Harry Winston : Highly functional timepieces with a poetic expression

Ocean Dual Time Monochrome

Case : Zalium™ with satin-brushed finish, crown in titanium, sapphire crystal display back Diameter : 44mm Movement : mechanical automatic winding movement 45h power reserve, 272 parts, twin barrels in series (equipped with a slipping spring), Côtes de Genève finish, rotor with black DLC treatment  Functions : hours, minutes, vertical large date, 2nd time zone,day / night indicator for home time and 2nd time zone, power indicator (Shuriken) Dial : monochrome dial hand-brushed finish second level base, polished black bevels Water-resistance : 100m Strap : black rubber strap with diamond point finish and Shuriken motif with Zalium™ and stainless steel folding buckle  Limited edition : 250 pieces

 

Midnight Monochrome Automatic 

Case : 18K polished white gold, sapphire crystal display back Diameter : 42mm Movement : mechanical automatic winding movement 45h power reserve, 191 parts, twin barrels in series (equipped with a slipping spring), Côtes de Genève finish and circular grained Functions : hours, minutes, date Dial : metallic slate dial impression  Water-resistance : 30m Strap : hand-sewn black alligator leather with 18K white gold ardillon buckle

 

Midnight Monochrome 

Case : 18K polished rose gold set with 91 brilliant-cut diamonds (0.92 carat) Diameter : 39mm Movement: quartz Functions : hours, minutes Dial : silver white metallic slate dial impression, with 12, 3, 6, and 9 o’clock indexes set with 3 brilliant-cut diamonds each Water-resistance : 30m Strap : satin with 18K rose gold ardillon buckle

Pure lines create a powerful emotional identity. Harry Winston explores this approach through the “Monochrome” theme, an artistic creation designed as a breathing space intended to release an emotion nurtured by rigorous stylistic discipline. What finer material could one hope for than slate to embody such a radically novel vision ? Traditionally reserved for noble buildings, it continues to symbolize a certain architectural philosophy. Pure and discreet shades of grey ensure it stands out from all other rocks. Endowed with such a beautiful nature, it naturally finds its way untouched through changing eras. A humble, and yet truly timeless material, it is Harry Winston’s source of inspiration for the Midnight Monochrome collection. In order to reproduce the unique structure of slate, the Harry Winston dial-makers developed a new technique far removed from the usual watchmaking finishes, honing it to create a plate with a truly slate-like effect. In addition to its mineral beauty, the dial thus guarantees a degree of longevity entirely in tune with the principles of excellence upheld by the House of Harry Winston. The sophisticated yet understated metallic grey dial of the men’s model is animated by the hours, minutes and date indications. The silver white shade of the ladies’ model has been treated to a damask effect and makes a perfect match with the diamond-set bezel and lugs and the rose gold case. The mechanical automatic winding movement composed of 191 parts for the men’s model, circular-grained and adorned with Côtes de Genève, is visible through the sapphire crystal display back. The Midnight Monochrome timepieces revisit the expertise of the brand and reveal its quintessence : a personality endowed with a perfect visual balance that lends its inimitable style to a collection that is truly unique in its kind.

One of the greatest mysteries in science is the so-called “arrow of time” – that is, why we sense time as flowing irresistibly into the future, but never into the past. No one is more aware of the inexorable forward flow of time than today’s time travelers –those who, thanks to international high speed travel, suddenly find themselves in the future or the past. The Ocean Dual Time Monochrome shows the time in two different time zones : home time and local time, wherever a traveler may be. Unusually, each dial has its own day/night indicator (in virtually all dual time zone watches this is either absent, or present for only home time). The large date display is also unusual in presenting the date, in two digits, in a vertical rather than the ordinary horizontal orientation. Harry Winston’s poetic vision  is present most vividly in the dial, which depicts the effects of time’s passage in a “pre-aged” frame for the dual time and date indications. The dial is coated with a special layer of oxidized platinum which is then hand-brushed to create a patina that shows not only the effect of time’s arrow but also shows the ability of the human hand to express it. Each dial is thus a unique work of art. And yet at the same time, this stunning new creation defies time: the case is made of Harry Winston’s unique, proprietary alloy, ZaliumTM, composed of aluminum and zirconium. Light, highly resistant to corrosion, and with a particular gun-metal sheen unlike any other alloy, it is a sophisticated counterpoint to the pre-aged, hand-finished patina of the dial. This startling juxtaposition of age and timelessness in this limited edition is one of modern horology’s most visceral expressions of the experience of time’s passage, making the Ocean Dual Time Monochrome both a highly functional timepiece and a poetic expression of the nature of time itself and its effect on the physical world.

