Harry Winston

foversta
[PuristSPro Moderator]
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A summary of my Harry Winston year

That's a difficult task: to sum up in a single post my Harry Winston year!

I have to tell you that I really enjoyed this year as Harry Winston moderator. It was a very busy year which gave me the opportunity to meet a lot of passionate people like you, the PuristSPro members fans of HW watches, like the staff of the Manufacture, of the shops or of the Headquarter.

And this is the part of the position I prefer: the encounters, the discussion and the passion we share all together.

2011 started under excellent auspices with the visit of the Manufacture in Plan-les-Ouates. This visit was important for me to understand and to feel Harry Winston watchmaking ambition. The quality process, the ability to build in-house cases, the potential of the watchmakers really impressed me.

The main entrance:



The work of the designers:





The case production:





The gem setter:




The watches assembly:







2 months later, I came back to Switzerland to discover the 2011 novelties... including the Opus Eleven!

2011 was a key year for Harry Winston with two new collections, each being made of 4 watches. The elegant collection is the Midnight. The sportive one is the Ocean Sport and it will be unveiled later this year.

The Opus Eleven and its explosive hour display:



The Opus eleven was warmly welcome by all the visitors who were surprised by this unique display. The challenge for Harry Winston is now to produce the 110 watches in house due to the reorganization at MCT. This tough challenge  is also a good way for Harry Winston to make a huge step forward in watches production. Believe me, when you are able to assemble an Opus Eleven... you are not afraid anymore!

The Midnight collection is a very important collection in Harry Winston strategy. It fills a gap in the collection by providing thin and elegant watches.





A Z6 Black was also unveiled during the Fair. I found this watch very different from the original one.



In June, I did my biannual visit at the Harry Winston shop in London. I love to visit this shop... maybe it is due to the specific atmosphere of Bond Street, the warm welcome of the staff, the pleasure to be in a fantastic city...



During my visit, I had the chance to handle the Opus 9 by Jean-Marc Wiederrecht and Eric Giroux, two old Harry Winston friends!



It is not possible to speak about Jean-Marc Wiederrecht  without some words about the Perpetual Calendar. This complication was the symbol of the start of the Harry Winston watchmaking history.





During the same period, I was very fortunate to wear the Urwerk UR 202S (big thanks to the Urwerk team!).

Thanks to Bernard Cheong who lent me his Opus V the year before, I was able to compare these two Felix Baumgartner's watches. They look so similar... and so different at the same time. But the Opus V was the winner in my heart because it was and it is still a myth.





In September, the "Only Watch" was unveiled (Midnight GMT Tourbillon). This watch could be considered as an evolution of the Z5. Good reason to dedicate a post about this watch which was not amongst the fav Zalium ones. But it had its own charm.



 

In November, I was back to London to attend the Salon QP. Harry Winston was one of the main exhibitors. A good surprise was the perfect schedule which allowed me to discover the new Ocean Sport collection:

The skeletonized work on the chronograph module:



This collection uses Zalium cases in a less formal style than the Project Z one. My fav of the collection is maybe the Lady Chronograph. It is a bright watch with the presence of the Shuriken:



A good opportunity to see again the Midnight collection!



...the Histoire de Tourbillon n°2, a superlative watch:



And this Midnight Minute Repeater:



At the end of the same month, a similar context but on the other side of the Channel with the Salon Belles Montres:



I had a Rendez-Vous with an impressive jewel:



The Z4 struck again:



The Midnight Automatic on my wrist:



And this very special Ocean Dual Time:



And a Perpetual Calendar because a gathering of Harry Winston watches without a PC is not a true Harry Winston gathering!



I didn't forget the ladies with this nice wristshot of an elegant Midnight:



Of course, I didn't mention all the topics, all the encounters, all the anecdotes but by writting this post, a lot of excellent souvenirs came back!

My wish as Harry Winston moderator is that 2012 should be as busy as  2011 with full of topics and discussions in the forum!

I would like to thank a lot the Harry Winston team for the strong support... and of course, you, as members who bring your passion in this place.

I wish you a very happy end of the year!

Fx