Harry Winston An Epic Tale Of Tourbillon

The Opus is one of the most coveted collections of Harry Winston. And the Histoire de Tourbillon is no doubt another iconic lineup of the brand. Last year we saw the Histoire de Tourbillon 5, and some said it would be the last chapter of the epic. But don’t worry. The introduction of the sixth edition has finally put those doubts into rest. As if the tri-axial tourbillon isn’t complicated enough, a carrousel and chronograph function are added to the new timepiece, highlighting the brand’s technical prowess.

Histoire de Tourbillon 6

Housing the spherical tri-axial tourbillon like the forth edition, the fifth edition is merely a skeletonised model with a different dial layout. Therefore some believe the curtain is likely to fall on the Histoire de Tourbillon (HdT). Nonetheless, in this year’s Basel Fair, Harry Winston released the sixth iteration, the most complicated timepiece ever of the collection.

Speaking of appearance, the dial of HdT 6 sits 2 off-centre hour and minute sub-dials, showing a GMT dual time display. On the left side of the watch, the home time display is located at 10 o’clock and regulated by the tri-axial tourbillon with a small seconds hand at 8 o’clock. The first cage performs one turn every 45 seconds. It rotates inside a second cage, which spins in 75 seconds along its vertical axis. This ensemble is set in motion inside a third, spherical cage, which completes its own revolution in 300 seconds. The three cages rotate in different speed, together with the moving balance wheel in the centre and the running small seconds hand, offering a mesmerising impression.

The carrousel, designed to negate the adverse effects of gravity on timekeeping accuracy, stands at 1 o’clock. It performs a 30-second rotation and regulates the running of the local time display at 3 o’clock. This sub-dial provides two functions: the second time zone and chronograph. The carrousel remains idle by default. But it starts running when you push the blue ceramics button at 2 o’clock, allowing the dial as a 12-hour counter to be started, stopped and reset at will. In addition, a local time display can be adjusted via the 3 o’clock crown. When the carrousel is activated, this hour and minute dial shows the second time zone which is accurate to the nearest minute. This capability is ideal for offset time zones such as Katmandu (UTC + 5:45).

The dial is intentionally separated into left and right, each applies different palettes. For instance, the orange luminous hands are found on the home time display and 80 hours of power reserve indicator, while the second time zone and the chronograph power reserve indicator at 6 o’clock are adorned with blue luminous hour indices and hands respectively. In spite of the good numbers of displays, the timepiece presents a host of information in a legible format.

表殼︰白金
尺寸︰55 x 49mm
機芯︰HW4701手上鍊
功能︰時、分、小秒、兩地時間、計時、三軸陀飛輪、卡羅素
限量︰20枚
售價︰約$5,950,000

Histoire de Tourbillon Family 系列回顧

2014年
Histoire de Tourbillon 5
The watch reinvents the design of its predecessor and achieves a more balanced and skeletonised dial.

表殼︰玫瑰金
直徑︰47mm
機芯︰HW4303手上鍊
限量︰20枚

2013年
Histoire de Tourbillon 4
The watch presents a regulator layout with a spherical tri-axial tourbillon occupying nearly one third of the dial.

表殼︰白金及鋯合金
直徑︰47mm
機芯︰HW4501手上鍊
限量︰20枚

2012年
Histoire de Tourbillon 3
The watch uses discs to show the time and the power reserve, and houses a bi-axial tourbillon and a tourbillon rotating once every 36 seconds.

表殼︰白金及鋯合金
尺寸︰65 x 45.9mm
機芯︰HW1020手上鍊
限量︰20枚

2011年
Histoire de Tourbillon 2
Equipped with a bi-axial flying tourbillon, retrograde hour and day/night indicator, the piece has eight sapphire crystals to show the displays independently.

表殼︰白金
直徑︰48mm
機芯︰HW1057手上鍊
限量︰20枚

2009年
Histoire de Tourbillon 1
The upper half of the dial showcases two hovering 25 degree inclined single axis tourbillons.