For the first time, the Ocean Collection introduces  a combination of two sophisticated complications in a single timepiece: the Harry Winston Ocean Tourbillon Jumping Hour. The jumping hour complication, new for the Ocean Collection, adds its dynamic presence to a remarkable timepiece that is a showcase for Harry Winston’s caliber HW4401, which required more than 1500 hours of development. This tourbillon device has a very unusual design. Instead of being located on the back of the movement plate, it is suspended from two gleaming, hand-chamfered steel bridges which seem to hold it free in space – seeming to move with no apparent mechanical connection to the rest of the timepiece. Only sharp eyes will uncover its secret : the tourbillon is driven by a wheel geared to its outer circumference, which is nearly completely concealed by the minute track of the dial. Floating in between two panes of sapphire, the tourbillon’s open structure contrasts with the rich opacity of the dial, which is also suspended from a system of meticulously hand-finished, open-worked bridges. Executed in black sapphire, the dial reveals the hour through an aperture at the 12 o’clock position, which “jumps” instantaneously once per hour. Unlike many jumping hour watches, the Ocean Tourbillon Jumping Hour timepiece has a minute hand which has been specifically designed so that the hour window is never blocked.

With its design drawing inspiration from the vocabulary of classic Modernist architecture, this series of four limited editions (in white or rose gold with or without diamonds) provides a powerful visual experience which takes advantage of the unique structural and visual properties of steel and glass to create a bold geometry that is also the essence of the Ocean Tourbillon Jumping Hour watch. The combination of a tourbillon rotating once every sixty seconds and a minute hand rotating once per hour is a mechanical meditation on the nature of time itself – with the action of the jumping hour complication lending its own special tempo to this symphony of high horology.

Almost 500 diamonds for over 30 carats  ? To create the Premier Glacier, Harry Winston’s in-house design team first had to develop a specially made dial plate with an elaborately carved grid – another astonishing feat of precision and craftsmanship. This complex base is engraved and etched to hundredths of a millimeter’s precision so that each diamond is set exactly with no metal showing. This white gold wonder looks as though the diamonds have been randomly set in a disorganized manner to achieve a glacial impression. In fact, the master designers and diamond setters at Harry Winston worked tirelessly to create an extremely precise and complex setting. Each of the baguette-cut diamonds on the dial assumes its elongated lozenge shape from the unique, invisible setting style that transforms it into an extraordinary asymmetrical pattern of drama and delight.  So difficult is the setting of the diamonds in this complex labyrinth that the master gem setter, with 16 years of experience, can only set between five and seven diamonds a day. The end result is a stunning dial fully adorned with 108 baguette-cut diamonds in 26 different sizes weighing almost 9 carats. Such wonders will be available very soon in Geneva, where Harry Winston is about to unveil a brand new salon.

The legendary “King of Diamonds” will open this summer a new retail salon in Geneva on Rue du Rhone 42. The new two-story salon will showcase the breadth of Harry Winston’s jewelry and timepiece collections, including the finest diamonds and rarest gemstones available today. The 4,768 square-foot salon reflects a modern variation on Winston’s traditional style. A soft taupe and grey color palette complements the custom designed black lacquer and antique bronze furniture and display vitrines, with vintage floor lamps, bespoke chandeliers and hand beaded silk walls completing the look.

 

Ocean Tourbillon Jumping Hour 

Case : 18k white gold, polished case and bezel, satin-brushed finish case band, circular satin-brushed Harry Winston triple arches at 3, sapphire crystal display back Diameter : 45,6mm Movement : mechanical hand-wound movement with 110h power reserve, 330 parts, twin barrels in series , variable-inertia balance wheel, bridges and main plate hand-chamfered with fine shotpeening, micro-blasted skeletonized movement with black DLC treatment and Côtes de Genève finish, circular grained gear trains Functions : jumping hour, minutes, seconds indicator on the tourbillon, power-reserve indicator on the case back  Dial : black sapphire dial, delimited by the metallization of the engraved dial train and indexes, rhodium-plated or rose gold hour aperture Water-resistance : 50m  Strap : hand-sewn black alligator leather with 18K white gold ardillon buckle Limited edition : 75 pieces

 

Premier Glacier

Case : 18K polished white gold set with 130 baguette-cut diamonds (5.51cts)  Diameter : 36mm  Movement : quartz Functions : hours, minutes  Dial : fully set with 108 baguette-cut diamonds (8.88 cts) of 26 different sizes  Water-resistance : 30m Bracelet : 18k white gold set with 254 baguette-cut diamonds (16.1cts), 18K white gold folding clasp, bracelet attachment parts set with 4 brilliant-cut diamonds  Limited edition : 5 pieces

 

Mrs. Winston by Harry Winston

Reflecting the perfect marriage of Mrs. Winston’s personal style and Mr. Winston’s dream to attach gemstones directly to the skin, diamond drops seamlessly descend from a portrait-style neckline. Mrs. Winston necklace features more than 180 carats of incredible stones, at an exceptional scale


Brice Lechevalier is editor-in-chief of GMT and Skippers, which he co-founded in 2000 and 2001 respectively. He has also been CEO of WorldTempus since it joined the GMT Publishing stable, of which he is director and joint shareholder. In 2012 he created the Geneva Watch Tour, and he has been an advisor to the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève since 2011. Also closely involved in sailing, he has published the magazine of the Société Nautique de Genève since 2003, and was one of the founders of the SUI Sailing Awards in 2009 and the Concours d’Elégance for motor boats at the Cannes Yachting Festival in 2015.

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