Harry Winston’s Opus 12, created in partnership with Emmanual Bouchet, has clearly been one of the attention-grabbers at Baselworld 2012.  In my first look at the Opus 12, I shared video as well as discussion of how the piece works.  Now I just want to revisit the piece with some press photos provided by Harry Winston.  I will also again point out some of the salient features of the watch, but if this is the first you have seen this watch, I do recommend that you visit my “Opus 12 first look and overveiw” for more details on how the watch works.

Harry Winston Opus 12 by Emmanuel Bouchet

limited edition 120 pieces

46mm polished white gold case (Zalium mid-section),manual-wind mechanical movement (607 parts, 2 barrels, 24 hands, 45 hr power reserve), on black alligator strap with white gold buckle

VIDEO

Out of this world Masterpiece…

Baselworld 2012:  Speaking of rare air when it comes to elite watchmaking, feast your senses on the Harry Winston Opus 12. A mechanical genius!  Far and away one of the best new releases each year, Harry Winston never fails to deliver (Opus 11, Opus 10 are the last two).  The Opus 12 was made in collaboration with watch maker Emmanuel Bouchet, a relative unknown as is often the case for the Opus collaboration.  At a glance, the Opus 12 is not as radical in form as many prior Opus models, but the simple round case shape belies its masterful complexity and playful manner.  It is somewhat difficult to explain, so please watch the video animation I have also posted, but basically it works like this:  hours are marked by the short blue hand, minutes by longer blue hand.  The “hands” are actually 24 markers mounted on the periphery of the case — and when its “time is due”, the hand flips over and up so that its blue side is visible (again please see the video and my illustrations below to understand this). In the center of the watch is a clearly marked retrograde 5 minutes indicator, a subsidiary seconds dial (under frosted sapphire), and a power reserve indicator.  Now beyond the innovative time display, the Opus 12 does something very cool happens every hour on the hour — the hour/minute hands “roll” consecutively around the dial.  This is purely for visual effect, and wow is it satisfying

In summary — the Harry Winston Opus watches are far and away at or near top when it comes to the best watches from the best minds in watchmaking — the Opus 12 is no exception.  Nicely done, Emmanuel Bouchet and Harry Winston.  The Harry Winston Opus 12 price is about $260,000.

See also:  Closer Look at the Harry Winston Opus 12 Watch

Harry Winston Opus 12 by Emmanuel Bouchet (Official)

limited edition 120 pieces

46mm polished white gold case (Zalium mid-section),manual-wind mechanical movement (607 parts, 2 barrels, 24 hands, 45 hr power reserve), on black alligator strap with white gold buckle

Opus 12 VIDEO

Dial/Functions:  Hour and 1/12th of an hour (five-minutes) displays via a rotating, double-hand system
Animation of the 12 hour hands at each change of hour
Animation of the minutes hands every five minutes
Retrograde five-minute display, power-reserve indicator and small seconds
Small seconds with frosted sapphire crystal
Bracelet: Hand-sewn black alligator leather

Yes, the Harry Winston Opus 12 is soon to be announced — March 8th to be exact.  How about a little teaser for today? If you want to refresh yourself on the beauty of the entire Harry Winston Opus series, check out this great microsite at Watchonista.

Harry Winston Opus 12 (Teaser)

Beauty and the Beast…

Well, here’s a new one to ponder:  the new Harry Winston Histoire de Tourbillon 3 Watch.  This is the third series in Harry Winston’s exploration of the tourbillon, though in a much different form factor (see Histoire de Tourbillon 2, Hisotire de Tourbillon 1).  I see this watch as one part beauty, one part beast (a descriptor that HW probably deplores).  Beast:  the watch case is a whopping 65.9mm x 45.9mm (compare to Antoine Preziuso’s Mega-Tourbillon (65mm round) or the MB&F HM2 (59mmx38mm) for example).  Engineered to display the three tourbillon systems to their best advantage, however!  Beauty:  The hours and minutes are shown on discs rotating against their respective markers, and the seconds on a scale around the bi-axial tourbillon.  Harry Winston shows off its flair with gemstones by using blue sapphires and citrines to indicate the power reserve — very nice.

Only 20 of each tourbillon artwork in the Histoire de Tourbillon collection are produced, i.e. elite collectors only.  Officially unveiling will be in early March at Baselworld (the world’s largest annual watch show), so stay tuned in.

Harry Winston Histoire de Tourbillon 3 Watch

Limited edition 20 pieces

65.9mm x 45.9mm white gold case, caseband and lugs in Zalium (a hard and ultra-light zirconium alloy),manual-wind triple tourbillon movement w/50 hrs power reserve

Eleven color-graded blue sapphires from dark to pale show the power left in the mainspring. The markers for the hours and minutes are color-matched with the gemstones. When the six yellow citrines appear against the marker, it’s time to wind up the watch.

Three tourbillons are in action, each rotating at different speeds.  Two of them are nested one inside the other “to rotate the fourth dimension of time through the three dimensions of space.”  In this bi-axial tourbillon, one tourbillon carriage rotates every 40 seconds within a second carriage going around in 120 seconds on an axis perpendicular to the first.  This ensures that the vibrating balance moves through every possible plane in relation to the field of gravity to average out positional errors.  The third tourbillon carriage rotates a separate balance on a single axis in the conventional way, but at the relatively high speed of one revolution every 36 seconds. This tourbillon is most effective when the watch is in a vertical position, and by rotating the balance quickly it minimizes its exposure to the effects of gravity. For even greater precision, the two regulating systems are connected through a differential gear that gives an average of their two rates.

