Harry Winston
Harry Winston (born March 1, 1896 in Manhattan , † December 28, 1978 there ) was an American jeweler who founded one of the most famous jewelry stores in the world in New York City.
Winston's father immigrated from the Ukraine and had a small jewelry store in New York, where Harry Winston also started working. In 1915 he went into business for himself and opened his jewelry business in 1932. He bought legacies of jewels, such as the wife of a railroad magnate Arabella Huntington, who died in 1924, and gave the gemstones a more modern cut before reselling them.
Winston has bought a number of the most famous diamonds in the world over time. In 1958 he donated the Hope Diamond - acquired by him in 1949 - to the Smithsonian Institution , to which he also sold the Portuguese Diamond in 1963 . He divided the Lesotho diamond of 601 carats into 18 individual pieces, one of which he sold to Aristotle Onassis, who gave it as an engagement ring to Jackie Kennedy. Other well-known diamonds that he acquired were the Jonker (726 carats), Star of Independence (204 carats), Deal Sweetner (181 carats), Taylor-Burton (around 69.4 carats), Lal Quila (72.7 carats) , the Star of Sierra Leone (originally 968 carats), the Oppenheimer Diamant (253 carats) and Mabel Boll (around 46.5 carats)
He was also one of the most famous jewelers in the world in the public eye. For example, he is named in the Broadway song Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend , which Marilyn Monroe prefers to sing in the film Blondes . In 1943, he began lending jewels to actresses for Oscar night, which made him popular in Hollywood. He was called Jeweler to the Stars and King of Diamonds . Another name was 20th century Tavernier (alluding to Jean-Baptiste Tavernier ).
After his death, his sons Ronald and Bruce took over the business and fought for a long time to run the company. In 2000, Ronald (with business partner Fenway Partners) bought his brother Bruce for around $ 54 million. In 2013 it was taken over by the Swatch Group .
Web links
- Harry Winston, History (official website)
- Find a grave
Individual evidence
- ↑ At 19 years of age. Article Harry Winston in Francesca Sterlacci, Joanne Arbuckle, Historical Dictionary of the Fashion Industry, Rowman & Littlefield 2017, pp. 531f
- ↑ Laurence Krashes: Harry Winston, a story told in Diamonds, Gems & Gemology, Spring 1983
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Winston, Harry |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jeweler |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 1, 1896 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Manhattan |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 28, 1978 |
| Place of death | Manhattan |