Harry Winston unveils the Histoire de Tourbillon 1

There are a myriad of complications, but none as captivating as the tourbillon. The tourbillon is an extremely challenging complication to master. This Spring of 2009, Harry Winston will release a unique collection , the Histoire de Tourbillon, comprising of five distinct designs. Each design will be limited to just twenty timepieces, making this entire collection rare and highly desirable collectibles.

The Tourbillon was invented in 1795 by French watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet, who hypothesized that gravity had an adverse effect on the workings of a pocket watch. Abraham Louis Breguet placed the escapement and balance wheel in a cage in order to counteract the effects of gravity.
Harry Winston has utilized innovative materials as well as increasingly sophisticated mechanisms in the Histoire de Tourbillon 1 Collection.
The 48mm case is crafted from white gold and Zalium. Zalium is an ultra-light alloy made from zirconium and allium lily. The material has a low density, high thermal resistance, high durability and is extremely resilient. Zalium originated from the aerospace industry; however the term Zalium is a trademark first used by Harry Winston in its Project Z series of watches.
Each timepiece features two 25º inclined single-axis Tourbillons with rabid 36 second rotations.
Harry Winston accepts the hypothesis that the Tourbillon does counter the effects of gravity and thus uses increasingly sophisticated techniques to increase the efficiency of the Tourbillon. The high rotation speed of the Tourbillon reduces the exposure of the regulator to natural gravity. The speed of the rotations of the Tourbillon is achieved by the incredibly light weight components. 88 components in the system only weigh .46 grams.
The angles of the Tourbillons as well as their rapid rotations and synchronicity, achieve an hypnotic allusion that the Tourbillons are moving towards the Sapphire Crystal.

Hours and minutes are displayed on the front rotating disc and on the back of the timepiece with seconds for more precise timekeeping. This Harry Winston timepiece is a testament to its ongoing commitment to watchmaking excellence. The timepiece is a mechanical self-winding movement.

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Project Z6 is the newest addition to Harry Winston's remarkable array of timepieces. The intriguing aspect of this watch as well as its Project's Z's predecessors is the case material Zalium. Never heard of it? Well it is a zirconium-based alloy used exclusively by Harry Winston. Its name originates of `Z`irconium and `al`l`ium` lily. Zalium is much harder than titanium. It is also used in jet engines and surgical tools. The reason it is used so sparingly in the watch industry is that it is exceedingly difficult to work with and must be machined from an ingot. Harry Winston has developed a procedure to work with Zalium with remarkable success.
The latest success is Project Z6, a fine watch with the signature Harry Winston moldings on the bezel.

The Project Z6 is equipped with a 24 hour alarm, a complication developed exclusively for Harry Winston. One needs only to set the alarm via the crown; the striking mechanism is activated by a trigger at the 4'o'clock. An aperture on the dial allows for optimal view of the hammer which is attached to the 44mm Zalium watch case. The resulting sound has a powerful resonance which is achieved by a solid rectangular gong. The hand wound mechanical movement has a 72 hour power reserve owing to two barrels, one for the movement and the other for the striking mechanism. The movement contains no less than 340 components, 45 jewels and hand chamfered bridges. The two overlapping off center sub dials are punctuated by vibrant blue and red markings; one displaying the time and one indicating the alarm mechanism. A double day/night indicator adds too, but does not clutter, the elegant dial which is protected by a sapphire crystal.

Technical Specifications:

Movement
Hand-wound, 340 components, 45 jewels, Côtes de Genève decoration, hand-chamfered bridges, 72-hour power reserve

Functions
Hours, minutes, small seconds, alarm, double day/night hour indicator

Case
Zalium (zirconium-based alloy), 44 mm
Sapphire crystal
Water-resistant to 100 m

Dial
Anthracite or silvered, 18 levels and 5 different kinds of finishing
Opening on the alarm hammer

Bracelet/Strap
Black rubber with zalium buckle

Opus 9

A project developed with Jean-Marc Wiederrecht
& Eric Giroud

The Harry Winston Opus 9 watch, a project developed with Jean-Marc Wiederrecht & Eric Giroud

In 2001, Harry Winston launched The Opus Series — a creative new initiative designed to reconstruct and redesign time. By partnering with the industry’s most revered independent watch makers, each Opus reflects an unprecedented journey of collaboration and innovation, resulting in a groundbreaking timepiece that neither partner could have imagined alone.

