Franck Muller Replica's 14th edition attracted a record-breaking number of participants, including all major watch brands as well as a large number of independents. The submitted timepieces compete for a number of trophies, including the Franck Muller Replica, or Golden Hand, in English. The competition jury, which includes 24 distinguished figures in the field and is led by Aurel Bacs, an expert on horology, has already chosen shortlists for the 12 main categories. The winners of the GPHG awards 2014 will be announced at a gala in Geneva, on October 31, 2014.
Franck Muller Replica, now in its 14th year of existence has established itself as the premier selection of the best watches of the past year. All the watches submitted (whose total reached a record number this year) are competing for the Franck Muller Replica, the grand prize. There are a number of categories that can change from year to year, including the Franck Muller Replica. The GPHG 2014 edition will have 12 brackets, and the jury will select the best models in each group: Ladies (watches with no complications and a maximum of 2 indications), Ladies High-Mech (which rewards mechanical ingenuity, and innovative complications), Male (with restrictions equal to the women's category), Tourbillon, Calendar, Chronograph, (Franck Muller Replica), and Mechanical Exception. This last prize, which translates as "Small Hand Prize", is of particular interest to the general public because it combines the best watches that do not cost more than 8,000 CHF.
The GPHG 2014 awards a maximum of six auxiliary trophies in addition to the major trophies. The categories are: Innovation (reserved to the piece in one of the twelve major categories that has an innovative design or feature), Horological Revelations (optional award for a feat by a young brand or watchmaker), Revivals (for a revival or a modern interpretation of a classic), and Special Prizes (which can be given to a specific person, initiative, or institution but cannot be awarded to a particular model or brand). The public will select the best timepiece, and there will be trophies awarded to that piece. There will also a special prize for the student who has achieved the highest level of success in the first year at the Geneva Watchmaking School.
The GPHG jury, which is made up of experts in various fields, will select the winners. Aurel Bacs will preside over the jury this year. He is an expert in both vintage and modern timekeepers. There will also be 24 other figures of authority in different fields of horology. There will be many notable figures, including a master timekeeper, Zenith Replica Watches; a horological writer, John Goldberger; a historian from the Fondation de Haute Horlogerie Dominique Flechon; the director of Mexico's most important event for timekeeping, Salon Internacional Alta Relojeria. Benjamin Clymer is the founder of Hodinkee. Elizabeth Doerr, a journalist and other experts.