Harry Winston’s Former Apartment Is Being Sold for $32.5 Million
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DIAMOND IN THE SKY: A Fifth Avenue apartment that once belonged to the famed jeweler Harry Winston is on the block for $32.5 million.
The six-bedroom, pre-war digs at 927 Fifth Avenue has four fireplaces, a library, formal dining room and five bathrooms. All total, there are 14 rooms in what is considered one of Manhattan’s white-glove co-ops.
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Decades have passed since Winston last stayed in the apartment. However, it seems as though the famed jeweler spent a fair amount of time sprucing up the Upper East Side apartment. After buying the apartment in 1950 and spending a year renovating it, he moved a year later. In 1976, Winston sold the property to its current owner Judith Hernstadt, who is an art collector.
Located at the corner of East 74th Street, the building has its own lore. Warren & Wetmore, the architectural firm behind Grand Central Station, completed the Renaissance Revival style structure in 1917.
Winston, who died in 1978 at the age of 82, was the son of immigrants. After spotting a green stone in a tray in a costume jewelry store at the age of 12, he bought it for a quarter. He recognized it as an emerald and resold it two days later for $800.
The Winston family first opened a store on the West Coast in 1909 and Harry Winston later returned to New York to unveil his first business, the Premier Diamond Company. The Harry Winston business bowed in 1936, and its namesake also amassed a prized collection of historic jewels that was second only to the British royal family by 1952. The company opened its first international salon in Geneva in 1955 and continues to cater to global clientele.
Known as the “Jeweler to the Stars,” Harry Winston provided diamonds and other multimillion-dollar jewels for such films as “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” with Marilyn Monroe, “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” with Kate Hudson and “Maid in Manhattan” with Jennifer Lopez.
But back to Winston’s former ninth-floor Manhattan apartment overlooking Central Park. The building’s former residents have also included the actress Mary Tyler Moore and newscaster Paula Zahn. Many New Yorkers may unknowingly know the structure for another one of its residents, albeit an intermittent one. After building a nest on the co-op’s exterior, the red-tailed hawk “Pale Male” captivated scores of birdwatchers and the curious alike.
Winston’s former apartment in the Pierre Hotel was a short walk from the flagship store for his signature brand that continues to be housed at 701 Fifth Avenue.
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