Harry Winston

Harry Winston Biography

Harry Winston was born on March 1, 1896 in New York City; the son of Ukrainian immigrants, Jacob and Jeanette Winston. Harry grew-up in the jewelry business, after immigrating to the US, his father and mother started a small jewelry business on New York’s west side. He would suffer his first major heartbreak at the age of seven, when his mother Jeanette passed away. His father Jacob was advised that a change would do the family good; he sold the New York business and moved to California. There in the Los Angeles business district, Jacob setup another jewelry shop similar to the one in New York. It had the advantage of being in the heart of the Hollywood film industry. His talent for discovering gems began early; so the story goes, at the age of twelve, Harry found a two carat emerald in a pawn shop for twenty five cents and sold it two days later for eight hundred dollars. Harry was sent off to the local high school, however, he spent most of his spare time in his father’s jewelry store. Three years later after graduating high school, Harry went to work for his father full time. Harry would now travel across the country selling jewelry, provided by his father’s shop; to all the gold and oil towns popping up in the US. The family would return to New York City in 1914 and his father would once again setup a jewelry repair business in upper Manhattan. This store would remain open until Jacob’s death in 1929. Harry would work there for two years before going out on his own.

In 1916 at age 19, he started the Premier Diamond Company with $2,000.00 dollars of his own money. Winston used his eye for quality and talent to start buying and selling on the New York diamond exchange. His ability to make the right decisions was quickly recognized and highly respected. In two years, he grew his company from an initial $2,000.00 to $30,000 dollars in cash and stock. His luck would not hold up, with one of his employees running off with all his stock and cash; leaving him almost bankrupt. He would survive by securing a bank loan. Winston’s eye would now find a market gap; he discovered numerous estate sales going on throughout New York State from diseased wealthy people. He found that gems were selling for a fraction of their worth, because their settings were old fashion. He realized that if he could reset them on new fashionable settings, they would be worth a lot more. One of his first finds, was the jewelry collection of Mrs. Rebecca Darlington Stoddard, a Pittsburgh coal and iron heiress. He reset the stones in new modern settings for a huge profit. He would again repeat his technique with the Acquisition of the Arabella Huntington jewelry collection, considered one of the most celebrated of the time. He acquired it for $2,000,000.00 and once again used his skill to reset it for a terrific profit. However, outside of the business, he was little known. This would change with the purchase of the Baldwin collection in 1930. The purchase included a 39 carat emerald-cut diamond and he would now find his name splattered across the national newspapers. He was now well on his way to building his personal fortune.

In 1932, Harry would close down the Premier Diamond Company and open Harry Winston Inc. He decided that rather than trade precious stones, he would focus on placing and selling them in exquisite settings. In 1933 Harry would marry his wife Edna and have two children, Ronald and Bruce; the marriage would be a happy one. His reputation continued to grow and his designs drew more notoriety. It was through his purchases that he continued to get the most publicity. In 1935, Winston purchased the 726 carat Jonker diamond for $700,000.00 dollars; it got him international recognition. He paid $30,000 dollars to have it cut into twelve diamonds. Harry even took the gamble of sending it via US Postal Service certified mail, while not being able to insure it against damage while being cut. It paid off and he was able to sell the twelve diamonds for 2 million dollars. He would again repeat this performance with 970 carat Sierra Leone diamond in 1972 and have it cut into 17 gems. The largest gem being 143 carats, which would later be cut into six gems. He would not just buy stones, he would become a collector. From 1949 to 1953, he would establish a travel exhibition called the Court of Jewels. The crown jewel being the Hope diamond, purchased from the Evalyn Walsh Mclean estate for 1 million and the whole collection worth 1.5 million. Other gems in the Court of Jewels included the Sapphire of Catherine the Great, the Star of the East, the Inquisition Necklace. To Harry it was not just about money, he wanted to show the world the beauty and craftsmanship of a well cut stone. He was also known for his acts of generosity, in 1958 He would donate the Hope diamond to the Smithsonian, followed by the Portuguese diamond in 1963 and the Oppenheimer Diamond in 1964.

For someone with an international reputation, he was a very private man. Although in 1960 he purchased and lived in a New York City townhouse; he managed to keep his picture out of the papers. Winston passed away on December 8th 1978, at the age of 82. His wife Edna survived him and took control of the company. In 1986 Edna died, leaving the business in the hands of her two sons Ronald and Bruce. The relationship between Ronald and Bruce was not a happy one and in 2000, with private equity investment firm Fenway Partners, Ronald brought out Bruce for 54.1 million dollars. Four years later Fenway Partners wanted to cash out and in 2004 Aber Diamond Corp. of Canada announced a friendly takeover of 51% of Harry Winston for 85 million; with an option to buy the rest of the company. Aber exercised its option in 2006 and took control of Harry Winston for an additional 157 million. A year later Aber took on the world renowned name of Harry Winston and the company began trading on the NYSE under the ticker symbol “HWD”.