At present time Harry Winston Inc. is the retail division of Harry Winston Diamond Corporation.

Founded in 1932, Harry Winston is the inventor of modern couture jewelry and is known as the “King of Diamonds” and “Jeweler to the Stars”. The company has an unrivalled position as the most exclusive and prestigious jewelry retailer and is known for its expertise, handmade craftsmanship, quality gems and innovative gem stone settings. The jeweler is renowned for donating the world's most famous gem stone, the Hope Diamond, to the Smithsonian Institution.

Harry Winston Inc. is headquartered in New York City, operates 18 retail salons worldwide, and intends to expand its retail network, both in the US and internationally. In addition, Harry Winston Inc. has over 150 points of distribution internationally for its exclusive line of timepieces. The company will build on its established reputation and expand its market position by introducing new product offerings to serve the needs of a growing number of affluent clients in the diamond jewelry market.

Harry Winston Diamond Corporation purchased a majority interest in Harry Winston Inc., the premier diamond jewelry and watch retailer in April 2004, and increased its ownership to a full 100% in September 2006. The acquisition of the premiere retailer realized Harry Winston Diamond Corporation’s objective of building value in a diamond business through the exploitation of synergies between the two bookends of the diamond pipeline: mining and retailing.

Company’s History

Harry Winston Inc. was established in 1932, when its founder Harry Winston closed down his first business called Premier Diamond and wanted to switch to producing his own line of jewelry.

Winston flourished during the Depression years, when he became a major figure in the New York diamond business who in many ways was personally responsible for keeping the industry afloat in the city. He boosted New York while at the same time he gained an international reputation when in 1935 he paid $700,000 to De Beers Company for the 726-carat Jonker diamond, named after a South African man, Jacobus Jonker, who found the stone on a farm.
Over the ensuing decade Winston acquired other large, uncut diamonds, including the 726.6-carat Vargas, discovered in Brazil in 1938, and the 155-carat Liberator, discovered in Venezuela in 1943. Winston also continued to purchase cut stones through estate sales. In 1949, Winston paid $1 million for the world's most famous diamond, the sapphire-blue Hope Diamond.

Although known for big diamonds and showrooms with drawn shades where salespeople often outnumbered the few customers permitted to enter, Winston had other operations that contributed to his business. He sold industrial diamonds, as well as less expensive engagement rings that could be purchased through such pedestrian channels as Montgomery Ward mail-order catalogs. By the early 1960s, Winston was estimated to generate as much as $50 million in annual revenues.

Harry Winston died at the age of 84, and one of his sons, Ronald took over the family jewelry business, in accordance with the will. He talked about the need to make the salons more accessible to a younger clientele, a theme that he would repeat periodically but never actually act upon. Ronald was credited with starting the practice of lending jewelry to actresses for the Academy Awards, which served as the firm's most overt effort at publicity. He also oversaw the opening of a new salon in Beverly Hills in 1986 and Tokyo in 1988. He also launched Winston's Ultimate Timepiece Collection, which created and sold watches in the $100,000 price range.

When Harry Winston's wife died in 1986, Ronald attempted to get his brother more involved in the business, naming him to the board of directors. Bruce in 1989 began to question Ronald's running of the company, especially in light of several years of reported losses. Moreover, during this period Ronald increased his salary from $350,000 a year, the same amount Bruce drew, to $1.13 million.
After several years of castigating one another in the press and a lawsuit filed, Ronald took some unsuccessful attempts to settle the dispute and finally managed to acquire complete control of Harry Winston Inc., buying out his brother for $54.1 million in the summer of 2000. In order to finance the deal Ronald took on a partner, the private equity investment firm Fenway Partners.

With the squabble with his brother finally ended, Ronald planned to take Harry Winston into a new era. He hired a new marketing firm to create an ad campaign to position the company as a lifestyle brand. Looking to bring in executive talent that had shied away from the company in recent years, he then hired Patricia Hambrecht, formerly with Christie's, to serve as president.

Official website: www.harrywinston.com/