Favre Leuba Chief Skeleton Makes GPHG 2026 Shortlist

Favre Leuba’s Chief Skeleton has secured a place on the Challenge category shortlist at Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) 2026, the Maison’s first nomination in its 289‑year history, achieved just two years after its global relaunch. 

Sixty-two Timepieces, Only Six Positions Attainable 

Sixty‑two watches entered the Challenge category this year and only six were chosen, making it the most fiercely contested field among the 14 categories at this GPHG edition. The category itself carries a built‑in tension, rewarding true mechanical ambition within a ceiling of CHF 4,500, a price point where most maisons must balance character against cost. From among 84 timepieces worldwide, out of hundreds submitted, Favre Leuba’s Chief Skeleton was selected, gesturing to the intensity with which the Maison’s revival is being received.

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A Movement Built in Bare, to Be Seen

The watch has a unique incorporation within, for the appeal. The primary highlighting feature is its skeletonised piece, the first of its kind ever built by the Maison, set into a cushion‑shaped 40 mm case that carries the silhouette of the original Chief from the 1970s, its brushed and polished surfaces gathered beneath a gently curved sapphire crystal. Inside, the FLS01 caliber, developed in partnership with AMT, unravels across multiple visible levels instead of concealing itself behind a dial. The mainspring barrel is left semi‑exposed near 12 o’clock, the balance wheel near 6, both wound into the horizontal brushing that has quietly become the brand’s calling card. Snailed bridges sit against satin and sandblasted textures, catching light differently with every turn of the wrist.  

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"To receive our first ever GPHG nomination is a tremendous honour for everyone involved in the brand's revival," said Patrik Hoffmann, CEO of Favre Leuba, describing the Chief Skeleton as a coming together of an entirely openworked movement and the design codes the Chief line has carried since its beginning.

Two Years Into a Renaissance

The timing itself underscores the moment. Barely two years into Favre Leuba’s relaunch, 2026 already marks the brand’s debut at Watches and Wonders Geneva. Five collections now anchor the House, namely Chief, Sea Sky, Deep Raider, Harpoon and 1737, each drawing from a lineage most rivals cannot match by a century or more.

Winners will be named later this year in Geneva. Whatever the outcome, this nomination will remain under the spotlight; a House founded in 1737 has once again found reason to be watched closely.

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