In “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend,” Marilyn Monroe chants,
“Talk to me, Harry Winston!” Few names in jewelry are so famous. Raised in the
business by his father, Winston (1896-1978) opened his own store in 1932. He
made his name by crafting magnificent gems into incredibly beautiful jewelry. Today
Harry Winston, Inc., has retail locations in more than 20 cities worldwide, and
since early 2013 has been owned by Swatch—the Swiss timepiece conglomerate
whose brands include Omega, Tissot, Tiffany & Co. watches, and several more.
The main About Us page (“Our Story”) is here.
OVERALL GRADE: A
minus
The overall look of the About Us pages is excellent: each
has brief but informative text and large, excellent photos, usually arranged
into eye-catching collages.
Products/Services: A
If the About Us pages focused on technical details of Harry
Winston pieces (color, clarity, carat ...), they’d soon lose our attention.
Instead, the pages show stunning jewelry, beautifully photographed, often worn
by gorgeous A-list celebrities. The News page section on the
2013 Academy Awards shows no less than 6 nominees wearing pieces by Harry
Winston – with captions giving the style names of the pieces, and occasionally
an estimate of their value. Rare Jewels of the
World mentions the Taylor-Burton diamond and the 601-carat Lesotho diamond.
The legendary Hope
Diamond, donated by Winston to the Smithsonian in 1958, gets a page of its own.
In fact, the Harry Winston About Us pages offer more about famous
gems than about the company’s history. That’s a great way to emphasize Harry
Winston’s uniqueness. Only a couple of the store’s neighbors on Fifth Avenue
handle gems with histories that run to decades or centuries.
Our Commandment 2
of About Us pages is “Thou shalt not generalize”: specifics are better than
high-falutin’ mission statements. Winston Style is a
great example of a mission statement that doesn’t sound like one. The text (again
with excellent photos) explains why Harry Winston jewelry is unique: the choice
of stones, the nearly invisible platinum settings that make the gems seem to
float, the calculation of angles of reflections, the proportions. After reading
this one-page description, we have the heady feeling that we can recognize
Harry Winston-style jewelry – that we know why his pieces are exceptional. Given
how technically complex jewels and jewelry-making are, and how subjective much
description of style is, this is a remarkable achievement for a short web page
geared to non-specialists.
Personality: A
Harry Winston died in 1978, but his vision is still what
drives the brand. Rather than giving a detailed biography of Winston and his career,
the company site stresses the founder’s expertise and dedication. It also makes
Winston himself an intriguing visual enigma. The main About Us page includes 2
photos of him with his features hidden, and notes that “For security, Harry
Winston never allowed his face to be photographed.” What a clever way to imply
the treasure troves that this man routinely handled! That’s excellent corporate
storytelling in a nutshell—or, more aptly, in a diamond.
Accessibility: C
The Contact Us
page is unimaginative but adequate: contact a salon, locate an affiliate, send
an email or letter.
TAKEAWAY
Boost the impact of your corporate history by tying it to
the broad picture: world history, American history, Hollywood history.
Does your Web site’s “About Us” section
accurately convey your organization’s history and capabilities? Every two weeks
we evaluate one example, grading it in three areas that are key to potential
customers: Personality (Who are you?), Products/Services (What can you do for
us?), and Accessibility (How can we reach you?). To talk about your About Us
page, contact us!
Today’s example was chosen at random;
CorporateHistory.net has no ties to this company.
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