Harry Winston’s Newest Jewelry Watch Is a Diamond-Covered Ode to Gratitude

Amidst the onslaught of sports watches—including a very much talked about limited-edition blue-dialed one—you may find yourself a little lost when searching for something more festive for yourself or a loved one. Leave it to Harry Winston to deliver this colorful, diamond-studded jewelry watch for those looking to dazzle during the holidays. The Premier Sunflower Automatic not only adds the requisite decorative touch with a slew of diamonds but also works on a symbolic level: The sunflower is said to represent gratitude, which makes it perfect for the season.

The combination of precious gems—4.66 carats of diamonds and a quarter-carat of either rubies or sapphires—is not all that gives the watch its zing. The background is mother-of-pearl, a common element of watches in the Premier collection, but here it is shot through with a blast of color (bright red or blue) and arranged in 3D form. Just inside the ring of 12 diamond sunflowers on the outer dial, 12 cabochons of mother-of-pearl are applied to the beaded mother-of-pearl base. The result is eye-popping.

 

 

As for the sunflower motif, it first appeared in Harry Winston’s archival sketches in the 1950s, inspiring jewelry collections because of it beauty and symmetry. This watch is designed to complement pieces in Harry Winston’s current Sunflower jewelry collection. “When we decided to incorporate the iconic Harry Winston sunflower motif in a watch design, our intention was to evoke the same natural grace of the jewelry collection and to create a timepiece that mirrors a precious jewel,” said Nayla Hayek, CEO of Harry Winston, in a statement.

The watch is thus designed and made as if it were a piece of jewelry. The diamonds that form the petals of the sunflowers are prong-set rather than set into the metal, which raises them slightly above the dial, allowing light to penetrate through the side facets. That means more light return through the top, which gives the diamonds extra sparkle. The raised setting also adds volume and complements the raised mother-of-pearl cabochons. The inner dial is decorated with smaller flowers, bringing the total number of blooms to 20. They are set with either eight rubies or eight sapphires totaling 0.25 and 0.24 carats respectively. The dial is set with 120 diamonds;  there are 57 more set into the case and 17 on the buckle for a total of 194. This is a limited edition of 30 pieces each in ruby or sapphire with matching alligator straps. Price is, of course, upon request but if you’re going to go for one of these beauties you might as well throw in a piece of jewelry to match.