Harry Winston Diamond Corp, the Canadian mining group which owns the jewelers, has this week announced plans to build a flagship store in Shanghai.

And it will be hard to miss, boasting a 12-meter high façade a company spokesman says will be like a “billboard to the world, a billboard to the Chinese people.”

The 460-square-meter flagship store — to be opened “before January” next year — will be supplemented by a salon inside the lobby of the Peninsula Shanghai hotel.

Harry Winston has unveiled at Baselworld 2011 the Opus Eleven, created in partnership with Denis Giguet (MCT).

Three overlapping cylinders on three levels are configured to deconstruct time – the main circle is the hour’s domain, flanked by two pavilions.

One sub-circle shows the minutes on a jumping disk for the tens and a running disk for the units; the other shows off the beat of the big titanium balance-wheel.

The French police have made arrests in connection with last year’s multimillion-dollar robbery at Harry Winston jewelers and recovered some of the stolen rings, necklaces and watches.

The robbers, some dressed as women and wearing wigs, had grabbed $118 million worth of loot Dec. 5 at the store on Avenue Montaigne in Paris.

The Harry Winston Opus Series, initially introduced in 2001 and based on the successful collaboration with most gifted independent watchmakers, has been joined by a new innovative masterpiece – Opus 9.

In Opus 9, diamonds are not merely a decorative element, but the functional element of time telling. Teamed up for the 9th Opi is master watchmaker Jean-Marc Wiederecht and haute designer Eric Giroud.

Replacing the traditional watch hands and cyclical dial, time is displayed by two parallel diamond chains, for hours and minutes.

Police are hunting for thieves behind the biggest jewellery heist ever in France when they made off with diamonds and other valuables worth up to €80 million (102 million dollars) from a luxury boutique in Paris.

The three armed robbers burst into the Harry Winston jewellers on the exclusive Avenue Montaigne in the centre of the French capital yesterday. They made off with almost all the valuables in the shop.

The value of the diamonds and other precious stones and metals taken was first placed at €50 million by French police, before being revised to €80 million.

Dreaming of diamonds but can’t make a physical trip to one of Harry Winston‘s 18 U.S. store locations?

The iconic luxury brand has just announced the opening of its online salon, marking the first time the jewelry will be available for purchase via the internet.

The Harry Winston online salon showcases diamond jewelry including rings, watches, bracelets and cufflinks.