Year: 2005
Case No: No. 2/7; 017’650
Model Name: Opus V
Material: Platinum and diamonds
Calibre: Manual, cal. ARCAP P-40 Opus V
Bracelet/Strap: Alligator
Clasp/Buckle: Platinum and diamond-set Harry Winston pin buckle

Harry Winston’s Opus collection was a revolutionary collaborative effort between the famed brand and selected renowned independent watchmakers to produce a series of limited edition, unique, and unusual complicated timepieces. The effort began in 1998 when Harry Winston hired Max Büsser as director of rare timepieces, and finally launched in 2001 with the Opus One, a collaboration with François-Paul Journe. Büsser sought to make cutting edge watches with some of the brightest talents in the horological world that pushed the limits of both the design and the mechanics of watches. The Opus V was an impressive collaborative effort developed with Felix Baumgartner, co-founder of the independent brand, Urwerk. Its unusual yet mesmerizing three-dimensional time display features three rotating and revolving cubes that indicate the hours, along with a retrograding minute scale. While 45 examples of the Opus V were produced in platinum and 18K pink gold, respectively, the present lot in platinum, pavé set with round brilliant diamonds, is one of only seven pieces in this configuration. Only one other example has appeared at auction to the best of our knowledge since its manufacture in 2005, attesting to its extreme rarity. Offered in crisp condition, the lavish adornment of the case in diamonds is expertly done, as one would expect from a Harry Winston creation, and the crown is set with a rather large diamond. The Opus V was the world’s first wristwatch to display a service indicator on the case back, a trait which many subsequent Urwerks now possess and that other manufactures have incorporated into their own designs. The satellite time display, rotating hour indicators, and retrograde minute hand have all also found their way into later references introduced by the tandem masterminds of Felix Baumgartner and Martin Frei. This example incorporates some of the earliest characteristics of Urwerk’s DNA, acting as a precursor to the designs which have become some of the most distinctive and appealing of contemporary independent watchmaking.