Harry Winston Ocean 20th Anniversary Biretreograde 36mm

The House of Harry Winston celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Ocean Collection at Baselworld 2018. To commemorate the milestone, the House presented the stunning 18-karat white gold Ocean 20th Anniversary Biretrograde Automatic 36mm timepiece. Developed in partnership with automaton specialist Jaquet Droz, the piece marks the first mechanical high jewellery automaton in the history of the House.

Queen of the Ocean: The Harry Winston Ocean 20th Anniversary Biretrograde Automatic 36mm

The exquisite timepiece bears hallmark characteristics of the Ocean series: a biretrograde display, and excentered hours and minutes counter. Made for the woman who loves Harry Winston’s high jewellery aesthetic and appreciates the wonders of a sophisticated mechanical movement, the Ocean 20th Anniversary Biretrograde lends imagery from the ocean itself and dons a set of bold, blue Paraiba tourmalines, brilliant diamonds, and mother-of-pearl to showcase an allure like no other in its series.

Harry Winston certainly explored unchartered waters with this timepiece. Utilising an astounding grand total of 97 vibrant Paraiba tourmalines on the dial, the House developed a timepiece that captures light in a myriad ever-changing hues of tropical Caribbean waters. It is no wonder that Paraiba tourmalines are one of the rarest and most sought after gemstones in the world since its discovery in Brazil in the 1980s. Glowing an intense bright blue, they remain coveted by numerous jewellery scenes today, and the House exploits the Paraiba’s luminosity with a ribbon of Paraibas and 70 brilliant-cut diamonds to enclose the three counters of the timepiece.

Harry Winston Ocean 20th Anniversary Biretreograde 36mm

In line with the aquatic theme, the dial face is backed by white mother-of-pearl, giving the timepiece an illusion of depth and volume. The natural iridescence of mother-of-pearl is reminiscent of a glistening ocean. On the left, a retrograde seconds counter takes its place, and one the right, a retrograde days of the week counter, both separated by a magnified date window framed framed by brilliant-cut diamonds. Along with the excentered hours and minutes counter, all 3 dials are accented by Paraiba tourmalines while featuring 18-karat white gold indexes and an ethereal emerald-cut diamond at 12 o’clock.

The Retrograde

As with all timepieces with the retrograde seconds function, a hand sweeps across the arc of the seconds track and jumps back once it reaches the 30-second marker, continuously. For the new Ocean 20th Anniversary Biretrograde, a high-end Swiss mechanical automatic movement with a generous 65-hour power reserve and a new flat silicon balance spring that helps optimise the overall isochronism of the movement ensures that the timepiece runs excellently for years.

Also unveiled at Baselworld 2018: Harry Winston Ocean Biretrograde Perpetual Calendar Automatic 42mm

On the back of the case, a transparent sapphire crystal protects a novel gem-set rotor and hand-finished features on the movement. The rotor is made with 18-karat white gold, and glows with the brilliant light of 23 Paraiba tourmalines.

An alligator strap, treated in a shade of blue that compliments and highlights the Paraiba blues, fastens with an 18-karat white gold ardillon buckle that is embellished with an additional 42 brilliant-cut diamonds.

A vessel against the elements

Resistant to water up to 100 meters, the Ocean 20th Anniversary Biretrograde is not all beauty without brawn, making it suitable for wear even in outdoor water sports.

The exquisite timepiece is a precious creation that is limited to 20 pieces only.