indexes of the hours are scattered around a manuscript logo.
03:06A watch designed by the French artist Seconde Seconde.
03:09I said to him, listen, you get from me, carte blanche, to do whatever you think is good.
03:14But, there's always a but.
03:16I said, I want you to do something around my manufacture message.
03:20Because we are a young watch brand.
03:22We do our manufacture conception fully in-house in a production.
03:26And we have always been challenged about that.
03:29I want you to challenge that message.
03:31And he came with this design.
03:33And I think it was spot on.
03:35Frédéric Constant, who celebrates the 20th anniversary of his first caliber manufacture,
03:39quickly made a choice in the very competitive Swiss watchmaking market,
03:43thanks to an approachable luxury positioning.
03:46So if you think about our mission, it's let more people enjoy luxury.
03:51It's by keeping the price accessible, even more accessible in the time where we are today,
03:56because many brands have been elevating the price,
03:58and differentiating with the manufacture complication,
04:01in that price range that nobody is doing.
04:06This industry works well and will continue to work well,
04:10because we do something that is out of time.
04:14We make a product, we take the time to do it, and we bring a real added value to it.
04:19It's not a consumer product like we have today in our society.
04:22It's really a product that we bring, that we create, that we develop.
04:26We take the time to do it, and we qualitatively see the work behind it, the detail.
04:32So I think it continues to touch people.
04:44That's it for this preview of the 2024 edition of the GPHG.
04:48Win prizes for the most beautiful watchmaking creations of the year,
04:52on November 13th at the Théâtre du Léman, here in Geneva.
