Harry Winston, Inc. is an American luxury jeweler and producer of Swiss timepieces. The company was founded in 1932 as ''Harry H. Winston Jewels, Inc.'' and changed its name to ''Harry Winston Inc.'' in January 1936. The company is named after its founder,

Harry Winston Harry Winston (March 1, 1896December 8, 1978) was an American jeweler. He donated the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian Institution in 1958 after owning it for a decade. He also traded the Portuguese Diamond to the Smithsonian in 1963 in exchan ...

, who was called by many as the "King of Diamonds". Harry Winston is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious jewelry manufacturers in the world. The company has its headquarters in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Swiss

Swatch Group The Swatch Group Ltd is a Swiss manufacturer of watches and jewellery. The company was founded in 1983 by the merger of ASUAG and SSIH to move to manufacturing quartz-crystal watches to resolve the quartz crisis threatening the traditional Sw ...

, which acquired it from the

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

-based

Harry Winston Diamond Corporation Arctic Canadian Diamond Company (formerly known as Dominion Diamond Mines, Dominion Diamond Corporation, Harry Winston, and Aber) is a Canadian specialist diamond mining company. Aside from its corporate office in Calgary, Arctic Canadian also has ...

in January 2013.

History

Early history

American jeweler

opened his first store under name ''Harry H. Winston Jewels, Inc.'' in 1932. In 1936, the company changed its name to ''Harry Winston Inc..'' Harry Winston was the first jeweler to loan diamonds to an actress for the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

, in 1943; after dressing Best Actress nominee

Jennifer Jones Jennifer Jones (born Phylis Lee Isley; March 2, 1919 – December 17, 2009), also known as Jennifer Jones Simon, was an American actress and mental health advocate. Over the course of her career that spanned over five decades, she was nominated ...

in his signature diamonds, Winston became popular with Hollywood celebrities.

Recent development

After the death of the company's founder, Harry Winston, the company went to his two sons, Ronald and Bruce, who then entered into a decade-long battle over the control of the company. In 2000, Ronald, along with new business partner,

Fenway Partners Fenway Partners is an American private equity firm that makes leveraged buyout and growth capital investments in transportation, logistics, consumer products, and manufacturing companies in the middle market. In 2002 Fenway acquired the molding ...

, bought Bruce out from the company for $54.1 million. In 2010–2011, the company's sales were €246 million in total sales and €36 million in watches. The company also got a new CEO, Frederic de Narp, formerly of the Cartier North America. He succeeded Tom O'Neill. On January14, 2013, Harry Winston, Inc. announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell its luxury brand diamond jewelry and timepiece division, Harry Winston Inc., to the Swiss

. The transaction included the brand and all the activities related to jewelry and watches, including the 535 employees worldwide and the production company in

Geneva, Switzerland Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...

Boutiques

As of 2022, there are Harry Winston retail stores in ‌ China,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, Japan,

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a p ...

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

, Switzerland,

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Noted acquisitions

The company bought the flawless blue diamond The Winston Blue on 15May 2014.

References

External links

New York Times article on Harry Winston Paris store heist
{{Authority control Design companies established in 1932 Companies based in New York City Jewelry retailers of the United States Watch manufacturing companies of the United States Luxury brands The Swatch Group Retail companies established in 1932 1932 establishments in New York City 2013 mergers and acquisitions