The Legacy collection, which took three
years to complete, conveys Harry Winston’s
lifetime obsession with the pursuit of the
perfect diamond. With a true passion for
gems, he instinctively knew whether a
great diamond lay within just by looking at
the rough. And throughout his career, he
employed people who had the same passion
and instinct.
Among them were Maurice Galli and
Ambaji Shinde. Italian-born Galli worked as
a jewellery designer for Tiffany & Co, Van
Cleef & Arpels and David Webb before he
joined Harry Winston in 1967, while Indian-
born Shinde had nearly 20 years of experience
designing pieces for maharajahs before he
joined the house in 1962.
As Harry Winston’s chief designers, Galli
and Shinde had a friendly and collaborativerelationship, and their ideas became the
cornerstones of the house. Shinde was
highly technical and meticulous, his designs
displaying the exuberance of the royal Indian
jewellery that launched his career. Galli,
who was an engineer before he turned to
jewellery design, had a knack for creating
bespoke pieces and enjoyed interacting with
the house’s high-profile clients, who included
socialites, royalty and Hollywood’s A-list. One
of his most lauded creations was a turquoise
and diamond tiara and earrings for Farah Diba,
the last empress of Iran.
Together, the two designers transformed
gemstones into fine art, and it is from their
most iconic designs that the phenomenal
pieces of the Legacy collection were imagined.
The collection’s Asia launch took place at
Harry Winston’s new boutique in Taipei, with
all 22 pieces flown in and unveiled during
a meaningful ballet performance, followed
by a gala dinner and entertainment by the a
cappella ensemble Metro Vocal Group and
veteran Taiwanese pop singer Jonathan Lee.DROP DRAMA
Necklace with a
34.27-carat D
colour, internally
flawless pear-
shaped diamond
drop and 103
round, pear-shaped
and marquise
diamonds (60.82
carats) set in
platinum; ring with
a 10.5-carat D
colour, internally
flawless pear-
shaped diamond
with six marquise
diamonds, both by
the House of Harry
WinstonLASTING
HERITAGE
Images of Harry
Winston’s
historic diamond
collection hang
on the walls
of the house’s
newly opened
boutique at Taipei
101 (below)hong kong tatler. september 2017 159