Perhaps it is best to explain; GPHG we are not. What we are is a consumer-focused trade title that seeks to discern, understand, and anticipate the burning questions and desires of anyone who loves watches. To that end, the categories and the novelties that have been nominated or selected as eventual winners are reflective of how a watch consumer might shop or embark on a decision-making process. That said, the selected watches are not curated in a vacuum; a panel of two editorial staff and two collectors were chosen to pick from the novelties of 2018.

Winner of the WOW Awards 2018 – Stealth Operator

Chopard

This prize awards the novelty that runs contrary to the Wrist Presence King. Here, subtlety rules. It might be an expensive timepiece whose financial cost is not immediately obvious to the casual observer. The Stealth Operator does not even have to be a black, sportive watch, it can be a platinum dress watch, without complication, on a leather strap. It sits, quietly, under the cuff of your shirt, waiting to be discovered and to delight its discoverer.

Chopard L.U.C Heritage Grand Cru

Quiet and exquisite, the Chopard L.U.C Heritage Grand Cru is not the maison’s first montre de forme, but with its wine inspiration, it’s definitely its most elegantly genteel version. Finding muse in Château Monestier La Tour, CEO Karl-Friedrich Scheufele’s wine estate in the region of Bergerac, France, the 2018 version of the timepiece comes embellished with a fully paved diamond bezel on the barrel-shaped case, which is attractively bold yet blends in perfectly upon the wrist. Furthermore, shaped movements are rare, and a tonneau-shaped Calibre L.U.C 97 drives the Heritage Grand Cru.

WOW Awards consist a total of 11 categories. The rest of the winners will we announced over the next 9 days.