Hello everyone, I'm Fukushima from AI Isuzu.
When you hear Harry Winston, you often hear about celebrities' wedding rings and accessories.
However, even if you know the name, how did the brand grow and what kind of person was the founder?
Isn't there a lot of people who don't know the place? .
This time, we will unravel such questions and explain the history and famous items of Harry Winston.
1. What is Harry Winston?
Why is it popular? Attractive factor
One of Harry Winston's hallmarks is the use of the highest quality diamonds in all items.
It has excellent transparency and diamond cutting technology, and is characterized by the fact that skilled craftsmen see through the individuality of each stone and carefully cut each stone. Items made by collecting such diamonds one by one express brilliance and beauty that cannot be seen anywhere else.
- bell engagement ring
- An engagement ring inspired by Mrs. Huntington's estate jewelry
The 4 C's are essential when talking about diamonds.
"Carat" "Color" "Clarity" "Cut"
Only the finest Harry Winston items are used for all four C's.
"Carat" and "cut" cannot be generalized due to design aspects, but "color" is called "colorless" and has very high transparency, and "clarity" has 11 levels. Among them, we use diamonds up to the top 5 stages.
As each level rises, the rarity value also increases, so you can see how Harry Winston is particular about the beautiful colorless and transparent gemstones.
Harry Winston started as the Premier Diamond Company
Established in 1920 Premier Diamond Company
Founded in 1932 Harry Winston
1920 Harry Winston founded the Premier Diamond Company at 535 Fifth Avenue in New York at the young age of 24.
The "Premier Diamond Company", which he started alone, built a high reputation in the jewelry market, and the business expanded greatly.In 1932, Mr. Harry Winston established a company named after himself , "Harry Winston". .
In addition to buying and selling gemstones, he formed a design team and started making jewelry in earnest, building a brand that grew to be called one of the top five jewelers in the world, and its popularity continues to this day.
famous name
Why it's called the "King of Diamonds"
The growth of the business since "Harry Winston" was founded has been a sight to behold for the whole world.
Possessing legendary jewelry, it is reported that "Harry Winston owns the second largest amount of historically valuable jewelry in the world after the British royal family (British royalty)".
For these achievements, the American general magazine "Cosmopolitan" praised the brilliant career of founder Harry Winston and gave it the name "King of Diamonds".
"The Jeweler of Stars"
Gwyneth Paltrow, who won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in "Shakespeare in Love," wore a Harry Winston princess necklace at the ceremony. This Hollywood pioneering event demonstrates the brand's global presence as a ❝star jeweler❞ .
2. What kind of person is the founder “Harry Winston”?
Harry Winston (1896-1978) was born in New York, USA. Born the son of a jeweler.
From an early age, he grew up touching various gems in a small jewelry store on the West Side that his father ran, and when Harry was 13 years old, the family moved to Los Angeles and resumed the jeweler business, where he began to be involved in the jeweler business in earnest.
life with jewels
- 1908/1909 Awakens his ingenuity as a jeweler
- At the age of 12, Harry Winston was caught by a green stone in a pawn shop tray.
He saw that the stone that the owner had thought was glass was actually an emerald, and with the 25 cents he had, he bought this stone and another.
I sold this emerald for $800 just two days after it was found at a pawn shop.
When his father saw this green stone from him after returning home, he thought it was just glass and tried to file it down. Harry, as a boy, was the only one to recognize it as an emerald.
Since then, Mr. Harry Winston has been engaged in the work of a jeweler with a passion for gemstones and an exceptional eye for beauty.
In 1909, the Winston family moved from New York to the West Coast and reopened a jewelry store in Los Angeles.
From this time on, Harry Winston gained experience under his father, and after returning to New York a few years later, he decided to set up his own business.
- 1920s Start as a full-fledged jeweler and encounter with a partner
- The Premier Diamond Company is established on New York's Fifth Avenue.
At the same time, Harry Winston meets Edna Fleischmann, an attractive woman who would later become his wife, on a train to Atlantic City.
- 1930s Establishment of Harry Winston Company
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1932
Established Harry Winston Company on Fifth Avenue in New York to replace Premier Diamond Company.
- 1934
- After a lengthy courtship, Harry Winston married Edna Fleischmann in February 1933. A well-educated and sophisticated woman, Edna had a charming influence on Harry. Her elegant demeanor was often reflected in advertisements for Harry Winston.
- 1940s Business Growth Becomes King of Diamonds
1942
- As the business grows, we move to 7 East 51st Street, New York.
