36mm Harry Winston Premier Precious Butterfly Automatic

— Harry Winston Watches combines two ancestral skills: horology and feather art.   

A House such as Harry Winston radiates excellence and authenticity in everything it has been undertaking since 1932, blazing its own unique trail in the history of High Jewelry and Haute Horlogerie – from sparkling diamonds on the red carpet to the saga of the Opus models in the world of fine watchmaking collectors and artistic crafts applied to watchmaking. Standout innovative creativity has always been the inspirational guiding force behind the work accomplished by the development teams, as was the case when introducing the art of plumasserie on the surprising eponymous models of the Premier collection featuring dials adorned with bird feathers.

© Harry Winston

Driven by the same avant-garde spirit, Harry Winston has developed an entirely original technique for harvesting the natural pigments from butterfly wings and applying them to a metal dial plate. Three years of research have culminated in this exceptional result, creating exceptional tableaux the size of a watch dial while reflecting the infinite beauty of nature. Just as with feathers, the poetic paradox of this complex technique lies in transposing the ephemeral into eternity while preserving its intrinsic qualities. The extreme fragility of butterfly wings flutters away once immortalized on the dial after the ultra-meticulous harvesting of tiny scales filled with extraordinary pigments from the “Agrias Claudina Lugens” variety. The spectacular iridescence and the intensity of the colors are maintained, while the light playing across the watch as it changes direction on the wrist even creates a sense of movement. While the pigment colors thus appear to be modified, they are in fact stabilized and do not deteriorate. Each model is thus as unique as butterfly wings themselves, even though each of the four models is distinguished by a dedicated motif from a butterfly species (“Adelpha Lara” and “Chrysiridia Madagascariensis” being the other two). Reflecting the inimitable refinement of Harry Winston refinement, the satin straps match the dial colors.

© Harry Winston 

Beneath the kaleidoscopic dial, the theme of motion continues with a self-winding Manufacture movement whose precision is enhanced by a silicon balance-spring such as very few brands are capable of producing. The decoration visible through the sapphire crystal caseback is more traditional than on the front of the Premier Precious Butterfly and includes circular Côtes de Genève, circular graining and rhodium plating. Rarity now has a face… and wings.
 Cas e :  18K rose gold (or white, depending on the model), 57 brilliant-cut diamonds (approx. 2.32 carats), sapphire caseback, water-resistant to 30m.
Diameter: 36mm.
Movement: mechanical self-winding (Caliber HW2008, 72h power reserve), flat silicon balance-spring, circular Côtes de Genève motif, circular graining and rhodium plating.
Functions: hours, minutes.
Dial: butterfly wing marquetry.
Strap: beige (or black, brown or burgundy according to the model) technical satin strap, 18K rose (or white) gold ardillon buckle set with 17 brilliant-cut diamonds (0.15cts).