Baselworld 2015: Harry Winston The Premier Collection™ Artistic Crafts

Baselworld 2015: Harry Winston The Premier Collection™ Artistic Crafts

Mr. Winston’s tradition of excellence in creativity and design is remembered in these artistic creations. Each new model recalls our founder’s desire to push aesthetic boundaries and honors his legacy. His pioneering vision is brought to life in the Premier Collection, strikingly beautiful in both artistry and design.

The House of Harry Winston proudly invites you to enjoy a truly exquisite moment and discover its new creations.

PREMIER PREICOUS BUTTERFLY AUTOMATIC 36MM

The Premier Precious Butterfly requires an unusual technique 

In the stunning Premier Feathers, Harry Winston combines two ancestral skills: horology and feather art. With its new Premier models, the House wishes to continue exploring unexpected pairings and use another highly original technique. 

The material chosen for this model – butterfly wings – is brimming with emotions and symbolism. The vibrant colors adorning the Premier Precious Butterfly timepieces are created using the fragile, yet extraordinarily iridescent, powder found on butterfly wings. Harry Winston designers successfully harvested and expertly placed this delicate powder on each of its dials, a technique that required three years of creative reflection and development. 

The majesty of green 

Reminiscent of spectacular emerald gemstones, the Premier Precious Butterfly features the stunning and intensely appealing color green. Still, each dial is as unique as a butterfly. Harry Winston designers expertly use the delicate powder with its extraordinary pigment to transform the dials into artistic creations. This powder is the only material used to create the unique motif and allows for a rare and mesmerizing visual experience. 

Creations in which color springs to life 

Harry Winston introduces three other models that also explore this technique. With each of these timpieces, the pigments create a fascinating kaleidoscope of colors as they recreate butterfly wings. The dials catch and hold light just like the wings of a butterfly found in nature. The sapphire crystal seems to be the only thing keeping the butterfly inside the gold case, set with 57 brilliant-cut diamonds. 

The timepieces in the Premier Precious Butterfly collection are driven by a mechanical automatic movement equipped with a silicon balance spring ensuring excellent precision. The movement finishes – circular Côtes de Genève, rhodium plating and circular graining – speak to the attention to detail cherished by the House of Harry Winston. 

PREMIER LACE 31MM

Harry Winston further explores its unsurpassable creativity and opens up whole new vistas. Creative worlds overlap in the House’s new designs, which pair two iconic motifs, both symbolizing absolute femininity in their own unique way – lace and mother-of-pearl. 

Precious and evanescent, lace symbolizes enduring time, as its creation requires long, patient hours of craftsmanship. For Harry Winston, this delicate design was a natural companion for mother-of-pearl, a symbol of tenderness and purity. 

This year, the House chose mother-of-pearl to adorn the dials of its ladies’ watches and applied the full force of its jewelry expertise to its treatment. The result is a striking design – one that was difficult to create in light of the extreme fragility of the material. 

Mother-of-pearl lace, the ultimate challenge 

Premier Lace 31mm features an expert selection of mother-of-pearl colors. Each shade is carefully selected and studied. Every last reflection is carefully scrutinized, ensuring that each creation will possess a glorious glow. 

Harry Winston’s Premier Lace 31mm is fascinating and mysterious, with its shimmering white mother-of-pearl lace bold against a black sunburst dial. This model is also available in more romantic tones – pink mother-of-pearl against a Tahitian mother-of-pearl dial. The elegant motif is made from mother-of-pearl measuring just 0.15 mm thick. The House’s unbelievably complex workmanship creates arabesques of light and shade. 63 brilliant-cut diamonds blossom across the bezel and arches, perfectly accentuating the voluptuous lines of these two creations. 

With these two new models, Harry Winston revives the seductive nature of dainty proportions and rich ornamentation, both symbols of elegance and finesse. The new 31 mm case of the Premier Lace showcases the House’s technical sophistication and artistry. 

PREMIER SHINDE AUTOMATIC 36mm

Our founder, Mr. Winston met Ambaji V. Shinde - whom he used to call the gem behind the gems – in 1955 during a trip to Bombay, and immediately recognized the similarities in their passion for creativity and design. Mr. Shinde became the iconic designer of the House, infusing Harry Winston treasures with his extraordinarily inventive touch. 

In memory of iconic creations 

The three Premier Shinde models are inspired by archival records of Mr. Shinde’s jewelry creations. They reinterpret two of his necklace designs – including the famous “Star of the Desert” – and a tiara, all masterpieces and an important part of the history of the House. 

The essence of the original jewelry creations is captured and portrayed on the dial of each of these timepieces, all featuring a 36 mm case. The symbolic motif is created using a special gold engraving technique. Technical constraints created a challenge and called for close cooperation between the engraving artisan and the designer. The dial is entirely relief-engraved. A slender 24-carat thread is used, daintily resembling a cannetille – a small filigree-type element composed of spirally twisted gold thread. Measuring a mere four-tenths of a millimeter, its capabilities and resulting design are truly extraordinary. 

A stunning combination of artistic crafts 

Harry Winston creates a series of enchanting dials enhanced with gold engraving, continuing its sacred tradition of ornamentation. 

The dials of the Premier Shinde models are made of Grand Feu enamel, a supremely demanding material. The enamel is fired at temperatures between 800 and 900°C, a temperature so extreme that it can jeopardize the work done up until that point. The studied firing operation reveals the beauty and depth of the colors. Harry Winston chose to pair Grand Feu enamel with a touch of gold, creating a multi-layered effect. 

The eye immediately recognizes the jewelry motif and marquise-cut stones – from one to eight – depending on the model. Driven by a mechanical automatic movement, the timepiece is equipped with a silicon balance-spring. More than just a jewelry model, at its heart, the Premier Shinde tells the treasured story of the brand.