Alvin Wong 07 July 2020

Tough, architectural and multi-dimensional like a Harry Winston diamond.

For the 14th consecutive year since the debut of the Project Z collection, Harry Winston has continued to entice and surprise with a creation that is decidedly distinct from the rest of its repertoire that typically brims with extravagant baubles and brilliance.

The Project Z watches set themselves apart through both spirit and form. Core to the collection is the material Zalium, a proprietary alloy comprising primarily of zirconium and aluminium that’s known for its ultra-hardiness. Emanating a unique tone that’s several shades lighter that gun-metal, Zalium is rated to be tougher than titanium but extremely light. It is also notoriously hard to machine – one cannot simply stamp out a case from Zalium, but instead, it has to be fastidiously machined from an ingot.

Although the look and properties of Zalium anchor every Project Z watch, the timepieces are probably best loved for their mind-boggling dials. Combining elements of steampunk design, avant-garde looks, and futuristic aesthetics, and complemented often by retrograde and jumping numeral displays, the Project Z line interprets Harry Winston’s signature ostentation as artful sports watches.

Although this year’s Project Z14 is relatively ‘simple’ in premise, like its predecessors, the watch is a sight to behold. The dial comprises an off-centred time display and a 30-second retrograde counter that fans out at the bottom – nothing too complex. Likewise, the movement that drives the watch is engineered with simple, purposeful performance in mind – an automatic movement with silicon balance spring, offering 65 hours of power reserve.

The embellishments that surround the indicators, however, are a different story. Harry Winston describes the dial decorations as a ‘performance’, and justly so. Like an Art Deco sculpture reimagined for the 21st century, the dial is an avalanche of lines, layers and angles vying for your attention.

At its base, a plate with Cotes de Geneve decoration provides an eye-catching backdrop. Elsewhere, hollowed out bridges, a skeletonised chapter ring, blued screws, and a translucent sapphire retrograde plate combine to provide both visual drama, as well as offer legibility. The spectacle is framed by a 42.2mm Zalium case, featuring a chamfered bezel as well as trademark arches that recall the entrance to Harry Winston’s Fifth Avenue Flagship Salon.

As it is with previous Project Z watches, there are lots of ornamental touches on the Project Z14. In lesser hands, the approach would have resulted in a tangled mess. Conceived by a company boasting master jeweller’s design chops, the Harry Winston Project Z14 is a multi-facetted work of art. Limited to 300 pieces.

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Alvin Wong

Ex Editor-In Chief

Alvin promises not to be a douche when talking about watches. He may have scoured the Basel and Geneva watch fairs for the past 15 years, and played an instrumental role to the growth of Singapore's pioneering horological and men's lifestyle publications, but the intrepid scribe seeks to learn something new with each story he writes.