DALLAS — With plenty of Champagne, caviar and, of course, diamonds, Harry Winston welcomed Dallas society last week to its new store at Highland Park Village here.
The 1,500-square-foot space was designed by French architect Thierry Despont in a style similar to Winston’s Beverly Hills flagship, with glistening black lacquer and gilt display cases, taupe suede walls and matte metallic and undulating wood accents rimming the ceiling.
“We looked at what our clients’ idea of glamour was — Paris — and we said, ‘Let’s find the best architect who designs homes for our clients [to design the store],'” said Tom O’Neill, chief executive officer of Harry Winston and president of Aber Diamond Corp., which owns the jeweler.
Aber will be renamed Harry Winston, O’Neill noted, since the brand is more prominent.
Dallas is Winston’s fifth door in the U.S. and 13th worldwide. Next up is a new format boutique specializing in watches and an exclusive collection of men’s jewelry by designer Thom Brown launching in Tokyo next spring. Full-line stores in Osaka, Japan; Beijing, and Chicago are also on tap for 2007.
Winston’s opening price point in Dallas is a $3,200 diamond drop earring, but guests were busier ogling the hefty rocks for which the company is famous, such as a 108-carat Burmese sapphire dangling from a 90-carat diamond necklace.
O’Neill said his favorite is the 71.73-carat Lesotho One, an emerald-cut white diamond incised from a 601-carat rough diamond the size of his fist.
“Harry Winston cut 18 stones from the rough in 1967 on TV and the largest one is here,” he said. “The third largest was the 40-carat stone [Aristotle] Onassis gave to Jackie [Kennedy] for an engagement ring.”