Designed with purity and defined by precision, Opus 9 distills fine watch making down to its absolute essentials. Optimizing their function and form, classic timepiece technologies are impeccably reengineered and refined to show a different reading of time. True to the Harry Winston Timepiece DNA, technical innovation is combined with the highest-quality diamonds. Unequivocally modern, unmistakably Opus, the result is a new, abstract expression of time. Linear driven time – captured in diamonds.

Diamond-driven time

In Opus 9, diamonds are not merely a decorative element, but the functional element of time telling. Replacing the traditional watch hands and cyclical dial, time is displayed by two parallel diamond chains, for hours and minutes. Sleek and scintillating, each chain is adorned with 33 baguette-cut diamonds, Harry Winston’s signature shape. Vivid mandarin garnets are strategically positioned to indicate the hours and minutes. Meticulously calibrated, each stone is perfectly set into the links, to ensure movement, while maintaining their brilliance. Crafted in brass, the chains are designed to maximize mobility while minimizing friction. Recalling Harry Winston’s iconic, invisible settings, the gemstones appear as floating lines of light, seamless unfolding across the dial.

Maintaining the minimalist style of the display, the chains are powered by a strong automatic movement, concealed within the case. Transforming rotational time into linear time, a rack and pinion mechanism creates the lateral drive needed to propel the continual gliding movement. Though seemingly simple, extreme balance and mechanical precision are essential to mobilize the weight of the diamond chains. While chain mechanisms have been explored before, the added weight of diamonds presents a new technical and functional challenge.

Stark and sophisticated, the sculptural case is designed to emphasize the functional beauty of the diamonds, while supporting the movement. Crafted in white gold, the frame is defined by a structural bridge, which lends both technical and aesthetic stability to the design. The central vertebrae of the watch, the bridge forms a lynch-pin lock that secures the mobile components of the watch in place, creating additional stability and shock resistance. Encased in transparent sapphire crystal, the case and movement of the chains remain visible at all angles – a poetic view of time elapsing.

Collaboration

A stunning feat of architectural engineering, Opus 9 marks the first time that Harry Winston has partnered with two, independent pioneering forces in haute-horlogerie. Both long-time Winston designer, watch maker Jean-Marc Wiederrecht, and designer, Eric Giroud, have contributed to some of Harry Winston’s most significant timepiece innovations. Opus 9 is the first time that the duo has joined forces to develop a Harry Winston timepiece design.

* Jean-Marc Wiederrecht: Awarded the grand prix 2007 Best Watchmaker Designer, Jean-Marc Wiederrecht first partnered with the Harry Winston in 1989, to develop its first timepiece, the Excenter Perpetual Calendar. An integral part of our watch making DNA, the retrograde movement and excenter dial helped to establish Harry Winston as a leading innovator in haute horological design. A master of mechanical modules, for Wiederrecht, this original innovation would provide the unique inspiration and conceptual challenge behind Opus 9 – to create a new incarnation of linear time.
* Eric Giroud: With a background in architecture, Eric Giroud has partnered with Harry Winston to develop some of its most aesthetically acclaimed timepieces, including the award-winning Tourbillon Glissiere. Combining aesthetics and architecture, Giroud’s structural savoir-faire provides the necessary framework to bring conceptual designs, to functional reality.


In the tradition of Opus, the names of all three partners -- Harry Winston, Jean-Marc Wiederrecht, and Eric Giroud -- are marked on the bottom of the case. Combining precise engineering, inspired architecture, and the world’s finest diamonds, this collaboration creates the perfect trifecta to accomplish the extraordinary. Pushing the innovative extremes and challenging perceptions of time, the resulting design is a groundbreaking accomplishment that the essence of The Opus Series.

Harry Winston Opus 9

Ref.: 500/MAJMWWL

Name	:	Opus 9
Reference	:	500/MAJMWWL
Movement	:	Automatic self-winding using a chain system
Functions	:	Hours and minutes, linear display of hours and minutes
Case	:	White gold Dimension: 56 mm x 48 mm x 20 mm
Dial	:	Baguette diamond chain indicating on the left side the hours and on the right side the minutes with Garnet
Crystal	:	Two sapphire tubes Thickness of crystal: 1.2 mm
Strap	:	Black alligator
Buckle	:	White gold
Power Reserve	:	72 hours
Water Resistance	:	30 meters (3 ATM)
Carat Weight	:	66 baguette diamonds Total carats: 2.148 cts 6 Garnet Total carats: 0.222 cts
Collection	:	OPUS Limited edition of 100 pieces

The Harry Winston Opus 9 watch, a project developed with Jean-Marc Wiederrecht & Eric Giroud