The famed jeweller from New York, Harry Winston is arguably most renowned for its acquisitions of incredibly rare gemstones, but in the watch world, is most famous for its creative watchmaking through the Opus series. Undoubtedly, this creativity has appeared to trickle down to its more mainstream watches, seen through its Project Z collection. In 2021, Harry Winston pulls off the covers of the new Z15 watch, as well as revisiting the Z10 for fans of the series, in new colours sure to brighten up anyone’s day.
Zalium – an exclusive material to Harry Winston
The fruits of research and development by Harry Winston to develop new case materials, the resulting material is a zirconium and aluminium that boasts low weight, corrosion resistance, and a high amount of hardness in comparison to stainless steel and gold, whilst also being hypo-allergenic. This makes it a highly desirable material for watch cases – more people can wear it, it is durable, and its lightness makes the watch supremely comfortable. The first watches in Zalium were released in 2004, and have been a mainstay of the Harry Winston collection ever since.
Project Z15
The fifteenth watch in the Project Z series, the Project Z15 continues the Zalium-cased series with a futuristic regulator-styled watch. From the centre, we see the skeletonised minute hand extending to the periphery of the dial, and the hours indication at 12 o’clock in a black subdial with blue hour markers. At 6 o’clock is a retrograde seconds hand that flies back every 30 seconds, and is marked in red, contrasting with the largely silvery tones of the dial. The blue minutes track seconds track and the filling for the hands echoes the blue of the 45.52 carat Hope Diamond that the House famously purchased in 1949.
Also echoing the history of the brand is the recurring theme of the octagon, with the exposed bridges forming this shape, along with the Harry Winston logo – reportedly this is because Harry Winston himself preferred the emerald cut, hence the octagonal shape motif that continues across its designs. The case measures 42.2mm in diameter, and is mounted on an integrated rubber strap with textile texturing, and secured with an ardillon buckle made of Zalium with folding security clasp.
Housed within the Zalium case is the Swiss Automatic HW3207, boasting a 65 hour power reserve, a silicon balance spring for added anti-magnetic protection and a white gold openworked rotor. The Project Z15 is limited to 300 pieces worldwide.
Zalium Variation Yellow and Zalium Variation Orange
Harry Winston revisits the Project Z10 watches and gives them a colourful interpretation, whilst containing subtle inspirations of Manhattan, New York. The dial of the watch is openworked to reveal some of the inner workings of the complication housed within – a double retrograde 30 second indicator and day indicator on the left and right respectively flank a date window at 6 o’clock. The dial design is reminiscent of girders, trusses and towers, much like that found on the Manhattan Bridge in New York.
This is especially noticeable in the hours and minutes subdial, where the inner part of the dial evokes the cable structures seen on the bridge itself. The dial has luminescent elements, in the form of the hands, hour markers, hands and even the HW logo at 12 o’clock. The colour of the markers extends to the retrograde seconds and day indicators, outlined in their accent colours, as well as their hands.
Housed within its 42.2mm satin brushed Zalium case is the Swiss Automatic HW3305, with a silicon balance spring, as well as a power reserve of 65 hours, and a white gold openworked rotor. Both the yellow and the orange are limited to 100 pieces each, worldwide.
Both of these watches continue the Zalium legacy of Harry Winston that began in 2004, and it no doubt continues to be a novel material for watch collectors who want something highly unusual. The Project Z watches remain a great reminder of watchmaking in the early 21st century, and of the unusual designs that came out of that era – these new editions remain as modern as ever, and will remain a welcome curiosity into any watch collection.
Tech Specs, Project Z15
Reference: OCEASR42ZZ001
Movement: HW3207, Mechanical self-winding, 26.2mm diameter, 4.57mm thickness, 226 components, 34 jewels, 4Hz, flat silicon balance spring, 18K white gold openworked rotor, radiating anthracite Cotes de Geneve, rhodium plating, graining, up to 65 hours power reserve, hours minutes, small retrograde seconds
Case: Zalium
Case Dimensions: 42.2mm diameter, 10.7mm height
Crystal: Sapphire with anti-reflective coating on both sides
Caseback: Open, sapphire crystal
Water Resistance: 10 Bar (100 metres)
Dial: Architectural three-dimensional, luminescent gold Emerald applique, hours hand and indexes, minutes hand and pillars
Strap: Textile effect rubber, rubber base
Buckle: Ardillon buckle made of Zalium with folding security clasp
Limited Edition: 300 pieces
Tech Specs, Zalium Variation Yellow and Orange
Reference: Yellow – OCEABI42ZZ002
Orange – OCEABI42ZZ003
Movement: HW3305, Mechanical self-winding, 30mm diameter, 4.65mm thickness, 312 components, 35 jewels, 4Hz, flat silicon balance spring, 18K white gold openworked rotor, Cotes de Geneve bridges with snailing on the plate, bridges with sunray spiral on the dial side, up to 65 hours power reserve, excentered hours and minutes, retrograde seconds and days, date
Case: Zalium
Case Dimensions: 42.2mm diameter, 10.6mm height
Crystal: Sapphire with anti-reflective coating on both sides
Caseback: Open, sapphire crystal
Water Resistance: 10 Bar (100 metres)
Dial:
Zalium Variation Yellow – Openworked dial with black sandblasting, black and yellow retrograde counters, chapter ring with black and yellow satin-brushed finish, luminescent 18K gold Emerald applique and rhodium-plated indexes
Zalium Variation Orange – Openworked dial with black sandblasting, black and orange retrograde counters, chapter ring with black and orange satin-brushed finish, luminescent 18K gold Emerald applique and rhodium-plated indexes
Strap: Yellow or orange alligator leather with black rubber base
Buckle: Ardillon buckle made of Zalium with folding security claspLimited Edition: 100 pieces for each model