Opus 2 — “Commedie dell' Arte”

The second triumphant Opus, presented  in 2002 by Harry Winston, the jewelry and watch company, was developed by Antoine Preziuso, the famous Swiss watchmaker. Antoine Preziuso is the member of the AHCI, the Academy of Independent Watchmakers, who are able to construct a movement of any complexity. The great watchmaker  Antoine Preziuso was born in Geneva in 1957. It was just the luck of the draw, that in his early childhood Preziuso had an access to different watch movements, because at that time his father worked in one of Rolex company's offices in Switzerland. It is very interesting, that during his studying at Geneva Watchmaking School,  Antoine Preziuso's degree work was to create a complication for the standard Rolex Oyster watch. Later, in 2003, Rolex Oyster with the complications, developed by  Antoine Preziuso, namely the perpetual calendar, Moon phase indicator and the retrograde date, was sold at $ 19,396 at the Sotheby’s auction. Antoine Preziuso has won his laurels and become very famous. He has been constructing the most complicated movements to order, collaborating with the most popular watch brands in the world. For example, Antoine Preziuso developed the watch with minute repeater and perpetual calendar for Breguet company. But tourbillon, the beautiful  Breguet's mechanisms, has always been Preziuso's main passion. It is tourbillon, that has become the key zest of Opus II. According to the creator of Opus II, he was inspired by the Harry Winston boutique, located in intersection of the 5th Avenue and 56th Street in New-York, and by the life in wonderful New-York.  That is why, the dial of Opus 2 is decorated with the arch, reminding of the arch at the entrance of the famous boutique. Maximillian Büsser and Antoine Preziuso presented the brilliant timepieces, released in the limited edition of 27 items only. It's amazing, that while working on a watch, such as Opus II,  Antoine Preziuso always puts on gloves. He considers, that the human skin can damage an element of a movement or polish it more than it's necessary. The watchmaker also tries to hold breath while constructing the most precise and complicated mechanisms, as he considers, that it can adversely affect a future watch. The twelve Opuses numbered 2 are equipped with the remontage mysterieux tourbillon, developed by  Antoine Preziuso specially for this model. The frequency is 21,600 vph. This watch features the handmade skeletonized dial. The power reserve of Opus II is 110 hours. The rest of Opus II watches are powered by the same movement, characterized by the tourbillon and rather an unusual perpetual calendar. On the watch back there is a platinum lid with two openings, the first one shows the date, the second one – the weekday. By pushing the button at “3:00”, the lid opens, showing the dial of yellow gold and three retrograde counters. The counter, placed at “9:00” position, indicates the month, and the retrograde sub-dials at “12:00” and “6:00” - the weekday and the date.  It took watchmakers a great time to develop the gear train, that is responsible for the movement of the hands and the work of the calendar, placed on the watch back. The watchmakers have chosen the traditional round dial, 38 mm in diameter. The case, that is a bit thicker than of Opus 1 because of more complicated movement, is made of platinum 950. And one of owners of Opus II will possess the brilliant watch, encrusted with diamonds. In one of the interviews  Antoine Preziuso said, that he had wanted to create a “living watch”, the heart of which was the tourbillon. “We wanted people to look at the watch dial, like at the face of a film star. For example, at beautiful Marilyn Monroe's face. The movement itself is the heart of this watch”, says  Antoine Preziuso. He adds, that the two words to describe this Opus are “commedie dell' arte”, that in English mean “the presentation of art”.