Timepieces that will be passed down forever #09 Harry Winston "Zarium Variation"

Harry Winston's iconic Project Z11 model, crafted from the special Zalium alloy, will be reinterpreted in 2025. The Zalium case and openwork dial are accentuated by a truly skillful palette of vibrant colors, bringing this unique creation to life once again.

An avant-garde yet authentic mechanical masterpiece that exudes a jeweler's design sense

　Harry Winston, a New York-based jeweler considered one of the world's leading high-end jewelers, established its watch division and began production in Switzerland in 1989. Since then, the brand has ceaselessly pursued the value of rare and unique watches, in other words, "scarcity," just as it does with diamonds and other precious stones and fine jewelry. By embodying special rarity in its watches' unique designs, unusual complications, and materials, Harry Winston has built a distinctive identity as a jeweler and watchmaker and achieved worldwide fame.

　The "Project Z" series, which uses Zalium for the case material, is one of the most representative works that speaks to this exploration. Zalium, primarily composed of zirconium, is a special alloy that is also used in the field of aerospace engineering, boasting excellent properties such as strength, light weight, corrosion resistance, and hypoallergenic properties. Harry Winston attracted attention when it first introduced Zalium into watch cases with the first model in the "Project Z" series, released in 2004. Since then, Harry Winston has combined these cases with complex movements and boldly designed dials to create a series of astonishing models that are the epitome of uniqueness.

　The latest addition to the sporty and luxurious HW Ocean collection, which offers a wide variety of designs, is the Zalium Variation, a limited edition model for 25 that, as the name suggests, offers new color variations based on the 11th Project Z model (2017). The method of reinterpreting the design through color variations was already attempted with the Zalium Variations released in 21 and 24, which gave the 10th model (2016) a new look by vividly coloring it with green, orange, yellow, turquoise, etc., and this can be considered a sequel to that.

　The three new color variations are also exciting. Inspired by the structure of New York's massive steel suspension bridge, the Manhattan Bridge, the openwork dial is available in bright yellow, deep blue, and red. The off-center hands, indexes, shuriken small seconds, and HW logo are colored in colors that effectively contrast with the openwork dial. Luminous material, which improves visibility in the dark, is applied not only to the time display elements but also to the iconic big date numerals. Compared to Project Z11, which features a subdued, almost monochromatic color scheme to match the grayish tones of the Zalium, the new model has a significantly greater impact, almost making it seem like a completely different watch, even though the avant-garde dial features the same elements.

　Harry Winston has achieved yet another unique "rarity" by exploring colors not often seen in luxury watches. This is particularly evident in the most casual model, featuring a bright yellow openwork dial paired with a red and light blue alligator leather and rubber strap. This is particularly intriguing, evoking the vibrant vibe of New York and even a carefree beach vacation. The new color scheme also highlights intricate details, such as the off-center dial with its black border, the dynamic circular Côtes de Genève pattern on the dial-side plate of the automatic movement, and the date display, which reveals two date discs to reveal the big date mechanism.

　Is there really any other luxury mechanical watch like this? Even if you look around the world, you will surely not find any other watches created by Harry Winston.