Harry Winston

Harry Winston at the Salon Belles Montres

 

The Salon Belles Montres is currently taking place in Paris at the Carrousel du Louvre and will close tomorrow. So if you are in Paris and if you have a few hours to spend, don't hesitate to visit it: you won't be disappointed by the gathering of exhibitors even if we can regret the absence of   Rolex, Patek or of the brands from the Swatch Group. Despite that, this event has a very favourable side: it gives the opportunity to get a broad view of the watch industry from the independant watchmakers to the brands which belong to large groups.

In this context, the presence of Harry Winston is more than welcome: it is a very positive point for the audience which discovers how Harry Winston is developing its own watchmaking pole with the Premier, Ocean collections and how they invest to create a credible high horology pole. It also gives the opportunity to see the Opus X which was created in partnership with Jean-François Mojon who has just won the "best watchmaker" prize at the last Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève.

To be one of the exhibitors at the Salon Belles Montres also has a positive impact for Harry Winston: it gives an obvious gain of visibility. The distribution network is not that large in France (in coherence with the exclusivity of the brand and the limited number of watches produced per year) and a large part of the audience doesn't easily have the ability to see a Harry Winston watch. It is the reason why Harry Winston decided to display a large part of the collection.

I would like to quickly present you some watches I shot during my visit at the Harry Winston booth. I chose them because I believe they are a good representation  of what is the current offer from Harry Winston: a mix between classicism, innovative time display, traditional metals or original alloys using calibers with different backgrounds.

Let's start with a few pics of the booth:

The new design of the Excenter Timezone: the dial layout is the same but some little changes have been brought to update the style of the watch. You will notice the specific large date display:

The famous Z6, the alarm watch, which caliber was created by Jean-François Mojon:

The Ocean Diver Chronograph. Even if I prefer the Z1 / Ocean Chronograph, this one also has a very nice dial even if its layout is classic. The chronograph functions are linked together and the shuriken is enhanced by a blue circle.

The Opus collection is not forgotten with the latest family member: the Opus X with its innovative time display.

These PG and WG Ocean Chronographs have just been unveiled. They feature a new dial decoration. The idea is to create a sort of continuity between the arch-shaped parts (which are used as crown protector) and the dial. The contrast between the different sections of the dial brings an original touch. I prefer the dial of the PG version because I found the contrast of the other version too high. Maybe it will change, both chronographs were prototypes and not the difinitve watches.

I really like the strap which is a sort of combo between rubber and kevlar. Of course, it will be adaptable to the other Ocean watches.

The Ocean GMT Traveler wich is basically a Z5 with a PG case. This watch is not my fav from the Ocean or Zalium collections (I much prefer the Z3) but with its PG case and the two dial layers, the watch has its own charm.



The Lady Zalium, without any doubt, one of my fav Lady watch! Maybe because I love Moonphases watches without date display? I love the large moonphases window by the Shuriken. I have a special message to the Harry Winston staff: please create a Man watch with the same functions and with a similar dial layout ! It would be fantastic !

I finish the report with the Midnight Repeater: like any watch from the Midnight collection, the watch is focussed on a complication. Obviously, the main complication here is the Minutes Repeater. The caliber and the dial were designed to be able to see the hammers at play. A true joy for your eyes... and for our ears !

The report is over now but it is not an end: it is actually a beginning, a first step, because I will come back to each and every watch I presented here with specific posts dedicated to them.

I would like to thank a lot the whole staff from the Harry Winston booth for the warm welcome and for the time they dedicated to me: it was not easy due to the large affluence at the Salon Belles Montres. I really hope to see again  Harry Winston at the 2011 edition of the Salon!

Fr.Xavier