Adjacent to St. Patrick's Cathedral, the building housed a relocated showroom, design studio, workshop and Ruth's specialized department.
The Winston family also lived in this building.
- 1947
- This year, Harry Winston will be called the "King of Diamonds" because of his brilliant career.
- 1949
- An exhibition of his precious diamonds and gemstones was held under the title of "Court of Jewels".
The exhibition, which raised funds for local charities, lasted for four years and closed in 1953.
Harry Winston seems to have held this exhibition under the pretext of "wanting more people to know about precious gemstones."
- 1950s Expands overseas and becomes a global jewelry collector
1952
- Life magazine reported that Harry Winston owns the world's second largest collection of historic jewels after the British royal family.
- 1955
- Harry Winston opens its first overseas store in Geneva, Switzerland. In 1957, a store was opened in Paris, France.
- 1960 Further growth of Harry Winston
- Harry Winston & Co. will relocate to its new location at 718 Fifth Avenue in order to provide more space to meet the increasing demands of its customers as its business rapidly expands.
The night before the move, Harry Winston allegedly instructed his staff to collect his "favorite" jewels, and he packed them up and transported them five blocks down to Fifth Avenue.
- 1978 The end of an era
- Harry Winston has died in New York City at the age of 82.
Two sons then took over the company.
3. Famous jewelry owned and created by Harry Winston
Jonker
The 726 carat rough diamond "Yonker" that caught the attention of the world
Renowned diamond dealer Ernest Oppenheimer called it "the finest diamond I've ever seen", and the chief diamond appraiser for De Beers, a company known for mining, distributing, processing and wholesale diamonds, said it was "soft". This silky blue rough is the most beautiful of the largest stones in existence, and if cut into a single stone it would be the finest stone in the world."
winston cluster
The three-dimensional setting is characterized by a technique that captures light from all angles to make the diamond shine, and the presence of platinum and gold that holds the jewel is almost invisible, making it look as if the diamond is being worn directly on the bare skin. jewelry accessories
In the early 1940s, he and his design team perfected the iconic Winston Cluster motif of Harry Winston, still known today as the "Cluster Collection".
lesotho diamond
The name comes from the 601-carat rough purchased by Harry Winston, from Lesotho, a constitutional monarchy located in the southern part of the African continent.
A 71.73-carat Flawless emerald-cut diamond ring (above) called “Lesotho I” among cut diamonds, and a 40.42-carat “Lesotho III” given by shipping magnate Onassis to Jacqueline Kennedy as an engagement gift. is still known as a diamond that will go down in history.
taylor burton diamond
Unearthed at South Africa's Premier Mine, this rough crystal weighing 240.80 carats was purchased by Harry Winston to create a perfect pear-shaped diamond weighing 69.42 carats.
At one auction, Cartier sold the diamond for $1.05 million.
However, the second winning bidder, Richard Burton, negotiated a deal with Cartier over the phone and purchased the diamond for $1.1 million.
It was given to his wife, actress Elizabeth Taylor, hence the name "Taylor-Burton Diamond".
hope diamond
45.52 ct Fancy Dark Grayish Blue Diamond
It is no exaggeration to say that diamonds are the most well-known diamonds in the world.
Blue diamonds that are dark in color and large in size are rarely available on the market, and the value per carat of diamonds is the most expensive in the world.
It is said to be a "cursed jewel" that destroys its owner one after another, and the large heart-shaped blue diamond (Hekiyo no Heart) that appeared in Titanic was modeled after the Hope Diamond. I'm here.
Harry Winston donated it to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, where it is still kept in the Harry Winston Gallery.
4. More than just jewelry
The charm of Harry Winston timepieces
Harry Winston has established its position by handling historical jewelry.
Combining the brand's expertise in jewel-setting with its expertise in fine watchmaking, the brand creates timepieces that are as creative as any other brand.
Harry Winston technical watch
In 2001, we announced the innovative and bold model "Opus" series, which was born from a collaboration with an independent watchmaker. I'm here.
The photo is "Opus 14". It looks like a jukebox taking out a record board, and has 3 discs under the display at 9 o'clock, and has a mechanism to replace the disc at 2 o'clock by pressing the lower right push button. increase.
A mechanical watch with such a complicated mechanism is one of the watches that you can feel the technical power of Harry Winston watches, not something you can easily see in other brands.
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[Harry Winston] Commentary on brand features and popular watch models
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