Newly introduced in the Midnight Collection, Harry Winston Monochrome watch is more of a looker than a complicated timepiece and is distinguished by its dial that imitates the appearance of a honed slate stone. Despite of not being too radical or intricate, it is still a respectable timekeeper since it has a completely in-house designed and constructed self-winding movement. Its high-end origin is illustrated by its pretty decent price of $22,300 which is also heavily influenced by the fact that the watch comes with a 42 mm wide white gold housing. Alongside with this male version, the Genevese watchmaker has likewise released a feminine iteration of the timepiece. Ladies’ Midnight Monochronome has the same type of a dial, but in a silver metallic shade. Unlike the mechanical men’s counterpart, the women’s watch by Harry Winston is made with an ETA-produced quartz movement, yet it almost has the same price ($21,200), since it includes a red gold 39 mm case embellished with over 100 diamonds with the total weight of around one carat.
Harry Winston Midnight Monochrome Automatic Watch
Unlike some of the models by Harry Winston we have previously written about (for example Histoire de Tourbillon 4, Ocean Tourbillon GMT or Opus XIII), newcomers from the Midnight collection are not as complicated. However, they are still quite a long way from affordable watches, simply because they both retail at around $20,000. The basic shared trait of these timekeepers is a dial that replicates the appearance of a slate stone with a honed finish. Whereas the male one features a metallic gray colored face, the ladies’ version is a bit lighter and comes in a silver metallic shade.
Male Version with a Visible Self-Winding Movement
Men’s Monochrome Automatic by Harry Winston (with the reference number MIDAH42WW003) is made with a mechanical movement and is therefore more appealing on a purely horological level. It comes with a Caliber GP 3300 which is completely constructed in the brand’s workshops in Geneva. The self-winding movement is comprised of 191 components in total and incorporates 27 rubies in its construction. It has the width of 26.2 mm and the thickness of 3.2 mm. As far as its regulating organ is concerned, the movement comes with a flat balance spring and an annular balance wheel, while it operates at the frequency of 28,800. Its two spring barrels are set in series and one of them is equipped with a slipping spring.
Thanks to them, the proprietary Harry Winston movement provides a power storage of 45 hours. When functions are concerned, the movement only enables the display of hours, minutes and a date of which the latter one is shown via an aperture set at the six o’clock position. The movement is decorated with a Cotes de Geneve pattern and is circular grained, as it can be seen through the transparent case-back. The rotor with the brand’s logo is the first thing one is bound to notice while looking at the flipped watch. Sapphire is also used for the crystal of the watch which comes in a round 18 K polished white gold housing which features the modest diameter of 42 mm and the thickness of 9 mm. It supports water resistance to 30 meters.
Harry Winston Midnight Monochrome Automatic Watch Case Back
Harry Winston Midnight Monochrome Automatic has embossed indices on its slate-looking dial. When attachment is concerned, the watchmaker has chosen a hand-sewn black strap made from alligator leather. The leather band fastens with a 18 K white gold ardillon buckle.
103 Diamonds on the Female Model
Harry Winston Midnight Monochrome Ladies Watch
Harry Winston Midnight Monochrome Women’s model, on the other hand, features a quartz movement, with slightly smaller dimensions, as well as diamond decorations. The watch with the reference number MIDQHM39RR004 runs with the help of ETA255441 movement with 6 jewels. The only functions of this mechanism are hours and minutes. As it has been mentioned, the ladies’ model from the Monochrome collection comes with diamond decorations or with precisely 103 stones in total. It includes 12 brilliant cut stones on its dial (three at each of four major indices) and no less than 91 more gems (cut in the same way) all around its bezel and lugs (with the total weight of 0.95 carats). The watch comes in a round housing which is just slightly smaller than the one of the men’s version (the width of 39 mm and the slim profile of 6.8 mm). Unlike that one, the case of the women’s Midnight Monochrome is crafted from 18 K red gold. However, there are some shared traits, since this one also includes waterproofness to 30 meters and a sapphire crystal. There are also several differences when compared to the gentleman’s timekeeper, since its case back is solid and the attachment of choice is a brown satin strap with an ardillon buckle made from white gold.
