It has been just over a year since the Swatch Group acquired Harry Winston. What has changed over this period and how has the brand evolved?
The highlight this year is the development of the very authentic Harry Winston watch collection, and we managed to do it even quicker than expected. In parallel, we further invested into the jewellery production and will continue to strengthen it. The good progress we made with both favoured the opening of a few selected new stores.
Last year we were able to present the first Harry Winston watch collection genuinely produced by us – it was quite a challenge to achieve this in such a short time. It was a good collection and yet, in my eyes it needed some more fine-tuning. This year, time was more on our side allowing us to have an extra look at the details at each step of the production, be it cases, bracelets or the setting of diamonds. I think we are on the right path with the watch collection today, being able to present our customers a balanced watch collection with some extraordinary pieces.
So we can already see the imprint of the Swatch Group in the collection to a certain extent?
Yes. Retailers start to gain confidence again because they see that also the watches are selling well. The products themselves have always been well received because of their design. However there were various problems with pricing, or with the available inventory on the markets, parallel sales on the Internet and such. Now we have tidied things up and both Harry Winston and its retailers are reaping the harvest of the considerable efforts we undertook in these areas.
Are these details you mention the reason that you saw potential in Harry Winston?
Harry Winston always had a promising potential for watches. We are, of course, very happy to have Blancpain helping us a lot with the construction and production of movements. The two teams work very closely together. On the other hand, our team at Harry Winston has a very solid experience in design and stone setting. We can now combine this with the Swatch Group expertise - the result is great!
Harry Winston has always been a strong brand for men’s watches. We followed along these established lines for the men’s collection, strengthening it with our own ideas. At the same time this gave us more time to develop products for women – smaller products specifically designed for ladies. So this year these smaller watches with small complications have been very well received by the markets, particularly in Asia.
In the realm of men’s watches, Harry Winston is famous for two particular models, the Histoire de Tourbillon and Opus series. We have seen a sixth model in the Histoire de Tourbillon collection at Baselworld. Can you confirm that the Opus series will also continue?
Yes, the Opus series will continue. The ingenious personalities contributing to the Opus ideas traditionally come from the outside, and we will keep it that way. We do want to include independent creators. They will of course benefit from the industrial strength and expertise of the Swatch Group to bring their ideas to life.
A lot of independent designers and creators are keen to benefit from the Swatch Group’s knowledge, others a bit less. You know, it is one thing to conceive an idea; it is another to take it to the real product. In general, people are happy that their ideas can be brought to fruition, but it obviously needs a lot of efforts from both sides, and also considerable investments.
We don’t want to change the Opus concept. It wouldn’t make sense. Therefore Swatch Group will not come forward with designs and ideas for Opus, but if we can help with our expertise for the realization, we will be happy to do so.
Do you have a personal preference in the 2015 Harry Winston collection?
I think it gets harder and harder to have a personal preference. There is too much choice! But if you insist and I had to choose… The Premier Shinde is one of my favourites. Also the Premier Precious Butterfly is fascinating, because the dials change on every watch. I also like the captivating Midnight Diamond Stalactites. There you are; these are my three personal preferences.
What are your plans for the future for Harry Winston?
There are a few things we are working on though I cannot go into detail about our plans. It will be unique to Harry Winston, a first. Marc and I have some ideas. We will see if it works out. We also have concepts for the Histoire de Tourbillon for the next few years. The realization is in good hands. And of course we are working on the Opus projects. You know, this kind of thing takes a lot of time. All in all, Harry Winston has quite some plans - and a bright future ahead!
