Pair Of Platinum & Diamond Cluster Ear Clips By Harry Winston

by Adam Colbert June 10, 2016

A pair of platinum and diamond cluster ear clips by Harry Winston. Each ear clip is composed of five pear shape diamonds; the diamonds weighing a total of approximately 45.81 carats; each diamond is accompanied by GIA certificate. Bearing maker’s mark “HW” for Harry Winston. Provenance: Largest known pair of Harry Winston diamond cluster earrings. Circa 1964.

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The Harry Winston Diamond Cluster

The Winston cluster is considered by many to be the ‘little black dress’ of a classic jewelry wardrobe. They are the most versatile pair of earrings one could wear, having the ability to suspend drops of any type of stone, as well as being perfect when worn on their own. Mr. Winston also discovered that when mounted in a pattern these clusters created a wonderful wreath of diamonds that are as timeless today as when they were first envisioned over 70 years ago.

‘I love the diamond business. It’s a Cinderella world. It has everything! People! Drama! Romance!...What more could you want?’ So said Harry Winston in The New Yorker on 8 May, 1954. The Harry Winston diamond cluster earrings are perhaps the greatest embodiment of this sentiment from the King of Diamonds. One of the most recognizable and beloved jewelry designs of the 20th and 21st Centuries, the creation of this design was truly revolutionary.

Harry Winston’s love of diamonds and their inherent beauty led to the creation of jewelry where the gemstone played a primary role, functioning as both the design element and the design itself. The cluster motif is based on setting fancy shaped diamonds at different angles to each other and within different planes, thereby amplifying the attributes that make diamonds the most prized gem of all. By setting the diamonds in this way, it allows the viewer to see only the fire, brilliance and spectral color emanating from each diamond and colliding into one another to create an unbelievably dramatic effect.

Harry Winston was the first American jeweler to consistently focus on mounting diamonds and gemstones in discrete settings to create elegant and clean designs, resulting in what is known as the ‘Winston Look’. The cluster and wreath elements are the two most significant designs that define this look and made Harry Winston not only famous as the King of Diamonds, but also helped create a jewelry legacy that will last for generations.