Harry Winston is one of the biggest names where premium jewelry is concerned, and today, we’ll share details of the brand’s most expensive jewelry.
About Harry Winston jewelry
Marilyn Monroe sang about it; remember, ‘Talk to me, Harry Winston! Tell me all about it!’ Decades later, NY had its King of Diamonds, a creator of bespoke jewelry and a legend.
Harry Winston has since turned into the biggest and the most famous diamond brand known for its stones, cuts, settings, and diamond style.
Today, Harry Winston is the ultimate epitome of feminine desire and beauty. HW pieces represent timeless elegance, boasting a selection of perfect diamonds to the most flawless diamond pieces, a mission they have lived up to since 1932 when Harry Winston Inc. was formed; and continues to rule to date.
Note that Harry Winston was created in 1896 in the city of New York by immigrant sons. Winston grew up in one of the most modest neighborhoods, and from an early age, he was exposed to business and the inner workings of a jewelry store.
In 1932, Winston had developed a huge reputation with his business soaring to the upper echelons as he started manufacturing jewelry under his own name – that was also when the Harry Winston Inc. corporation opened its doors.
One notable thing about Harry Winston is that in addition to learning about the sale of diamonds from his dad, he always had a keen eye for gems.
At the tender age of 12, Harry Winston snagged a valuable green stone from a junk tray at a pawnshop for only 25 cents. He’d presumed that the stone was valuable, but not $800-valuable.
As it turns out, that piece of stone he’d snagged was a 2-carat emerald stone. This was in 1908, so you can imagine how valuable the stone would be today.
In addition to his keen eye for details, Harry Winston wielded great power over the starts of his time, and in the 1943 Academy Awards, his diamonds draped Jennifer Jones neck, his first of many red carpet moments.
Over the years, Harry Winston’s diamonds have remained the most famous and alluring stones in the world of fashion, films, and red carpets.
The House of Harry Winston is the most successful diamond jewelry brand guided by an endearing philosophy for celebrating its ability to enhance natural beauty, thanks to one item, a precious diamond gem.
Harry Winston is the perfect blend of highly mastered craftsmanship and a high level of expertise, a brand that gave birth to some of the most exquisite jewelry pieces with impeccable settings seen in most of their pieces, as seen in collections like the Sunflower and the Lily Cluster collections.
Like other top-rated diamond jewelry brands, Harry Winston’s quality pieces are all based on the 4Cs – diamond’s carat weight, cut, clarity, and color.
Harry Winston has committed to quality by following the 4Cs, and they use these qualities to show their commitment to striking jewelry designs and excellence.
To prove this, Harry Winston’s diamonds are free of any visible inclusions, with all their diamonds selected to meet the highest quality standards. The diamond jewelry options are luminous and ethereal.
In addition to ensuring that their diamonds meet the 4Cs standards and creating striking designs oozing fluidity as well as a spellbinding harmony all intended to bring out the beauty of the diamond and its setting, Harry Winston also stands out thanks to the fact that this company offers the best quality jewelry options that feature the trademark platinum setting.
They use platinum exclusively, and the only stones used fall in the colorless diamonds category, including D, E, and F graded diamonds. These diamonds boast the highest level of brilliance.
Harry Winston also boasts the most innovative techniques to ensure the best quality diamond jewelry options. They use the finest level of craftsmanship that culminates in the most radiant and true statement pieces.
The diamond pieces give off an air of overindulgence and exuberance in a way that ensures subtle elegance and effortless luminance.
The variety of diamond jewelry by Harry Winston includes the High Jewelry Twist watch, the Lotus Cluster diamond stud earrings, the Secret Wonder ring made of platinum with diamonds and blue sapphires mounted on it, the Divine Time watch, and the 36mm Harry Winston Premier Delicate Silk Automatic watch. And these are just a few of the products offered by Harry Winston.
So, which is the most expensive piece of jewelry by Harry Winston?
Most expensive Harry Winston jewelry
Harry Winston’s most expensive piece of jewelry is the Heart of the Ocean diamond necklace, worth $20 million.
Harry Winston fashioned the unique necklace called the Heart of the Ocean, a piece that was once worn at the Oscars.
This necklace is an elegant 15-carat blue diamond, the most expensive pieces by Harry Winston.
The Heart of the Ocean Necklace’s worth
Harry Winston’s Heart of the Ocean necklace is valuable and worth $20 million.
Note, however, that the original value of the Heart of the Ocean necklace that was featured in the Titanic film that made it hugely popular was also made of a real blue 45.52-carat diamond called the Hope Diamond, which is worth an estimated value of $350 million.
The hope diamond was later cut and renamed into the Heart of the Ocean necklace.
History of the heart of the ocean necklace
The Heart of the Ocean blue diamond necklace was popularized by the Titanic film. The diamond necklace is made of a Hope Diamond that is $350 million, which is not only one of the most expensive diamonds in the world but also the most elegant and the rarest blue diamond.
The blue diamond weighs 45.52-carats, which makes it an exceptional piece. But you may not know that the Hope Diamond is a historical piece that is believed to date back over 4 centuries in India and, over the years, was handed down to different prominent names.
In 1791, however, the stone was stolen, and then it was recut. Around the same time, the diamond got the ‘Hope’ name. In 1839, the Hope diamond made its first appearance in a London gem collection catalog and was owned by a banking family.
And as it turns out, the last owner of the precious blue diamond was Harry Winston, who was a new gem merchant in New York at the time. In 1958, Harry donated the Hope Diamond to the Washington National Museum of Natural History, where it’s on display.
Here, the diamond makes up the Heart of the Ocean necklace that is now worth about $20 million.
Features of the heart of the ocean necklace
- This necklace is set on platinum and features a 15-carat high-quality blue diamond.
- The Hope Diamond incorporated in the heart of the ocean necklace now sits in the Smithsonian.
Explain why the heart of the ocean necklace is the most expensive?
Other than its rich and deep history, the heart and ocean necklace is quite pricey, first because it is made of the highest quality blue diamond with the highest brilliance thanks to its best cut and clarity.
The stone and necklace are quite valuable thanks to the fact that the ocean necklace was featured in the popular film, The Titanic.
Who owns the Heart of the Ocean necklace?
The necklace was donated to the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC by Harry Winston.
That said, the real necklace that was featured in The Titanic was unreal because the real necklace was purchased by a lady called Mary Ellen, whose parents were on the Titanic when it sank.
Conclusion
There is a great deal of conflicting information about the real Heart in the Ocean necklace, but the Hope Diamond, which was part of the 45-carat diamond, was owned by Harry Winston, the biggest and brightest names in the diamond jewelry world.
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Stephanie is a jewelry lover when she was a teenager. Her major was fashion design when she was in college. She is a jewelry designer at SOQ Jewelry and other design companies. Now she is also a writer for our website. She writes a lot of designs&brands posts with very actionable tips.