bernard cheong
7182
The History of the Harry Winston Horological department and the legacy of Max Busser
1989
Winston introduces a collection of watches,
"The Ultimate Timepiece".
1994
As a result of his experimentations with rare
metals, Ronald Winston creates "Galatea", a
unique watch made of solid rhodium, of the
platinum group metal.
1994
The Biretrograde Perpetual Calendar is
introduced, positioning the House of Harry
Winston as an innovator in the esteemed Swiss
tradition of complicated horology.
1996
Ronald Winston mounts an exhibition in the
private Imperial apartments in Beijing's
Forbidden City, the first event of its kind ever
authorized by the Chinese government and the
Palace Museum.
1997
The Harry Winston Gallery at the Smithsonian
Institution is opened with the Hope Diamond as
its centerpiece. Harry Winston is the only
jeweler to have a museum gallery in its name.
1998
The era of Max Busser begins.
2001
Harry Winston introduces Opus 1, a resonance
chronometer by Francois-Paul Journe, which
makes headlines for its unprecedented
technology and innovation as an Haute
Horlogerie project.
Opus continues annually.
Z series and special ultimate timepieces appear
occasionally.
Excenters emerge.
2001
Max Busser quote:
"A weakness of the company? Some would say that we are not easy to find. Be it for a Harry Winston piece of jewelry or a timepiece, because we are, and want to remain, very exclusive.
The Harry Winston haute joaillerie is all hand-crafted in New York, and available exclusively in our 5 salons across the world: New York, Beverly Hills, Paris, Tokyo and Osaka. The timepieces on the other hand are 100% crafted in Switzerland and most of the parts in Geneva itself, where our Timepiece headquarters are located. The first timepiece was created in 1989, and was for many years only available in our salons. Recently we decided to extend the distribution of timepieces to select independent watch retail partners. There are today 65 across the world."
2002 to 2007
ThePuristS.com creates and currently maintains the
live documentation of the horological information on the
significant watches made by Harry Winston. Eg Opus and the Z series.
The company Harry Winston has a website which is a commercial advertisorial
site.
2006 to today
Max Busser leaves to create MBF.
The saga continues...will MBF carry the torch of the Opus?
In my personal analysis, yes.
Will the company of Harry Winston fully realise the potential
of the artist and the ultimate high concept in the short term? No.
Has Opus 7 left us cold? Yes. The parallel between the Opus series and MBF will
always be on the TOP of the collectors mind.
At the very peak of the momentum of making Opus, which is much a platform for the AHCI and all independants,
even that of Journe and Richard Mille, Max Busser is still carrying the Opus torch.
This torch is a two edged blade. Cutting both ways, to incredible sucess as in creating
a new boundary, such as MBF1 and MBF2.
But also great failure, in simple collapse into financial ruin, such as all artists face.
Harry Winston is the stronger and mightier financially.
It has the ability to lure more talent.
But it has much more baggage, and weight to loose.
Max Busser is small. He is able to maneover.
At the level of art, the connoiseur does not buy brands.
Ready for the edge of your seat? Check out tonight's top picks on Yahoo! TV.
The History of the Harry Winston Horological department and the legacy of Max Busser
Ummm Bernard....
PuristS are not Yes-men / women
Hi Bernard....May I ask
