Harry Winston brings the symbol of wealth, success and blessing to the wrists with a diamond model limited to eight units only, which is exclusively designed for the year of the Rat.
You may have heard the Chinese calendar many times before. In this calendar, 12 different animals represent each year. According to the belief that each animal's characteristics represent that year, the world order also changes. These animals are rats, ox, tigers, rabbits, dragons, snakes, horses, goats, monkeys, roosters, dogs, and pigs. The calendar re-starts every 12 years in the same order.
2020 is the year of the Rat according to the Chinese calendar, as you can guess from the model’s name. The first animal in this 12-year cycle; Rat is regarded as a symbol of wealth, abundance, intelligence, success and vitality. The red, which represents fortune, happiness, and joy, is believed to keep the evils away. Gold, especially when combined with red, is considered the strongest sign of good fortune.
Harry Winston, known for its jewelry and jewelry watches, celebrates China's year of the Rat with an elegant and stylish model, Harry Winston's Premier Chinese New Year Automatic 36mm (Ref. PRNAHM36RR028), that comes in a 36.2mm diameter pink gold case. The sapphire crystals on both the front and back of the watch have an anti-reflective coating. The case is resistant to water pressure up to 30 meters and is adorned by 57 diamonds of 2.60 carats.
In this Harry Winston Chinese-themed model, details are not limited to the colors and the concepts used. The paper cutting (jianzhi), which was used to decorate walls, lanterns, doors, and windows and to celebrate special occasions such as the New Year during the Tang Dynasty, which reigned between 618 and 907, is one of China's oldest and most popular arts. In Jianzhi, folded thin papers are cut with the help of a pair of scissors or knives to achieve a delicate balance between negative and positive areas. Traditionally, subjects such as flowers, mythological animals, Chinese alphabet characters that bring good luck and 12 animals in this calendar are used.
Inspired by the elegant art of paper cutting, Harry Winston’s artists applied the Rat motif to the dial with this technique and used gold as the material. In the background, instead of red paper, an intense red mother of pearl is used. The lines of the Rat and the surrounding landscape are made of solid 18K pink gold. Considering openwork patterns, it is not easy to create such a motif.
The clustering technique that Harry Winston uses in his jewelry and watches is also present on the dial of the Premier Chinese New Year Automatic 36mm. One of the most beautiful examples of this technique is the three-dimensional flower obtained by eight marquise cut diamonds of about 0.29 carats surrounding the sparkling diamond in the center.
In the off-center hour and minute display, diamonds are used instead of markers. Applied slightly larger at 3 and 9 o'clock, there are seven diamond markers in total on the dial. At 12 o'clock, about 0.02-carat emerald cut diamonds both tribute to Winston and refer to the mechanical caliber inside the case.
Harry Winston's Premier Chinese New Year Automatic 36mm beats with the self-winding Caliber HW2014 movement. Equipped with a silicon balance spring for better precision, the movement offers a power reserve of 68 hours at full installation.
A brilliant red alligator strap and an 18K rose gold clasp adorned with 17 diamonds complement the model, which is limited to eight units only.