表殼︰白金及鋯合金
直徑︰48mm
機芯︰HW1007手上鍊
限量︰20枚

Project Z9

Marrying traditional watchmaking and modern design, the Project Z series has developed a great deal of high-tech sports watches since its first launch in 2004. Keeping in line with the previous eight models (in the absence of Z7), this year comes the latest addition Z9.

Same as the Z1, this latest Z9 is a chronograph. It has two counters like the classic setting; yet the two sub-dials give the piece a new breath with its skeletonised frame and unusual design. With the long-tailed counter hands, the counter markers are positioned close to the left and right side which set it apart from typical circular sub-dials and give some extra room on the dial. With the eye-catching blue and white hands enhancing readability, the Z9 houses a high frequency movement of 36,000vph (the first time of the Project family), ensuring a higher accuracy.

Specification：

表殼︰鋯合金
直徑︰44.2mm
機芯︰HW3304自動
功能︰時、分、小秒、日期、飛返計時
限量︰300枚
售價︰約$191,400

Project Z series 系列回顧

2004年
Project Z1
An automatic chronograph features an off-centre dial with 3 retrograde counter hands.

2005年
Project Z2
The Z2 is a diver chronograph with a water-resistanec up to 200 metres.

2006年
Project Z3
An automatic tourbillon watch features an off-centre hour and minute dial.

2007年
Project Z4
Equipped with a day/night indicator and vertical big date aperture, the Z4 is a GMT watch with two independent hour and minute dials.

2008年
Project Z5
The tourbillon watch has a GMT function with 24 time zones.

2010年
Project Z6
A hand-wound alarm watch with a day/night indicator.

2014年
Project Z8
The Z8 boasts a retrograde dual time display.

Avenue Dual Time Automatic

Known for its asymmetric designs, Harry Winston this year has presented us the Histoire de Tourbillon 6 as well as this Avenue Dual Time Automatic with dual time zone function The home time zone is offset on the right half of the partly skeletonised dial where you can examine the silver movement and date disc. On the left, the second time zone is revealed by three windows and a red and white hand through a retrograde system. To add a playful twist to the piece, pulling on the crown removes the red and white hand from sight. And the hand returns to its position after pushing in the crown.

表殼︰鋯合金
尺寸︰53.8 x 35.8mm
機芯︰HW3502自動
功能︰時、分、日期、日夜顯示、逆跳兩地時間
售價︰約$182,300

Midnight Date Moonphase Automatic 42mm

The aforementioned pieces have shown Harry Winston’s innovative and contemporary design. This Midnight Date Moonphase in rose gold showcases the brand’s minimalist aesthetics. Three sub-dials are well-assigned: an hour and minute dial at 2 o’clock, a moonphase display at 5 o’clock and a day indicator at 7 o’clock. Although the three sub-dials overlap with each other, such asymmetric layout of the dial surprisingly gives an orderly presentation.

表殼︰玫瑰金
直徑︰42mm
機芯︰HW3203自動
功能︰時、分、日期、月相
售價︰約$224,700 

Midnight Feathers Automatic 42mm

Fragile feathers, if being applied wisely, could be a masculine decoration. Adorned with feather marquetry, the dial renders texture like an oil painting, while the brown and black alternating colours give a striking visual effect. Cased in rose gold, the piece features a bold bezel further accentuating the masculine character of men’s watch. And the intense colors evoke amber-tinted vetiver roots, bulrushes and cedar wood, lending a warm tone to the piece.

表殼︰玫瑰金
直徑︰42.5mm
機芯︰HW2008自動
功能︰時、分
售價︰約$248,900

Midnight Diamond Stalactites Automatic 36mm

You probably have come across a drawing having more than one image contained within it. One might see a young lady or one might see an old woman. There is no right or wrong answer; it is just about pictographic ambiguity. What is the point of mentioning that picture? Because this beautiful piece is bestowed a diamond stalactite motif hanging on the dial. Yet the feat of contemporary style of Harry Winston is so remarkable, you may also see it as a silhouette of a metropolis under the glittering starlit sky.

表殼︰玫瑰金
直徑︰36mm
機芯︰HW2008自動
功能︰時、分
售價︰約$283,000