Harry Winston at the 2011 Salon QP

One of the main reasons of my presence at the Salon QP was to discover in the metal the latest collection from Harry Winston, the Ocean Sport. If Harry Winston didn't exhibit at the 2010 Salon QP, 2011 was the year of the come back. I'm sure that the change of the Salon location influenced this decision.

The Ocean Sport collection is made up of 4 different watches: 2 simple watches, 2 chronographs, 2 for the ladies, 2 for the men. They all share in common the use of Zalium as case material. 3 are powered by automatic movements, one ladies' watch by a quartz one.

The 4 Ocean Sport watches have a solid caseback...

And a Zalium case:

The objective of this collection is to fill a kind of gap which was existing before in the Harry Winston offer. 2011 will remain as a very busy year for Harry Winston with the 4 Midnight watches unveiled during the Basel fair and this Ocean Sport collection several months later.

You may argue that there are already some watches which combine sportive design with the typical Harry Winston elegancy and style and you would be right. But this Ocean Sport collection gave the opportunity to offer modernized dials with a very geometrical design.

Sadly, one watch was missing at the Salon: the Ocean Sport Automatic and I hope to be able to see it in Paris at the Salon Belles Montres.
I propose to share with you the pictures of the watches.

Let's start with the Ocean Sport Chronograph.

It is without any doubt the most impressive of the collection. The connexion with the Ocean Diver is obvious... even if the date window is located at 12 o'clock. But the main feature of this watch is the skeletonized work on the chronograph module. It is visually really impressive, giving a feeling of complexity without losing the readability of the main functions. Of course the work on the 44mm case is also flawless. And the folding clasp system working with a buckle is at the same time clever, handy and aesthetically efficient.

The skeletonized work of the dial obliged Harry Winston to choose a simple date display (with a peripherical wheel): a double window display would have a negative impact on the skeletonized dial lay-out. The consequence is that the date is not that easy to be read when the second hand is reseted: the hand is over the window and hides the date figures. I do believe that a watch without the date display would have been a better option.

The skeletonized module. You will notice the size and position of the date wheel:

The case parts:

Like the Ocean Diver, the Ocean Sport Chronograph uses a DD chronograph module. But the base caliber is not the same because the Ocean Sport chronograph houses an ETA2892 to power the module. A surprise for me because the GP movement of the Diver was really working well with an excellent winding efficiency. Anyway, the ETA movement works fine with a similar reliability. But I must confess that in terms of prestige, I would have much prefered to see Harry Winston keeping the GP movement!

Thanks to the case lightness and the folding clasp system, the watch is very comfortable on the wrist: one of the best Harry Winston on this field!
Let's see the two ladies' watches now.

I really think that they will easily find their customers because they are very all-around watches for our ladies: these watches are elegant (even with a rubber strap!), perfect for a party... or for a more sportive activity.

My fav one is obviously the Chronograph and, good point when compared with the Men's version, it features the shuriken! I also like the work on the dial and the way the chronograph displays are linked togother. It exists in two versions: silver or rhodium coloured and I prefer the light dial version: the watch really becomes luminous.

The Ocean Sport Quartz gets the same hands shape, a similar case design but has a nice sunrays guillochage on the dial.
Of course, I couldn't leave Harry Winston booth without seeing the other watches!

Several months after the Basel Fair, the Big Date remains my fav Midnight watch thanks to its off-centered dial... and its small diamond on the dial! I like the anthracite dial version with the PG or the WG case.

The Midnight Automatic is the most elegant of the collection and I think that the decision not to use a second hand was the right one. The two hands are true beauties.

We jump into another world with the Histoire de Tourbillon n°2. This is a quite paradoxical watch: it is bulky, heavy and at the same time... has a very delicate side due to the Tourbillon behaviour. These opposite feelings create a charming atmosphere even if it is not a watch for small boys.

The Midnight Tourbillon Chronograph is far from being my fav Harry Winston watch: the second scale is cut twice making the chronograph almost useless. I consider it focussed on the Tourbillon and if we look carefully at the dial, we realize that the whole design was created to put it under the spot lights.

The Midnight Minute Repeater is well known for the its hammers shapes! This is the most original logo integration into a dial! In a certain sense, this watch prefigures the Midnight Big Date thanks to its circle around the hammer with a small diamond set on it.

We stay in the world of striking watches with the Z6 "Black" which was introduced this year. The movement was developed in partnership with Jean-François Mojon and the Z6 features, with the UN Sonata, one of the most enjoyable alarm sounds. I hope that we would be able to do this side-by-side comparison because both watches deserve it.

The gorgeous two-barrels movement of the Z6:

I propose to finish the post with some pictures of the booth which give you a good idea of the great atmosphere of the Salon.

An Opus 9 on my wrist:

Max Büsser is appreciating the case finishings of the Ocean Sport Chronograph:

I would like to thank a lot the whole Harry Winston team for the warm welcome and the time they dedicated to me during the Salon.

Fr.Xavier

This message has been edited by foversta on 2011-11-16 14:09:42