This is the 12th year of the Opus timepiece, a yearly collaboration between Harry Winston and an alternating set of well-known independent watchmakers.

Emmanuel Bouchet and Augustin Nussbaum worked together for the past 2 years to create this year’s Opus 12. “This exceptional timepiece deliberately overturns the perception of time by drawing its inspiration from the Copernican revolution according to which the earth rotates around the sun and around itself.”

What is so special about this timepiece, is the hour and 1/12th of an hour (five minutes) displays via a rotating, double-hand system. Animation of the minute hands occurs every five minutes and makes an audible, but not annoying, clicking sound, as a result of the massive amount of torque the movement makes to complete this process.

Animation of the 12-hour hands at each hour, is not audible, like the 5-minute change, but it is more visually impressive, as it requires 13 hands to turn before the final hour hand displays the hour. A retrograde five-minute display in the center of the dial, a power-reserve indicator, and small seconds in the center of the dial complete the display functions of this horological masterpiece.

The designers deliberately abandoned the chamfering used in traditional watchmaking for the movement. The mainplate and upper bridges are shot-peened and NAC-coated. Lower bridges shot peened, adorned with circular Côtes de Genève and nickel palladium coated. Retrograde minute. Power-reserve display with NAC-coated lower part, shot-peened, and rhodium upper part. Small seconds with frosted sapphire crystal.

Opus 12 comes in a 46 mm 18k white gold case with an anti-reflective sapphire crystal and water resistance of 30 meters. The movement consists of 607 parts, 80 jewels, 2 barrels, 24 hands, and has a power reserve of 45 hours.

The Harry Winston Opus 12 (Ref. 500/MMEB46WL.K) comes with a hand-sewn black alligator leather with folding buckle, polished 18k white gold

Retail is $258,700.

Photos by Harry Winston.