What makes a sports watch a sports watch?
The 2026 Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG)nominations are out, and our Bühlmann Decompression 02 did not make the final six in the Sports category.
Of course, we would have loved to be there. And we sincerely congratulate the six nominated brands and watches. There is some exceptional watchmaking among them.
But looking at the selection raises an interesting question for our industry: what exactly do we mean today by a sports watch?
Of the six watches nominated in the Sports category, five offer water resistance of between 50 and 100 metres. Several are extraordinary pieces of haute horlogerie, combining sophisticated complications, materials and contemporary design. They may carry the aesthetic codes, inspiration or name of sport.
But is that the same thing as being a watch made for sport? The distinction is important.
A genuine sports instrument starts with the activity itself. Its construction, functions, ergonomics, legibility and resistance exist because someone is expected to actually use it in that environment.
That is the philosophy behind the Bühlmann Decompression 02.
Its 575-metre water resistance, twin safety bezels, rotating decompression scale, dive-extension system, underwater legibility and ergonomic case architecture were not added to make the watch look sporty. They exist because the watch was conceived as a functional mechanical diving instrument.
We fully respect the Academy's decision. Awards are about judgement, and judgement will always be subjective, but perhaps the result points to a broader discussion worth having.
If our industry increasingly uses “sports watch” to describe a style rather than a purpose, we risk losing the important distinction between sports-inspired luxury watches and watches engineered to perform a sport.
That distinction matters not only to Bühlmann. It matters also to the credibility of mechanical watchmaking itself, because in an age when nobody needs a mechanical watch to dive, fly, race or explore, one of the strongest arguments for mechanical watchmaking is that we still take the engineering seriously.
We didn't make the shortlist this year.
We will keep making watches that take their purpose seriously.
Pressure changes everything.
The 2026 Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG)nominations are out, and our Bühlmann Decompression 02 did not make the final six in the Sports category.
Of course, we would have loved to be there. And we sincerely congratulate the six nominated brands and watches. There is some exceptional watchmaking among them.
But looking at the selection raises an interesting question for our industry: what exactly do we mean today by a sports watch?
Of the six watches nominated in the Sports category, five offer water resistance of between 50 and 100 metres. Several are extraordinary pieces of haute horlogerie, combining sophisticated complications, materials and contemporary design. They may carry the aesthetic codes, inspiration or name of sport.
But is that the same thing as being a watch made for sport? The distinction is important.
A genuine sports instrument starts with the activity itself. Its construction, functions, ergonomics, legibility and resistance exist because someone is expected to actually use it in that environment.
That is the philosophy behind the Bühlmann Decompression 02.
Its 575-metre water resistance, twin safety bezels, rotating decompression scale, dive-extension system, underwater legibility and ergonomic case architecture were not added to make the watch look sporty. They exist because the watch was conceived as a functional mechanical diving instrument.
We fully respect the Academy's decision. Awards are about judgement, and judgement will always be subjective, but perhaps the result points to a broader discussion worth having.
If our industry increasingly uses “sports watch” to describe a style rather than a purpose, we risk losing the important distinction between sports-inspired luxury watches and watches engineered to perform a sport.
That distinction matters not only to Bühlmann. It matters also to the credibility of mechanical watchmaking itself, because in an age when nobody needs a mechanical watch to dive, fly, race or explore, one of the strongest arguments for mechanical watchmaking is that we still take the engineering seriously.
We didn't make the shortlist this year.
We will keep making watches that take their purpose seriously.
Pressure changes everything.
Learn more about the GPGH and the 2026 edition