Wed, May 10, 2017
Both architectural and technical, the eleventh edition of Harry Winston’s Project Z, has a unique mechanical personality that is asserted through its dial.
Made of Zalium, an alloy exclusive to Harry Winston, Project Z11 has a sporty, yet decisively elegant style. With its openwork structures, off-centered grid and large date, the design is based on an interplaying set of circles and angles, rigour and flexibility, durability and lightness.
All of these elements produce a balanced harmony and create a timepiece that is made to be worn and admired every day. Its noble automatic movement is enhanced by its quality finishing, adding to the mechanical spirit of Project Z11.
The identity of each Harry Winston Project Z timepiece relies on the assertion of the mechanism, an architectural design, a search for ergonomics and a unique Zalium case. Building off the strength of these qualities, Project Z11 is a highly wearable timepiece with a modern design and strong technical quality.
The screws, grids and key elements that define its appearance are inspired by Harry Winston’s city of origin, New York – the city’s superstructures, steel beams and ambitious constructions that defy gravity. The architectural ambition of Project Z11 is to provide comfort, the hallmark of the perfect alliance between form and function.
Project Z11 follows in the Z10 and the Z9 tradition, with its skeleton dial revealing its functional role: holding the indicators. Its openwork and matte-finished structures accentuate the entire timepiece without covering it. They support the hour and minute dial. They also anchor the large date indicator. They add the power of black to Project Z11’s set of blue and gray colours.
The dominant colour of the Project Z11 is gray, due to its Zalium case – an alloy exclusive to Harry Winston. Zalium has defined Project Z and has been its guiding theme since its inception. Its gray hue is reinforced with a satin finish that covers the entire case. All its edges and recesses - on the bezel, the contour of the lugs, and the three Harry Winston arches topping the crown - are highlighted by cleverly calculated and perfectly executed bevels.
True to the Project Z series, Project Z11 features blue accents. In fact, it is the phosphorescent material which coats the hands, the frames of the large date and each hour marker. This blue colour is also found on the bracelet, consisting of a rubber base covered in a leather insert with a blue denim trim.
Contrary to what its design suggests, Project Z11 is not a concept timepiece, but is steeped in an ergonomic approach. It has a diameter of 42 mm and is only 10.6 mm thick, lighter than steel and extremely resistant to any corrosion thanks to Zalium.
Each Project Z is known for its complication and its presentation. Project Z11 is fitted with an HW3206 calibre, which is highlighted by its position and the size of its double aperture date. Located at 6 o’clock, framed by a double aperture, it reveals the entirety of the two calendar disks, jewels, screws and levels.
This sophisticated date is coated with phosphorescent material, which allows the reading of the date in the dark.
With the date occupying the 6 o’clock space of Project Z11, the natural rules of symmetry demand a strong presence at 12 o’clock, where the hours and minutes are located in an off-centered sub-dial. Between them, another distinctive sign of Project Z appears: the Shuriken, which acts as a second hand, is in the middle of the dial in bright blue over a polished mirrored background.
The HW3206 calibre is an automatic mechanical movement, with a frequency of 4Hz. With a 72-hour power reserve controlled by two serial barrels, this movement is driven by a silicon balance spring. Project Z11 beats to the rhythm of the most cutting-edge material. The HW3206 calibre offers a sophisticated range of finishes: chamfering drawing, circular Côtes de Genève. These surface effects are found on the dial side, revealing the entire Project Z11 movement.
The timepiece face offers a panoramic view of the HW3206 calibre. Large radiating Côtes de Genève, centered on the hour and minute hands, occupy practically the whole visible surface of the timepiece face. These finishes reinforce the design of Project Z11 and add a profound final touch to its highly mechanical and exclusive spirit.
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