With all hands on deck for charity, the House of Harry Winston donates a unique timepiece for the 2017 Only Watch Charity Auction.

For its sixth year participating in the watch industry’s most prominent charity auction, Harry Winston will donate a special Ocean model in support of the Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy cause.

It is a custom Ocean Big Date model, which you might already know is housed within the Maison’s Project Z Collection. The collection has already produced some of the most complex and refined mechanical complications, not just for the brand, but also in terms of watchmaking writ large. So there is much to be expected from this special model.

At first glance, it’s clear that the one-off timepiece contains many signature elements of the collection. That includes, for example the excentered hours and minutes with a big date window at 6 o’clock. The watch also comes in the standard 42mm sized Ocean case, this time in 18k white gold.

The very masculine look of the watch is accentuated by the multi-layered and highly architectural dial. Reminiscent of the steel girders, beams and screws that make up the spine of New York City’s gravity-defying skyscrapers, this watch also pays homage to the city where Harry Winston was established by the eponymous founder.

The contemporary openwork dial is set against a background of large radiating Côtes de Genève bridges, while four matte black structures anchor the hours and minutes disc and the big date window. Two independent rotating discs bearing the numerals that feature inside the big date window naturally gravitate the eye towards the lower half of the dial.

Underneath we have a very sophisticated automatic movement with twin barrels and a flat silicon balance spring, delivering a solid power reserve of 72 hours. The energy comes courtesy of the 18K white gold openwork rotor of the HW3206, which has been adorned beautifully with Côtes de Genève finishing.

Because this is a special edition timepiece, the open case back is engraved with the inscription “Only Watch 2017 Unique Piece”. The watch also incorporates the thematic accent colour of this year’s auction, with a sporty black alligator leather and rubber strap with yellow stitching, complemented nicely by the yellow accents on the dial.

With all that said, the Ocean Big Date Only Watch is sure to make a sizable contribution to the over 25 million euros already raised by the charity auction over the years.