Last year, for the first edition of the Bienne Watch of the Year, we ended up electing the MoonSwatch. It was actually a super close battle among the 4 finalists, themselves chosen among 16 nominees. In a year where the Speedmaster was front and center of much watch headlines, 2 other variants of the model made it to the final round: the Speedmaster ’57 and, at opposite ends of the MoonSwatch in terms of horological complexity, the Chrono Chime. The Hermès Arceau Le Temps Voyageur was the only non-Speedmaster to make it to the final.
This year seems like a very open context. I’m extremely curious to see which models emerge as nominees, finalists, and of course, who will be the winner. Like last year, the entire process will be 100% community-centric, with every single nomination and vote coming from each of you (no jury). Everything will be run via the Made in Bienne Instagram account, via Stories.
Here are the key dates for each stage:
- Sunday, November 12: Nominations open until Friday, December 1.
- Saturday, December 2: The vote begins among all nominees.
- Saturday, December 16: The final vote takes place.
Here is a reminder of the key nomination criteria (same as last year):
- The watch must have been commercially released in 2023.
- The brand must have its HQ in Bienne, with one exception: Rolex. The reason for this exception is that Bienne hosts Rolex’s largest production site. The brand, born in Bienne, is also the city’s largest employer.
- When there are multiple cosmetic variants of the same model launched in 2022 (eg, Swatch x Blancpain), that will count as just one model for nomination.
- Price both matters and does not matter. What I mean here is that a watch from any price point can be nominated. However, if you think the watch is poorly priced and does not give good value for what the customer will pay… do you really want to nominate it?
- Last but not least: the key criteria. Look, it just needs to be a great watch in your view. Whether it’s great because of the design, the function, the movement decoration or complexity, it’s all good for as long as the watch is one you love.
As we say in French: que le meilleure gagne !
