Geneva, 21 November 2003
The courage of two watchmakers - HARRY WINSTON RARE TIMEPIECES
and VIANNEY HALTER - to explore the uncharted regions of fine horology
has been amply rewarded on Thursday, November 20, 2003, during the annual
Geneva Horology Grand Prix ceremony, which gathered the entire watchmaking
Industry.
A jury of ten renowned international watchmaking specialists and journalists
gave the " Technical Innovation and Complication " award to a timepiece
which already attracted a major attention during last Basel Fair: Opus
3, the third chapter of a unique creative adventure undertaken by
Harry Winston Rare Timepieces in the field of fine watchmaking.
For the record, Opus is based on the idea of creating each year an exceptional
timepiece in partnership with one of Switzerland's most gifted independent
horologists.
Opus 3: A world premiere
in movement, function and form
Opus 3 is both true to the principles of
fine horology and a totally new vision of time. Its movement is unique,
the first complicated mechanical movement to provide a full digital display,
with jumping hours, minutes, seconds and date - with each digit indicated
separately.
The way of reading the time is also unique: 6 "portholes" through which
10 discs, rotating independently, show us the hours (top outer portholes),
the minutes (lower outer portholes) and the date (center top and center
lower porthole). In addition, before a change of hour or minute, the upper
date aperture displays a countdown of the final four seconds of the minute.
A shared obsession with detail led the partners to conceive and develop
a world premiere winding system. Instead of the traditional vertical winding
stem, the Opus 3 presents, for the first
time, a horizontal crown that adjusts upwards and downwards to four setting
levels.
Achieving what was supposedly impossible took a year and a half of development.
Furthermore, 98% of the watch (movement and case) has been painstakingly
developed from scratch and crafted specifically for this watch.
Opus 3 is created as a limited
series of 55 pieces, 25 in 18-carat rose gold, 25 in platinum 950PT and
5 in platinum 950 PT set with white Harry Winston diamonds.
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