Carlo Lamprecht revitalises the GPHG

Carlo Lamprecht may be a former member of the Geneva State Council, where he was in charge of the Department of Public Economics, but he is far from out of the public eye.

In fact, to boost the fame of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, he is everywhere: at parties and myriad events in Geneva and elsewhere. Indeed, the Grand Prix does not only have an impact on the "city of Calvin", but on Switzerland as a whole!

- Carlo Lamprecht, how did the transition from President of the Geneva State Council to President of the Grand Prix d’Horlogeriecome about?

- After eight years in the Cantonal Government, I was, of course, familiar with the Grand Prix, which, incidentally, had received help from the Canton, mostly in the form of subsidies. In 2005, when I was first contacted, I was already convinced of the event’s importance in enabling us to support and demonstrate Swiss watchmaking excellence. So when the Edipresse publishing group proposed that I create a foundation to host the prize, I agreed. In fact, I was sure that it was the best means to preserve the GrandPrix and that through a foundation we would be able to make it official, as it were.

- And so you looked for partners…

- Yes and the first two, naturally, were the Canton and the Municipality of Geneva, who joined Edipresse, the owner of the event. However, I also wanted to get the watch industry  to join in. This is how I managed to integrate the Musée International d’Horlogerie at La Chaux-de-Fonds (Watch Museum) and the Fondation du Poinçon de Genève (Hallmark of Geneva Foundation). This made it possible for us to create this independent foundation enabling the watchmaking industry to radiate abroad.

To this end, in addition to the November ceremony at the Grand Théâtre in Geneva, each year we organise exhibitions in several countries with the participating watches of each Grand Prix event.

- Will it be reiterated this year?

- Yes, we are already certain that we will be exhibiting watches in Beijing, Dubai and Geneva, of course, and we are in the middle of negotiations to present them in Singapore and Macao. So it's an important opening for the participating brands since we are equally organising themed days in each venue. Furthermore, we are printing a magazine that will introduce the watches selected.

- What is the procedure for brands to participate; are they chosen or do they register?

- Each brand is free to sign up; it is up to them. Enrolment costs 5,000 Swiss francs in total. This year we picked up ninety-three entries as of 11 July,  that is five more than last year. Moreover, as stated in our rules, the Grand Prix is open to all watchmaking brands, regardless of nationality. However, only watches marketed after March 2012 and before 15 November 2013 will be accepted, except for the Prix de la Grande Complication, which is open to watches marketed after March 2011.

Brands may enter up to six watches, different models or from different categories. But a certain model can only be entered into one category only; it is up to each brand to decide the category for which they wish to register each watch.

- Correct me if I’m wrong, there are ten categories…

- Exactly. First of all, we have the Grande Complication category, that is, watches with a minimum of three complications: perpetual calendar, equation of time, minute-repetition, tourbillon, split-seconds chronograph, etc. The other categories are as follows: Ladies, Ladies Complication, Men, Men Complication, Innovation, Jewellery, Art Professions, Sport and, finally, the Small Hand category, that is to say, watches whose retail price is less than 7,500 Swiss francs.

- And these timepieces are presented to an international jury?

- Yes, we wanted to enhance our jury and so we subjected it to several changes over the past few years. We opened it up and made it bigger, so it is now very representative. Its foreman is Mr Aurel Bacs, International Director of Christie’s Suisse watch department.

Among its members I should cite the famous designer Philippe Stark; Viren Bhagat, jeweller and collector from India; Moritz Elsaesser, CW 21 watch repairman, president of Mainly Watches and collector from the USA; Dominique Fléchon, historian and expert at the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie; John Mayer, singer, guitarist, producer and collector, also from the USA, as well as the collector Marcel Philippe, New York City's Deputy Prosecutor.

- And then you decided to boost the award’s influence by inviting political figures.

-  I thought that, to give the event some gravitas, the participation of the Federal Council would be an asset. This is why Ms Calmy-Rey and Mr Berset participated in earlier events. This year, we can count on the participation of Mr Ueli Maurer, President of the Confederation. We also have a country as guest of honour. It will be China, through its ambassadors from Berne, at the UN and the WTO.

- Is it because China is the current trend?

- Absolutely not. As I'm sure you are aware, our country just signed an important trade agreement with China. The Geneva-Beijing line was just opened this year, and I thought it would be only natural to mark the occasion.

- However, you require money in order to organise all of the above.

- Of course, and it is not easy to find. Luckily, we have an important partner in the Rothschild Bank, as well as others in fields ranging from hotel and catering,  to real estate and other activities. This is important support as it enables us to keep this Grand Prix going and hence preserve Swiss watchmaking excellence.