Neither brother wanted to leave Yorkshire, so it was decided by a coin toss that Robert would move to Hitchin, Hertfordshire to establish the new branch of Harkness and Sons.

In 1901, John and Robert decided to dissolve the company and create two separate nurseries.

The new cultivar was introduced in Great Britain by Harkness Roses in 2007 as 'Rosa Belmonte'.

Blooms are double, cupped in form, 2—3 in (5–7.6 cm) in diameter, with 26 to 40 petals.

The Gold Standard is a rose award granted in the Gold Standard Trials, conducted by the British Association of Rose Breeders (BARB) and the National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB).