Harry Winston, Inc.

So I would get a Louis Monet.

He would get a Harry Winston.

And we would hang out.

Oh, look at this watch.

yeah I need to look up a pic of that because I did see something about that and I was like oh JLo it was a

Harry Winston ring and of

course

it was

Their youngest daughter, Evie, died of an overdose, and Evelyn herself died of pneumonia in 1947.

Now, in 1949, the diamond was sold to Harry Winston.

So what's Harry Winston going to do with this cursed stone? Well, Harry Winston was a genius at turning bad things into fortuitous things.

And he thought if he couldn't sell the stone, he would donate it to the United States government, to the Smithsonian.

So he donated it to the Smithsonian and he sent it to the Smithsonian in a small registered mailbox, which is probably not the safest way to send it, but who's going to question a small registered mailbox? And then when the IRS was alarmed at the amount of valuation he assigned to the Stone and they questioned his tax returns, he simply looked at them and said, go find me another one to compare it with.

One man once tried to walk away.

As Confer tells it, Harry Winston, the biggest name in jewelry of his time, handed his box back and tried to buy rough diamonds directly from Angola.

Quoting from Confer, one phone call made from a British cabinet member to a high official in Portugal.

The Crown, the member said dryly, would regard a deal between the colony and Mr. Winston as an unfriendly act.

Just don't try to sell it.

Another is the story of Elizabeth Taylor and the famous no-name diamond.

In 1966, a rough diamond came out of South Africa's Premier Mine, and Harry Winston, who we heard of previously, cut it into a flawless 69-carat pair.

In 69, it went on auction in New York with an unusual condition.

To me, the funniest moment, I think, is when they're getting Jennifer Lopez ready for the ball, right? And they're getting her dressed.

And the clerk at the jewelry store is wrapping up the necklace that she's going to wear, which is just like Harry Winston necklace that she's going to let her borrow.

And she makes Ty, the son, take this oath on the necklace.

Like, I swear that my mom will not take this off of her neck.

And, uh, and so, uh, was, was a, i- but it was just a continuation of what my mother and father had taught us, and but I grew up pretty quick and, uh, kinda independent, and I remember trying to buy the water company from Asbury, owned the water company in Wilmore, and I was trying to buy that for him when I was in g- from them when I was in g- uh, college at Asbury.

And, and then we s- we, my little brother and I and, and, uh, d- uh, Dittos and his brother David, uh, started buying diamonds from Harry Winston.

We were in, in, uh, when we were in college and selling them to our friends who were getting married and-

Wow.

So he took most of the goods to a friend's house in Detroit, Michigan.

Interestingly, a valuable Harry Winston necklace ended up with a mobster who was an FBI informant.

and so bobby comfort was trying to help nalo fence the stolen jewelry but they're not liking the deals they're getting they tell everybody else in the group hey we're gonna take this jewelry we're gonna reconvene in about a year from now and we'll divvy out what we've sold by then but right now the heat is on we're just gonna lay low for a while But Bobby and Samuel, they're not laying low and they're not waiting a year to sell this.

They're trying to dump this jewelry as fast as possible.

He claimed one box had $500,000 in cash bundles.

Another had $3 million worth of $500 bills.

Inside one box was the $750,000 Harry Winston diamond necklace that belonged to the Baroness.

They filled four suitcases with stolen goods in a little over two hours and left 75 to 100 boxes unopened.

so it starts with like the so basically the last episode of season three you know to remember i don't know if you remember but chuck bus gets stabbed Was it shot? No, he got shot.

He got shot and he was like clinging on to this Harry Winston engagement ring.

Oh, for Blair.

For Blair.

...

Harry Winston's, the, the DeBeers-

[laughs]

... you know, whoever it was-

Well, they're serious topics, but we're fun people, so it'll still be an entertaining journey.

I have a marketing agency that is founded in the luxury sector, mostly because I have not just worked in luxury for 40 years, I have lived in that luxury world because of my career with Harry Winston and Mikimoto and Chopard.

Some of you out there may even know Bullock's Wilshire, but not California versions.

Virgins, the people who know California will know Bullock's Wilshire.

You know, you are so relatable because you speak in normal English.

You're bubbly and accessible and fun.

When I got hired at Harry Winston, I was the exact opposite personality of everybody who worked there.

And I...