Gems Legend series 11

Other acquisitions included the 726-carat Jonker, a rough stone that Winston split into 12 beautiful faceted diamonds, and the unusually shaped "briolette," once the focal point of a Maharaja’s headpiece which oddly disappeared in the early 1940's. In 1949, Harry Winston acquired the most famous stone of all his acquisitions: the 45.52-carat Hope Diamond. Originally mined in India, the heart-shaped blue diamond was a centerpiece of the crown jewels of pre-revolutionary France, before appearing in England and passing to King George IV. In 1958, Winston donated the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, where it remains on permanent display.

Throughout his life, Harry Winston used his wealth and influence to support worthy causes. Between 1949 and 1953, he took his most famous jewels—including the Hope Diamond, the Star of the East and the Jonker—on tour across America. The exhibition, entitled “The Court of Jewels,” raised large sums of money for local charities. Philanthropy remains at the heart of the company ethos. The Harry Winston Brilliant Futures Charitable Program helps disadvantaged young people achieve their potential all over the world. And the youth of the world are constantly in the brand's view. Yearly large-scale youth-focused non-profit events include headline sponsorships with Voices for Children, including the headline sponsorship at their 30th annual ball, a recurring partnership with the Foundation for AIDS research and, interestingly, numerous non-promoted and actually somewhat secretive but significant support to find a cure for the global AIDS epidemic.

On the for-profit side of events, the Winston brand continues its support of events such as Wedding Week held in New York City.

While Winston and fashion fit hand to glove, the brand has not heavily promoted or sponsored any event during any New York Fashion Week (NYFW) since 1969. That changed in February of 2017, when Luxe Licensing was commissioned to create a video invitation to a handful of front-row attendees during two runway shows, produced at 10:11pm. A small group of elite editors and EVPs were hand-delivered a hardbound, slim book embedded with a 5"x7" LCD flatscreen. Upon opening the invitation entitled "Into the Night," the custom video played. Nine of the ten accepted the day of, and were treated to cocktails and a private viewing pre-show.

We need to rewind to 1960 to find Winston breaking records and getting Wall Street's attention. After a large-scale De Beers meeting, he transported a significant portion of his diamond collection from his private vault to the now famous Fifth Avenue, Manhattan salon. This event was documented as the largest transport of diamonds within that era and made for a splashy news story.

These global headlines and TV coverage only reinforced Winston's ever-growing concern for his personal security and that of his family. It would mean distorting any images showing Winston's face and only grow to a much deeper concern towards the time of his death. Winston adored the camera, as long as it didn't picture him or show anyone how his diamonds were cut.

He would, though, break his own public diamond cutting rule in 1968, when he allowed a live television broadcast of the risky cleaving of the 601-carat Lesotho diamond. It was also a cleavage that proved to be wildly successful. One of the finished stones cut from the Lesotho Diamond was purchased by Aristotle Onassis as an engagement ring for Jacqueline Kennedy. While he kept his face off camera, Winston made sure the face of his watches were always in clear view. To help ensure this, he mandated his suits and dress shirts to be cut 3/4" higher than the "fashion norm." This allowed approximately 1/2" of his pressed cuff shirts to be visible below the hem of his suit sleeve (now an expected fashion must), in order to strategically display a strong portion of his timepiece. This brilliant marketing tool worked wonders as his hands and arms were widely photographed. Some claim this is the reason his watch ads offer an extreme close-up of the timepiece face.

One secret that Swatch Group couldn't confirm originated from Winston, but many rumors in Winston's wheelhouse of thought stemmed from the 1920s through the 1960s. Winston had a deep fascination with the time 10:11. Many speculate why this odd and very specific time meant so much to him. Winston would always ensure his timepieces were shot displaying the exact time of 10:11. Ad agencies were quick to adopt this tool as it allowed any branded watch name to be clearly visible and command attention at the top, bottom or sides of the watch face.

Others enjoyed the 10:11 hands of time appearance, expressing that the static watch image appeared to be "active." Still others thought it was a gentle means of moving one's eye to the watch fob, often a highly branded element. Regardless of the reason, you will never see any watch advertisement anywhere in the world that doesn't follow the 10:11 rule today

Anyone searching today will find it impossible to locate any image of Harry Winston's face (except for a single publicity shot only available in high resolution by licensed agreement). This was due to Winston's constant concern about exposing himself or his family to undo harm. Even at personal events, Winston would flee from cameras. If he found someone trying to distribute an unapproved image that showed his face, that individual would be served with a lawsuit. This process continues to this day, now purely based on brand equity and brand image.

Harry Winston died in 1978. He left his company to his wife, who upon passing, gave all assets to their two sons. But owning the world's prestigious diamond emporium isn't easy. Swatch Group acquired the design house when the company suffered serious financial debt, while a two-decade-long battle continues between the Winston brothers erupting into numerous legal challenges questioning their remaining equity.

Still, Harry Winston's legacy lives on in the brand that bears his name. From his legendary Manhattan salon on Fifth Avenue to London, Paris, Tokyo, Shanghai and beyond, his famed initials are forever framed in an emerald-cut outline, his most desired form of diamond cut.

Source

Caption for the top image: A seldom seen photograph of Harry Winston showing his back while he gazed out from his NYC office windows was blended with branded images. (Original photo: Getty Images, with approved photo effects by Luxe Licensing. Swatch Group (c) 2019)

Dan Scott is a Brand Architect with Luxe Licensing with current and past clients including Harry Winston, Chanel and Gucci jewelry as well as newly launched brands. He welcomes conversation and is available at dans@luxelicening.com.