Physics aside, the seeing these three tourbillons in action will be a thing of pure beauty:

And here’s a look at the nicely designed case back:

Harry Winston is set to soon unveil two new men’s models in its Ocean Sport collection, and here they are.  One is a chronograph with openworked dial, the other a basic 3-hander + date function.  Light, non-­allergenic, harder than titanium and extremely corrosion-resistant, the Zalium case (aluminum and zirconium alloy)
of the Harry Winston Ocean Sport watches are a HW exclusive, among other signature HW design elements in these watches.  Not my favorite Harry Winston watches, but still very solid looking watches.  Price TBD.

Harry Winston Ocean Sport Automatic and Chronograph

44mm Zalium case, DLC-finished bezel indices, automatic mechanical movement, 200 meter water resistance

This past weekend I saw an ad for the new Harry Winston Project Z6 Black Edition watch and thought it was worth a closer look.  As far as I am concerned, Harry watches are as cool and as luxurious as they come, with just a bit of eccentricity mixed into the design.   These watches are quite exclusive, as well (probably goes without saying, though). The Harry Winston “Project Z” series has been going since 2004 with six total “Project Z” watches produced thus far (excluding the Lady Z models).  I gave you the first look at the Harry Winston Project Z6 watch back in January 2010, and the watch you see here is basically a DLC-coated (Diamond Like Carbon) version of it.  Looks pretty sweet!

Flashback:  Harry Winston Project Z6 Watch

Harry Winston Project Z6 Black Edition

Limited Edition 300 pieces

44mm DLC-finished zalium case, manual-wind mechanical movement (72 hours power reserve), black rubber strap

Ref. 400/MMAC44ZKC.K2

All of Perpetuelle’s Harry Winston Timpiece coverage HERE>>>

While the Harry Winston Opus 11 grabbed the spotlight at Baselworld 2011, the Harry Winston Midnight Big Date watch seemed content to sit quietly in the shadows.  This new piece has all the classic Harry Winston elements and refinements, including a brilliant-cut diamond which tops the “Big Date” window.  Though in many ways, though, it is a rather humble watch — it is only a two-handed timekeeper (i.e. hours & minutes only — no seconds hand) and as the name implies the attention is given to the double-window big date on the lower half of the dial.  I guess if you like “big dates”, then maybe this watch is your thing — as for me, though, I’d prefer something else from Harry Winston.  Price: $30,700 in rose or white gold case.

Harry Winston Midnight Big Date

42mm white gold case (10.2mm thick), automatic mechanical movement (F. Piguet caliber) silver or black dial with circular guilloche decoration and double-window big date set with brilliant cut diamond,

endh

My ONLY Watch 2011 previews continue with a first look at the Harry Winston Midnight GMT Tourbillon.  As with virtually ever Harry Winston watch, it is a stunner!  The piece incorporates many of the iconic Harry Winston signature features, but is extra special for its 45mm platinum case.  The dial has a very masculine yet sophisticated monotone look, capped off with a tourbillon positioned at the 6 o’clock position (it doubles as the small seconds display).  The GMT display is at 9 o’clock and includes day/night indication.   The 11 o’clock aperture indicates the cities representing the second timezone, including — of course — the home of the 2011 Only Watch event, Monaco.

See more of my Harry Winston Timepiece coverage here.

Harry Winston Midnight GMT Tourbillon for ONLY WATCH 2011

Unique Piece

45mm platinum case, mechanical automatic movement (bidirectional winding), on alligator strap with platinum buckle

close up:

Functions:
- Excentered hours and minutes, second hand on the Tourbillon, second time zone at 9 o’clock with day and night indicator

On May 30, 2011 at the Christies “Important Watches:  Hong Kong” auction,  a rare Harry Winston Opus 6 manufactured in 2006 will be offered to the highest bidder.  Of the eleven different masterpieces now in Harry Winston’s “Opus” series, the Opus 6 rightly holds its place high in the ranks of watch collectors.  This very special Opus 6, one of just 6 ever made, is estimated to fetch between $300,000 – $500,000.  More on the significance of this very special watch, after the look:

Harry Winston Opus (Greubel Forsey) (2006)

Number 5/6

44mm white gold case, manually wound mechanical tourbillon (2 tourbillon cages, 72 hour power reserve), hours and minutes by co-axial discs at 3 o’clock, and small seconds disc at 11 o’clock

Each year for the last eleven years, a new Harry Winston Opus has been created out of a collaboration with notable horological masters (the jaw-dropping Opus 11 was unveiled just last month!).  The Opus 6 was done in partnership with Stephen Greubel and Robert Forsey, with its extraordinary feature being the Double Tourbillon 30° — a one-minute tourbillon inclined at 30° inside a four-minute tourbillon to offset any positional errors and to ensure superb chronometry.

Savvy watch enthusiasts will recognize the “Double Tourbillon 30°” as one (of many) signature achievements of the French-English watchmaking duo, whose timepieces under their own namesake brand sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars per piece.

Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey (respectively)

Denis Giguet’s Exploding dial…

The Harry Winston Opus Eleven, one of the most exciting (and exclusive) pieces to come out of Baselworld 2011.  Haven’t seen it yet?  Check my original coverage here.  And now, Hodinkee.com brings us up close and personal with Denis Giguet’s self-described “exploding dial” masterpiece:

Harry Winston Opus Eleven Video (Hodinkee)

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