HARRY WINSTON OPUS TWO

The House of Harry Winston unveils Opus Two, the second step in a series of joint creative ventures. Two complicated timepieces have been created in partnership with the Geneva master watchmaker Antoine Preziuso, member of the Académie des horlogerscréateurs indépendants and known internationally for his refined interpretations of the great complications. "It is the beauty that Preziuso brings to the smallest spring that made him the ideal choice for Harry Winston" says Ronald Winston, Chairman of Harry Winston.
One watch is a tourbillon, whose construction Preziuso describes as "performing on the high wire without a net". The other, a tourbillon with a perpetual calendar on its reverse side, is the first timepiece to present this particular back-to-back configuration. Making the two movements mesh while the hands moved in opposite directions was a masterpiece of mechanical programming. Both watches feature highly original openwork movements, which introduce a new form of engraving, in a rayonné or sunray pattern. In Preziuso words, the two timepieces "radiate light".
Opus Two follows Opus One, created in 2001 with François-Paul Journe. The concept is unique in the watchmaking industry. Other firms may enlist creators to make a movement for one of their watches, but Opus brings together two partners working as equals. The sole aim is to create a valuable and rare timepiece worthy of the finest international collections.
The Opus Two models are housed in one of the most technically complex cases that Harry Winston has ever created. It is based on the round Premier case that protects all of the important complications of the House. This time, however, the case features the first screwed-in case back in the history of the firm.
Each case is unique, as cover and hinge and case-band are created for each other and cannot be interchanged. The perpetual calendar also features a sprung back cover, pierced to reveal the two most important pieces of information, the day and date.
Two of the cases are jewelled, their bezels set with Harry Winston's flawless baguette diamonds. Their movements sparkle mysteriously with the smallest individually set diamonds ever seen on a movement.
Summing up Opus Two, the two partners emphasise that it was above all, about people. They brought together some of the most gifted engravers, jewellers, case-makers and polishers in horology today. The partners have created a limited series of just twenty-four pieces, twelve of each model. Ronald Winston adds, "our mission is over. Now it is the turn of each watch's future owner to enjoy what we have created".