HARRY WINSTON

Since 2013, Harry Winston has been a member of the Swatch Group as a luxury watchmaker and diamond-focused jewelry firm.

Since its inception in New York City, the firm has grown to become a household name in the jewelry industry. The jeweler amassed a collection of notable jewels throughout the years, including some of the world's biggest diamonds.

Even if the watch segment is newer, it is no less impressive. The brand's entry-level clocks are sumptuous, while the top-tier timepieces display unbridled technical creativity and impossibly complicated mechanics inside.

To make these marvels, this firm collaborates with skilled watch designers on a regular basis.

The Winston family owned and operated this prominent jeweler until Ronald Winston stepped down in 2008. Nayla Hayek took over as CEO a few years later, in 2013. Nicolas Hayek, co-founder of the Swatch Group, has a daughter named Nayla.

This business just began producing watches after Harry's death, but it strives to manufacture timepieces that are worthy of his legacy.

Many of the brand's watches have diamonds, and the casings and mechanisms are all made of excellent metalwork. The watchmaking division, on the other hand, adheres to the company's principle of seeking the finest of the best.

Rather than rare jewels, this section seeks for the brightest brains in the field of watchmaking to create novel complexities and systems.

Because he worked in his father's jewelry store, Harry Winston was familiar with the industry from an early age.

In 1920, he founded his own company and eventually bought Arabella Huntington's world-renowned jewelry collection. Huntington was once referred to be "America's richest lady," therefore her collection was rather amazing.

For Harry, though, it was a chance to really show off his skills. He deconstructed the items of the collection in order to incorporate the stunning jewels and pearls into his own creations.

Winston's and his company's collections would undoubtedly be among his most distinguishing successes. He and the firm would go on to buy more than 30 more outstanding gems and jewelry items throughout the years.

The Hope Diamond, Blue Heart, Napoleon Diamond Necklace, and Oppenheimer are now in the Smithsonian Institution's collection.

After Harry's death in 1978, his sons Ron and Bruce fought for control of the firm for decades.

Despite the fact that the famed jeweler's will named hawkish rocket scientist Ron as the company's CEO, the sons would be paid equally. This was a difficult subject for the two brothers, and it eventually became a source of legal controversy between them.

Despite the fact that haute horlogerie is now an important component of the business, the company's first timepieces did not arrive until 1989. In order to produce intricate complications, the business employed horological virtuosos Jean-Marc Wiederrecht and Roger Dubuis.

Between his tenure at Patek Philippe and after founding his own firm, Roger Dubuis worked for the brand.

On the other hand, Jean-Marc Wiederrecht has created for a number of watch companies throughout the years. He started out as a freelancer, but eventually established his own company, Atelier Genevois d'Horlogerie, to pursue this goal.

Harry Winston's goal as a jeweler was to find and display the world's finest diamonds and precious stones. As a result, his watchmaking branch continues in his footsteps.

The corporation seeks for the best watchmakers to develop the Opus series in this situation. Opus is a series of yearly limited editions with no price restriction and a focus on skillful intricacy.

Max Büsser, who was the director of Harry Winston horology from 1998 until 2005, was the brains behind the Opus initiative. Büsser joined the firm after seven years at Jaeger-LeCoultre, where he created Opus in order to establish Winston's trustworthiness.

This was a pressing requirement because the watch division was just a decade old at the time.

The jeweler had the means to achieve this ambition, and Büsser was able to find the brilliant brains the series required.

François-Paul Journe, the creator of Geneva-based watchmaker F.P. Journe, was the first. His Opus One had two distinct movements to show two different time zones, but just one crown set and wound both.

The Opus One was created in six different variations, each with only six components.

Individual mechanically-driven indicators, rather than typical watch hands, are a recurring element in later Opus models.

This may be observed in the Opus 12, for example, with inwards-pointing hands at the face's periphery. These hands symbolize the hours in five-minute increments, and when they are turned over, the blue undersides disclose the time.

The Opus 12 was developed by French watchmaker Emmanuel Bouchet, and it was also his first internationally renowned watch.

Many other up-and-coming watchmakers have used the Opus series as a launching platform as well. This is mainly due to the fact that, despite the fact that Opus models are essentially concept pieces, they are sold.

As a result, when Opus watches are sold secondhand, they get a larger audience and a longer period of public recognition. The designers' and the series' names become more well-known as a result of this.

In 2008, Ron Winston stepped down as chairman, and CEO Tom O'Neill took over as the company's new leader. The firm's global footprint was later developed by O'Neill, an expert in foreign markets.

Frédéric de Narp, previously of fellow jeweler-watchmaker Cartier, assumed O'Neill's post in 2010, and worked to improve the brand's reputation. On the watch front, he continued to promote the Opus line, ensuring that each new Opus release sold out almost instantly after it was announced.

Indeed, Swatch Group was paying notice to the company's growing influence in the watch sector. Finally, in 2013, Swatch Group paid $1 billion for the company's jewelry and watchmaking operations. Meanwhile, Dominion Diamond Mines continued to operate as the mining component.

Nayla Hayek, daughter of late Swatch Group chairman Nicolas Hayek, became CEO and chairperson after Swatch Group purchased the firm. She not only worked hard to expand the company's watch section, but she also maintained founder Harry Winston's quest for rare gems.

In the same year, the company bought a 101-carat flawless diamond, which it dubbed the "Winston Legacy." The next year, the business purchased a 13.22 carat flawless blue diamond, dubbed "The Winston Blue."