Hats off to Harry Winston for ringing in a more transparent attitude: while most companies – particularly in the early days of these cooperative masterpieces – kept the names of the makers of their movements for themselves, Harry Winston made it a point to proudly communicate the origins of each unique, collaborative Opus timepiece.Įven though the brand known primarily for its high-quality diamonds has had two new directors between Büsser’s departure and the Swatch Group takeover – Hamdi Chatti, now CEO of Louis Vuitton’s watch and jewelry division and Frédéric de Narp, who went on to become CEO of Bally group – the unique Opus series remained the highlight of the Harry Winston watch collection throughout and has played a significant role in advancing the brand’s horological reputation. Upon introducing each Opus, however, the independent watchmakers involved (many of which were practically unknown outside collectors’ circles) became known to a broader range of people suddenly interested in their products and cognizant of their names. The watchmakers Harry Winston Rare Timepieces chose to work with all have had reputations for unusual and high-quality timepieces. One aspect of the original idea was that the independents would gain from the larger public exposure that Harry Winston would generate, while the diamond-centric brand would gain serious horological kudos from associations with world-class watchmakers. The ultra-limited annual edition revolved around cooperating with an outstanding independent watchmaker each year to create a signature edition of timepieces. The idea of the “concept” watch is one that Büsser perfected for Harry Winston’s Opus series. However, before that, at the age of 31, he became the CEO of the burgeoning Harry Winston Rare Timepieces.īüsser had energy, ideas, and a deep-seated passion for unusual haute horlogerie – traits he took with him when he founded his own company, MB&F (Maximilian Büsser & Friends) in 2005. We know Büsser now as the founder of MB&F. Like many good independent watchmaker stories in the modern era, this one also began with Maximilian Büsser. Though seeing is believing, just the glimmer of hope provided by Nayla Hayek’s announcement is a great reason to take a look back at the history-making timepieces of the Opus series, which remain the best-known and most important horological output of what was previously known as Harry Winston Rare Timepieces (and is now just Harry Winston).Īnd as you can probably guess, I absolutely love that the premise of the Opus series is its collaborative nature with some of the watch world’s leading independent watchmakers. She became CEO of Harry Winston in January 2013, after Swatch Group acquired the brand.įollowing the Swatch Group’s takeover, a continuation of the Opus series seemed in doubt to me, though in an interview at Baselworld 2014, Marc Hayek did reveal that he and his family loved the Opus series and that he foresaw a continuation. Since June of 2010, Hayek has been the chair of the Swatch Group’s board of directors. Nayla Hayek quietly let it be known that an Opus 14 is forthcoming.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |