Salon Belles Montres 2012: Harry Winston

Nov 28, 2012,14:11 PM
 


Like in 2011, Harry Winston was one of the main exhibitors at the Salon Belles Montres which took place last week in Paris. I wasn't very lost when I wished to join the booth since its location was exactly the same than last year.

But of course, the contents of the case display were a bit different with highlights on some of the 2012 timepieces.

As usual, we start by setting the scene:












The star of the exhibition was obviously Opus 12: it created the same impact than in London thanks to the magic of the hands ballet.

I will not come back to it as I already presented it several times in details but the only thing I can say is that I'm still fascinated  every time I see it.




Time displayed is 09:08 (3 minutes after 09:05):




One of the 5 prototypes, all of them have been working without any specific trouble from the Basel Fair:




The delivery will start in December!




The Project Z6 Black Edition is a limited edition of 300 pieces. Frankly speaking, I'm not a fan of this watch while the "classic" Z6 is perhaps my fav ocean watch. Maybe because I saw too many times Black Edition everywhere. I believe that this style works better with the Tri-Retrograde Chronograph.




The small shuriken at 11 o'clock is a working indicator. You will notice the very discreet day&night display around the shuriken.

I love to see the big hammer at play when the watch strikes:




The beautiful movement which was exclusively developed by Jean-François Mojon in partnership with Harry Winston features two barrels:








Case diameter is 44mm. The  black colour  reduces the feeling of size what is a good point:




I publish very often pictures of the Ocean Chronograph Tri-Retrograde. Maybe because it entered my head...

In London I saw the PG version with a darker dial. The watch was very elegant with a lot of character.

This WG version with light dial is more sober and still refined.




I love the details of the dial like the colours of the 12, the different layers:




Base of the movement is the Frédéric Piguet 1185. The Agenhor module was added to provide the Tri-Retrograde display:




The dial features two different types of guillochage. I really like this watch even if, maybe for the same reasons than with the Z6 Black Edition, I would prefer a darker dial to make it smaller than its 44 diameter:




We stay with the same case diameter with this Ocean Diver in Zalium and Pink Gold:




The shuriken is more visible. The two chronograph subdials are linked together:




The Ocean Diver has a date display which is not the case of the Ocean Chronograph. Movement is made of a GP3100 base + a Dubois Depraz module:




I managed to shoot the two Ocean Sport chronographs all together!

The LE edition is on the right. It is quite funny because when I see them, I always think that the LE is on the left due to its skeletonized dial!

They both have a 44mm zalium case.

Movement base is an ETA2892. Chronograph module remains a Dubois-Depraz one. I would have preferred the use of the GP3100 as a base. Not in terms of reliability because the ETA2892 is a good movement. But in terms of image and also because I find that the winding efficiency of the GP is slightly better.




The dial of the LE is complex and full of different layers:




Sadly, the second hand of the chronograph when back to zero hides the date window:




I prefer the skeletonized dial of the non-limited version with the transparency which allows to enjoy the skeletonized module:








Both watches on the wrist:




The permanent second hand is very discreet and can be easily forgotten. Maybe the shuriken would have been a better option but the objective was to make the module more visible.

The minutes counter of the chronograph works with a moving hand while the hours counter uses an unmoving one:




With this report, I wished to present you some watches not displayed in my Salon QP post. I managed to do it without any difficulty which is the proof that the Harry Winston collection is currently very large with many versions available. On the other hand, I think that the collection would need a small rationalization by removing some references which seem to be a bit useless now. My point of view is that the catalogue is becoming too broad for a brand which produces only several thousands of watches per year.

Anyway, I appreciated a lot this 2012 offer. Opus 12 is an impressive watch, I also like a lot the Midnight Blue dial, the Tourbillon Big Date, the new Tri-Retrograde chronographs... and we don't have to forget that the year started with the amazing and excessive Histoire de Tourbillon 3! Of course, I will prepare a wrap-up of this very busy year!

Fr.Xavier



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re: SBM 2012: Harry Winston

 
 By: DRMW : November 28th, 2012-14:28
Excellent coverage, thank you for sharing with us who couldn't attend. That skeleton is very nice! Like the Zalium and PG combo too. -MW

Thanks Ming!

 
 By: foversta : November 28th, 2012-14:48
It was a very busy year for Harry Winston... and for me! ;) Fx

I wish HW were..

 
 By: KIH : November 28th, 2012-16:06
... more accessible over here and your report is always much appreciated! Wrist shots are as always superb. Opus 12 - would LOVE to meet in person! Thanks, Fx! Ken

Thanks Ken!

 
 By: foversta : November 29th, 2012-14:58
But I'm sure that Opus 12 will land in Japan soon! I would not understand it if it was not the case! Fx