Alternative views: Harry Winston’s Kaleidoscope collection

Legendary American jeweller Harry Winston found inspiration in the everyday: such was his love for rare finery he reportedly saw jewels everywhere.

In the 1990s, this fervent approach to his metier inspired the creation of the Ultimate Kaleidoscope: issued as a limited edition, the precious object gave a glimpse of Winston’s gem-set perspective. Three decades later, the Manhattan company’s high carat creation and its play of vibrant ever-hanging patterns has given shape to the Winston Kaleidoscope Collection, which counts timepieces (choose from five high jewellery and six premier models) and 32 dazzling pendants.

Finished in three sizes – small, medium and large – pendants reimagine Kaleidoscope formations of light, colour and dazzle in many-coloured morganite, aquamarine and sapphire formations; all are centred on long sautoir-style necklaces that sparkle with corresponding gems.

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Of ephemeral beauty, the marque’s technical know-how makes each pattern look like a chance configuration of precious stones. “Harry Winston is known for its iconic clustering technique, in which the stones are set in minimal metal, and arranged at varying angles, in order to maximise a stone’s brilliance,” explains Nayla Hayek, CEO of Harry Winston, Inc. “With this collection, we wanted to maintain the principle behind the clustering technique, but had to adapt it to suit the design of the Kaleidoscope motif.

“In order to do this, the challenge was to make sure the individual stone shapes fit perfectly together without any gaps, and that they were arranged in a three-dimensional display, so that the pattern was visible, accentuated and had extreme depth, which allowed each individual stone to sparkle with the utmost brilliance.”