‘The sunflower is mine,’ claimed Vincent van Gogh. Technically speaking, van Gogh’s Sunflowers, the most famous work among a series of five paintings given that name, actually belongs to Yasuo Goto, a Japanese insurance magnate who paid a then-record-breaking £24.75 million (or thereabouts) for the oil-on-canvas study back in 1987. Van Gogh’s haughty claim also discounts the flower’s exalted status among the Aztecs, Ancient Greeks, 15^th-century Spanish sailors, Renaissance Italians, Victorian Brits, contemporary Chinese artists, and the American fine jeweller Harry Winston – all of whom have found meaning in the forb’s cheerful annual bloom.

No other artist has been so closely associated with the sunflower as van Gogh – and perhaps no jeweller more so than Harry Winston. The flower’s fiery motif first appeared in the brand’s archival sketches back in the ’50s, and has been a recurring source of inspiration for its jewellery designers ever since. The core Harry Winston Sunflower collection translates the flower’s signature head into a modern design featuring a round brilliant diamond centre stone framed by a halo of eight, perfectly-matched smaller diamonds that appear to float above the skin.

One of the most recent additions to the collection is a limited-edition necklace that positions a glittering yellow diamond in the centre of a halo of diamond petals. Elsewhere in the collection, a ruby centre stone add a touch of fire, sapphires evoke the blue of summer skies, while pink sapphires introduce a more tender, romantic dynamic. There’s also an all-diamond version that showcases the brilliance and clarity of Harry Winston’s diamonds, which come alive in the light.

Top image: (L) Sunflower diamond bracelet; Sunflower diamond twin ring; (R) Yellow-diamond and diamond Sunflower earrings; Yellow-diamond and diamond Sunflower necklace; Yellow-diamond and diamond Sunflower ring. This image: Sunflower diamond bracelet; Sunflower diamond twin ring, visit harrywinston.com

Yellow-diamond and diamond earrings, necklace and rings from the Sunflower collection, visit harrywinston.com

A popular European legend tells of a knight and his companion walking beside a river. The knight reaches down to pick a small blue flower for his beloved, but the weight of his armour causes him to fall into the water. As he is swept away, the knight throws the flowers to her and cries, ‘Forget me not!’ And so, according to folklore, the forget-me-not flower takes it name.

Perhaps it’s because of this romantic origin story that forget-me-nots have long been associated with faithful love, remembrance and loyalty. Archival sketches show that jewellery designers at Harry Winston have been drawing upon these delicate wildflowers since the early 1960s. Today, the Forget-Me-Not collection uses round brilliant, pear-shaped, and marquise-cut gemstones to mimic the flowers in bloom.

Forget-Me-Not sapphire and diamond twin earrings; Forget-Me-Not sapphire and diamond twin ring; Forget-Me-Not sapphire and diamond lariat necklace, visit harrywinston.com

The line – which includes necklaces, pendants, rings, bracelets, and earrings – is available in pink sapphires, rubies, blue sapphires, and all-diamond variations (while blue is the classic colour of forgot-me-nots, there are also varieties that bloom in pink and white). For summer 2026, Harry Winston introduces twin pendants and earrings in pink sapphire and diamond, ruby and diamond, blue sapphire and diamond, and all-diamond variations. Select pieces feature twin motifs, where two blossoms are set side by side, making for a contemporary, delicate design and an interplay of light.

Left: Forget-Me-Not sapphire and diamond twin earrings; Forget-Me-Not sapphire and diamond twin pendant necklace. Right: Forget-Me-Not diamond twin earrings; Forget-Me-Not diamond twin pendant necklace; Forget-Me-Not diamond twin ring; Forget-Me-Not diamond bracelet, visit harrywinston.com

When Harry Winston introduced the cluster motif in the 1940s, it revolutionised diamond jewellery design. Previously, fine jewellery tended to use symmetrical arrangements and prominent metal settings. The cluster motif shifted the focus from the setting to the brilliance of the diamonds themselves. Where Harry Winston led, other jewellers followed. Today, the cluster design has become one of the most recognisable and enduring motifs in high jewellery.

Forget-Me-Not diamond twin earrings; Forget-Me-Not diamond necklace, visit harrywinston.com

But from where did the design originate? One winter evening, according to the American jewellery house, Mr. Winston noticed a holly wreath dusted with snow and frost. He was captivated by the way the ice crystals scattered and reflected light. He’d always believed that diamonds should dictate the design, rather than being constrained by heavy, geometric settings.

So, instead of arranging stones in symmetrical rows, Winston and his head designer, Nevdon Koumrouyan, began grouping diamonds of different cuts into organic, asymmetrical compositions. The effect was to create clusters of different-angled diamonds that resembled flowers or frost, which reflected light from multiple directions. The aesthetic, which made diamonds appear as if they were floating, became enormously influential in 20^th-century jewellery design.

Infinite Lily Cluster ring; Infinite Lily Cluster earrings; Infinite Lily Cluster diamond pendant necklace, visit harrywinston.com

Harry Winston's designers created original lily-inspired sketches around the same time the cluster motif was first developed. Drawing upon those sketches, in 2010 the house launched the Lily Cluster collection as a contemporary fine jewellery line, featuring pendants, rings, earrings, bracelets, and later additional designs. The collection transforms overlapping petals into clusters of marquise and round brilliant diamonds.

In 2023, we got an extension of Harry Winston's Lily Cluster, the Infinite Lily Cluster pendant, which evoked the transformation of a lily into a butterfly. Its looping silhouette alluded to the idea of infinity (hence the name), symbolising transformation and renewal. Since then, the Infinite Cluster line has broadened to include rings and earrings, each combining round brilliant and marquise diamonds set in platinum to create a composition that seems to flow without beginning or end.

During Mr. Winston’s life, nature was an endless source of wonder. Eighty years after his designers first attempted to capture the inherent beauty of flowers in their designs, the natural world continues to provide a source of awe and inspiration.

(L) Sunflower diamond bracelet; Sunflower diamond twin ring; (R) Yellow-diamond and diamond Sunflower earrings; Yellow-diamond and diamond Sunflower necklace; Yellow-diamond and diamond Sunflower ring, visit harrywinston.com

Photographer & Director: Ekin Can Bayrakdar @ekincanbayrakdar
Stylist: Julia Brenard
Digi Tech: Justyna Radon @justyna_radon
1st Assistant: Ruben Davies @rubendavies
2nd Assistant: Nicola Sclano @_nsgraphy
DOP & Editor: Hasan Bitirim @hasanbitirim
Post Production: White Retouch @whiteretouch

Prices for all pieces in Harry Winston's Sunflower, Forget-Me-Not and Infinite Lily Cluster collections are available upon request, visit harrywinston.com