HARRY WINSTON

American jeweler and “King of Diamonds” Harry Winston founded his eponymous firm in his native New York in 1932 and the company began dabbling in watchmaking in 1989, naming its initial collection “Premier” after the name of Winston’s original company, Premier Diamonds. In 2001, Harry Winston started making noise in the haute horlogerie sphere with the launch of the Opus series, which enlisted some of the world’s most gifted and creative independent watchmaking minds to produce rare and complex timepieces, initially under the leadership of future MB&F founder Maximillian Büsser. Francois-Paul Journe, Christophe Claret, Vianney Halter, Antoine Preziuso, and Urwerk co-founder Felix Baumgartner are among the watch-industry rock stars who have contributed their savoir-faire to a Harry Winston Opus edition. While there hasn’t been a new Opus for quite a few years, Harry Winston — acquired by the Swatch Group in 2013  — continues to display a dedication to both high watchmaking and high jewelry with collections like Ocean, Midnight, and the ultra-complex Histoire de Tourbillon pieces.

Founded: 1932 (company), 1989 (watchmaking)

Headquarters: New York, NY, U.S.A

Ownership: Swatch Group

Notable models: Avenue, Midnight, Ocean collections, Opus Editions

Did you know: In 1989, Harry Winston created a replica of the ruby slippers worn in the movie “The Wizard of Oz,” which sold for $3 million, substantially more than the final sale price of the original slippers.