May 24 - Harry Winston Inc, the luxury jewelry and watch retailer, is looking to more than double its store count in five years by tapping lucrative markets such as China, Russia and Dubai, its top executive said on Tuesday.

Harry Winston jewellery

Its aggressive expansion plans will boost its sales growth and take its store count to 50, from 19 currently, Chief Executive Frederic de Narp said.

A large part of that expansion will take place in China, where it will have about 10 stores in five years. The brand currently has one store in Beijing and one in Hong Kong.

"All luxury brands see China as a mass market. We see China as the most exclusive market in the world," de Narp told the Reuters Global Luxury and Fashion Summit in a telephone interview from Shanghai, where the company plans to open two stores by the end of the year.

Harry Winston Inc sees annual sales growth of at least 15 percent in each of the next 5 years, de Narp said.

Harry Winston Inc is a unit of Harry Winston Diamond Corp, which also runs a diamond mining business.

(Reporting by S. John Tilak in Toronto, Phil Wahba and Dhanya Skariachan in New York; Editing by Derek Caney)