Harry Winston Project Z6 Black Edition: An “Opus” of a Sports Watch

The Harry Winston Opus watches are many things, but sports watches they ain’t. For that, you’ll need the Harry Winston Project Z6 Black Edition. One of only 300 made, the Project Z6 Black Edition combines 100-meter water resistance with a 44mm PVD Zalium case and a multifunction alarm. For those who want to take their Opus “Offshore,” this is the ticket.

The Harry Winston Project Z6 Black Edition is the brainchild of a veritable brain trust. This big black beast was a joint product of visionary Max Busser (MB&F, Harry Winston Opus Series), designer Emmanuel Gueit (Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore), and movement maestro Jean-Francois Mojon (Chronode, Harry Winston Opus 10). Together, their talents yielded the Harry Winston Project Z sports watch collection in 2004. Like the Olympian Opus series, each new “Project Z” model explores uncharted waters of complication, function, and design style.

With the 2011 launch of the Harry Winston Project Z6 Black Edition, the design team at Harry’s sought to channel the energy and imagination of Gueit’s 1993 Royal Oak Offshore while infusing the result with practical complications. A 44mm PVD case in aerospace-grade Zalium. The compound, which is comprised principally of zirconium, is lighter than steel but harder than titanium. For good measure, it was developed by Harry Winston’s own father, Ronald.

The Zalium case wears with the lightness of titanium, and a clever system of double-knuckle strap joints permits a close fit on a wide range of wrists. Gueit provided a broad and flat case back to interface with the wrist, so the Project Z6 spreads is already minimal mass evenly over a large surface. The result is a downright feathery presence that belies the Black Edition’s menacing visuals.

A dial of layered elements provides visual intrigue and easy reading. No fewer than seven separate indicators and five separate finishing techniques create a source of endless fascination for connoisseurs of haute horlogerie, but these aficionados may be surprised at the practicality of Harry Winston’s arrangement.

The time of day is read from the dial at upper left. It bears a corresponding AM/PM indicator for clarity. Diagonally opposed at lower right, the alarm setting is displayed on double discs that bear hours and minutes.

But therein lies a key advantage of the Project Z6’s alarm: it can be set to distinguish between AM and PM alarm settings. For good measure, an on-off alarm arming indicator is provided at six o’clock, and the impeccably finished alarm striker is visible through a skeletonized segment of the dial. It sounds as good as it looks; the Project Z6 alarm packs the sustain and musical tone of a minute repeater.

Once Busser had set the course and Gueit had set the stage, a movement was needed, and Harry Winston turned to Opus X creator Jean-Francois Mojon and his Chronode team for a serious power plant. The Chronode C 502 becomes the Harry Winston HW 1010, and the exquisite Chronode complication arrives in the Project Z6 with its high horology credentials intact.

The HW 1010 is a state-of-the art manual wind caliber with a 3-day (72-hour) power reserve, on/off alarm, dual spring barrels, and finishing standards worthy of Geneva’s finest. No mechanical refinement is neglected; even the on/off toggle for the alarm function is provided with a dedicated miniature column wheel cycler. When mundane functions receive the same lavish engineering as top-grade chronograph movement, it’s clear that Harry Winston and Chronode intended to take no prisoners in the top-shelf sports watch stakes.

One of the few truly new alarm calibers to be created in the 21st century, the HW 1010 permits winding and setting of both time and alarm functions from a single crown. This solution is user-friendly, quick, and it preserves the clean lines of the Harry Winston Project Z6; there’s no awkward array of additional crowns or pusher to mar the case flanks. In fact, the only function actuator separate from the crown is the on/off toggle for the alarm, and it sits seamlessly disguised as the lower flank of the Project Z6’s crown guard.

All caliber C 502 movements are chronometer certified before they leave Chronode’s Le Locle manufacture, and the finishing of all elements is superb. Mirror-quality anglage graces every bridge, brushed elements adorn the levers, and every screw head evinces the tender touch of traditional Swiss artisans. As a manually-wound movement, there is no rotor to obscure any part of this spectacle.

If high times and high horology are on the agenda, this Harry Winston Project Z6 Black Edition should be on your wrist. Not only does it pack the pedigree of the Opus series, but it recaptures the roguish charm of the original Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore.