Harry Winston, known as a high jeweler, has also made a name for itself as a luxury watch brand with the development of its unique "Opus" collection of timepieces. We take a closer look at the design and mechanical features of the "Opus 14," the latest model as of March 2021.
What is Harry Winston?
Having established itself as a high jeweler, Harry Winston continues to offer luxury watches with a unique style. First, let's take a look at the brand's overview.
A high jeweler named after its founder
Harry Winston is a luxury jeweler headquartered in New York. It began in 1932 when founder Harry Winston (1896-1978) established the brand that bears his name.
In 1949, he purchased the world's largest blue diamond, the Hope Diamond (45.52 carats), and has since acquired many other famous diamonds from around the world, earning him the nickname "King of Diamonds."
He also gained popularity among celebrities, including members of royalty and Hollywood actresses, and was nicknamed "Jeweler to the Stars" after lending jewelry for the first time at the Academy Awards in 44.
It is one of the world's top five jewelers and is one of the leading jewelers in the industry.
It's not that old of a watch brand.
Harry Winston began manufacturing watches in 1989. While many luxury watch brands have a long history, Harry Winston's history as a watch brand is short.
However, the watches they produced, which combined the high design skills they had cultivated as a jeweler with the outstanding technical capabilities of Switzerland, the kingdom of watches, were highly praised from the start.
The first model, the Opus, released in 2001, was what really brought Harry Winston watches to the limelight.
Since then, the company has continued to release timepieces that combine innovative designs with complex mechanisms, such as "Project Z" (launched in 2004) and "Histoire de Tourbillon" (launched in 2009), and has established itself as a luxury watch brand.
Opus, a collaborative project with independent watchmakers
The Opus collection, which made Harry Winston's name known to the world, was created in collaboration with renowned watchmakers working in Switzerland and other countries.
Since 2001, the company has been releasing models that fully utilize the potential of independent watchmakers, with the theme of creating watches with groundbreaking designs and mechanisms that defy conventional ideas.
All of the Opus watches that have been created to date have contained original and humorous elements. It could be said that these watches defy the common sense of what a luxury watch should be.
