Korea becomes magnet for watchmakers

Swiss Grand Prix d'horlogerie de Geneve held an exhibition at the Hyundai Card Music Library in Seoul on Oct. 6-8. / Courtesy of Manual7

Roadshow for Swiss prestigious watchmaking award held in Seoul

Grand Prix d’horlogerie de Geneve President Carlo Lamprecht / Courtesy of Manual7

By Rachel Lee

Europe has long been the leader in creative industries, but these days it keeps a watchful eye on less mature, yet powerful countries with significant long-term potential. And Korea is one of these.

Swiss Grand Prix d’horlogerie de Geneve (GPHG) — the “Oscar of the watch industry”— is one such benchmark organization that believes Korea is now in the same league with Europe.

“European countries now see Korea as one of the countries that lead luxury industries like design and modern art, and the watch business has become lucrative here,” GPHG President Carlo Lamprecht told The Korea Times at the Hyundai Card Music Library in Seoul on Oct. 7.

The GPHG, a non-profit organization founded in 2001 that bestows the most prestigious awards in the watchmaking industry, chose Seoul for the first time as one of three capital cities as a venue to host their roadshow exhibitions, presenting this year’s 72 pre-selected timepieces, along with Hong Kong (Oct. 2-3) and Dubai (Oct. 18-22). The 2015 awards — “Aiguille d’Or” Grand Prix or one of the 16 prizes given for creative talent and watchmaking expertise — will be revealed on Oct. 29 at the Grand Theatre de Geneve and London’s Salon QP on Nov. 12-14.

“Minute Repeater Tourbillon with Gold Bridges” by Girard-Perregaux, left, and “Inaccessible Tourbillon Minute Repeater” by Franc Vila are among the six candidates for Striking category this year.

“The world’s famous watch brands like Omega and Tag Heuer have entered the Korean market, which has continuously grown for the last several years, so we felt we must be here in Seoul this time for the preview exhibition,” the president said.

The GPHG awards are divided into 12 categories — Ladies’, Ladies’ High-mech, Men’s, Chronograph, Tourbillon, Calendar, Striking, Mechanical Exception, Petite Aiguille, Sports, Jewellery and Artistic Crafts — with six pieces selected for each category. Those vying to win the competition not only include well-known brands such as Piaget, Hublot and Hemes, but also artisans who produce small quantities, but boast a long tradition and history of watchmaking.

For 10 years since the awards were founded, the GPHG was more of a domestic ceremony. It was 2011 when it was recognized as a public interest organization and became international.

“We have since tried our best to remain a strict, impartial judging board and work to discover the talents of small European watchmakers,” the president said.

Lamprecht, who previously served as prime minister and deputy prime minister for economic affairs in the Swiss government, has always taken a keen interest in the watchmaking industry, which has been a major driving force behind Switzerland’s strong economic power and development. In Europe, the industry has become so huge and influential that watchmaking is regarded as the 12th largest industry in the creative world. Other industries include architecture, art, music, fashion, film and design.

“I’m not an expert about watchmaking to be honest, but I’ve closely looked at how watches are made in Switzerland for a long time, and I believe that this is clearly something that the Swiss are good at: being accurate, delicate and exquisite,” he said. “I felt the need to nurture the industry that represents my country and that’s how I started to lay the groundwork for the GPHG.”

The foundation has invited independent experts from various fields to become members of the jury such as collectors, journalists, designers and watchmakers. This year’s panel includes Financial Times contributor Nick Foulkes, Digital Luxury Group CEO David Sadigh, Editor-in-Chief of Europa Star and filmmaker Pierre Maillard, watch collector John Goldberger and musician Eric Singer. Every year, the GPHG changes about a third of its jury members.

“Watchmaking is not only about craftsmanship but also aesthetics. So it’s important for us to have at least two to three people with aesthetic vision, because they will look at the watches in another way,” the president said.

Lamprecht believes the future of the Korean watchmaking industry is bright and hopes that Korean experts can soon join the panel.

“Korea still needs education on watchmaking. Collectors don’t really know what it is about,” he said. “What we are going to do in Dubai will be a big week with conferences, seminars and explanations. We have an idea to do it bigger here as well.”

Asked whether he regards himself as a keen watch collector, the president said he owns five pieces. And for him, the definition of a fine watch is rather simple: a piece that suits the time, place and occasion.

“When you choose a watch, it’s like choosing a piece of art. It has to win your heart, like it has a wow factor when you get it. A watch gives you the immensity and beauty of the universe,” he said.

“It’s an art. And it’s also about soul, passion, emotion, how people for centuries developed skills and know-how, how they tried to transport the beauty of the universe onto the wrist.”

International audiences will be able to view the ceremony live on the GPHG official website www.gphg.org, as well as at euronews.com and worldtempus.com.