Today's watch comes from the house of Harry Winson, the Only Watch 2013 Midnight Big Date.
Harry Winston
Harry Winston was a prominent and infulential American jeweller (b.1896 - d.1978). His father, Jacob, opened a small jewellery business after immigrating from Ukraine to the United States. Harry worked in his fathers shop from a young age, learning all he could about the business and the art itself. There is a story which says that Harry recognised and purchased a two-carat emerald in a pawn shop for 25 cents, going on to sell it two days later for $800.
In 1932, the first store bearing his name opened its doors. It quickly gained a reputation for being able to provide the finest diamonds and gemstones and became favoured by royals, wealthy and famous patrons.
The glitz of the Academy Awards owes part of its legacy to Harry Winston who, in 1943, was the first jeweller to loan diamonds to an actress. Best Actress nominee, Jennifer Jones, who went on to win for her role in The Song of Bernadette. His signature diamonds set a new standard and became popular with Hollywood celebrities.
The song Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend, as sung in the 1953 motion picture Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Marilyn Monroe, includes the spoken line, "Talk to me Harry Winston, tell me all about it!"
Celebrating a long history as a jeweller to the stars, Harry Winson, Inc. celebrated the fiftieht anniversary of the 1939 classice, The Wizard of Oz by creating a pair of ruby slippers made of rubies and diamonds, a far cry from the sequins used on the original movie props.
In 1949, Harry Winston acquired the Hope diamond. Arguably the world’s most famous gemstone, the Hope is a 45.52-carat (9.10 g) dark blue diamond. The Hope was donated by Harry Winston to the Smithsonian Institution in 1958, as a gift to the American people. On display at in the Smithsonian’s Harry Winston Gem Gallery, the Hope is a testament to Winston's legacy of rare and magnificent gems.
Aside from the Hope diamond, Harry Winston owned many other famous diamonds during his lifetime, including:
Porter Rhodes (53 carats)
The Portuguese (127.01 carats)
The Crown of Charlemagne (37.05 carats)
The Briolette of India (90.38 carats)
The Qamar-I-Sultana (44 carats)
The Arcots (33.70 and 23.65 carats)
The Anastasia (Three emerald cuts weighing 42.95, 30.90 and 22.88 carats)
The Ashoka (Originally 42.47 carats)
The Cornflower Blue (31.93 carats)
Countess Széchényi (62.05 carats)
The Deepdene (104.52 carats)
The Deal Sweetener (45.31 carats)
The Blue Heart (30.82 carats)
Étoile du Désert (50.67 carats)
The Idol's Eye (70.20 carats)
The Indore Pears (46.95 and 46.70 carats)
The Jonker (Twelve gems, the largest weighing 125.35 carats)
The Liberator (Four gems weighing 38.88, 18.12, 8.93 and 1.44 carats)
Louis XIV (58.60 carats)
McLean Diamond (31.26 carats)
The Mabel Boll (44.76 carats)
The Nassak (43.38 carats)
The Nepal (79.41 carats)
The Niarchos (128.25)
The Oppenheimer (253.70 carats)
The Vargas diamond (726.6 carats)
Most of the diamonds mentioned have a fascinating history before and since Harry Winston with many of them being cut and re-cut, sold and re-sold and passed down among generations of royalty.
In September 2009, Harry Winston, Inc. announced a project to re-design the Hope’s setting to commemorate the 50th Anniversary Winston’s donation of the stone to the Smithsonian. The setting design was chosen by the American public in an online poll, and the new setting was revealed in November 2010.
Harry Winston's legacy continues to this day and the following video highlights pieces from this years "Water Collection".
The brand introduced a collection of fine timepieces in 1989 combining fine design and careful manufacturing of complicated and gem-set watches.
In 2000, Harry Winston began to invite the world's most innovative independent watchmakers to create a unique model for its Opus series of watches. Since 2000, the company has brought out a new model each year.
Opus One, designed by François-Paul Journe.
Opus Two, designed by Antoine Preziuso.
Opus Three, designed by Vianney Halter.
Opus Four, designed by Christophe Claret (see video below)
Opus Five, designed by Félix Baumgartner.
Opus Six, designed by Greubel & Forsey.
Opus Seven, designed by Andreas Strehler.
Opus Eight, designed by Frédéric Garinaud.
Opus Nine, designed by Wiederrecht & Giroud.
Opus Ten, designed by Jean-François Mojon.
Opus Eleven, designed by Denis Giguet.
Opus Twelve. designed by Emmanuel Bouchet.
Opus Thirteen, designed by Ludovic Ballouard.
In 2007, the company opened it's own manufacture in Geneva, Switzerland.
Below is a video of Christophe Claret talking about the Harry Winston Opus Four.
Only Watch 2013 Midnight Big Date
Only Watch Midnight Big Date embodies the quintessence of watchmaking, imbued with a sense of authenticity and refinement. Topped with a bezel discreetly bearing the three iconic arches of the Harry Winston Fifth Avenue salon in New York City, the case is crafted in 18ct polished rose gold. Its 42mm diameter frames a mechanical automatic winding movement composed of 297 parts, with an 18ct rose gold skeletonized rotor, circular grained and hand-chamfered, visible through a sapphire crystal display back.
Catalogue Description:
| Harry Winston Midnight Big Date for Only Watch Harry Winston Midnight Big Date, Ref. MIDABD42RR004 A fine and unique, 18k pink gold self-winding wristwatch with big date. Accompanied by a fitted box and Certificate. | |
| C. 18k pink gold, circular, polished, sapphire crystal D. Black broad snailed finish dial base, sunray satin-brushed chapter ring excentered at 12 O’clock, baguette-emerald-cut diamond at 12 O’clock (approx. 0.019 ct), black fine snailed-finish chapter ring center, applied rose gold date circle set with 1 brilliant-cut pink diamond at 6 O’clock (approx. 0.005 ct), sunray satin-brushed finish at the center. M. HW1018, 35 jewels, power reserve 72 hours, twin barrels, one barrel equipped with a slipping spring, balance wheel, annular balance wheel, flat balance spring, skeletonized, 18K rose gold rotor, Côtes de Genève, circular grained, hand-chamfered, rhodium plated. | |
| Estimate: 25,000 EUR - 35,000 EUR |
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