Q&ARaymond Weil’s Elie Bernheim And Olivier Bernheim On Their Mantra Of Infusing Art Into Brand Strategy
Raymond Weil CEO Elie Bernheim is brimming with ideas, and some of them received global accolades, such as the silver dial Millesime Small Seconds winning a coveted GPHG award in 2023. In this freewheeling interview during his trip to India in September, he talks about his strategy to combine not only music—like the Nabucco Cello Tourbillon—that had four strings stretched taut across the dial), but also the visual arts—as seen in the limited-edition Freelancer X Basquiat—and the latest being comics—as with the illustrative caseback of the Millesime Automatic Chronograph Largo Winch
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Raymond Weil recently unveiled five Millesime watches in the compact 35mm case size. Two of them feature a moon phase sub-dial with the moon looking particularly vintage-era and cherubic. Plus, it appears to be smiling! Do tell us more.
Elie: I got this happy, smiley face specially customised for our moon phase counter. For me, the smile is a sign of positivity, good energy, and has been well-received. There are plenty of moon phase watches by competitors, but emphasising on the little details like we did can make a big difference. We will soon launch two 39mm moon phase watches in the aesthetic of the Millesime Small Seconds watch that won the GPGH 2023. One will have the midnight blue dial and gold case, and the other will be closer to the winning piece, with a silver dial and metal bracelet. There’s a high demand for pairing the Millesime dial not just with the leather strap, but even metal bracelets. Later this year, we will launch the chronograph collection in 39.5mm.
Talking about case size, does size matter? In these new Millesimes, your brand consciously reduced the case sizes, as there’s a 35mm version as opposed to the standard 36mm size, and a 39mm instead of 40mm.
Elie: We also did a 40.5mm, that’s close to a 41mm. Yes, case sizes are important, but a lot depends on the way the case and dial have been designed. Watches with small cases, but slim bezels can appear bigger than big watches with thicker bezels. Precisely why a 36mm watch can look smaller than a 34mm watch. For the vintage retro look, the 35mm is probably the perfect size. I mean, 30-40 years ago, a 35mm was considered a ‘big watch’, but today it’s a ‘small watch’, and viewed as the ideal unisex size.
Concerning gender aesthetics, it’s been a while that we have seen an update about your feminine Noemia line that’s noted for two diamond trails snaking along the case.
Elie: Noemia is still part of the brand’s portfolio, but there are six different collections under Raymond Weil, and it’s not possible to launch new watches in each one of them every year. There’s a clear product life cycle, which must be respected to deliver great performance. By that logic, Noemia could make a comeback in the next few years.
Please give us a gist of Raymond Weil’s in-house movements.
Elie: We are using 10-12 different mechanical movements. We work closely with Miguel Garcia, the owner of Sellita (Swiss manufacturer of mechanical watch movements) to customise our own movements and finishes such as perlage or Côte de Genève, and even the ‘W’ shape on the oscillating mass that we specially developed for Millesime. A few years ago, we designed and developed Calibre RW1212, the in-house movement that Sellita produced for us, which runs certain watches from our Freelancer collection with the open balance wheel at the six o’clock position.
The Freelancer Basquiat Special Edition, with its signature motifs from Jean-Michel Basquiat’s artworks, is such a departure from the Raymond Weil design aesthetic. Tell us more.
Elie: Our brand territory has always been music, as evident from our watch collaborations with music bands, right from The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley to ACDC. At some point, I thought of forging a collab with famous artists. Basquiat happens to be one of my favourite artists, whose work I followed, and was impressed that he lived in New York, a city that I love, and which is the No. 1 market for Raymond Weil. In terms of creativity, the watch is out-of-the-box, and the R&D team had so much fun in creating it. I’m a big fan of details, and all the details we put into the Basquiat timepiece were well-received. Be it the sub counters with the words ‘life’, ‘death’ and ‘human, the different colours on the bezel, the motifs on the pushers, and of course, the Pez Dispenser dinosaur motif. So now, the Basquiat watch is proof that our brand can develop crazy timepieces, apart from refined, elegant timepieces. We had a commercial arrangement in place between Raymond Weil and the estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat that required us to work closely with them and get their approval on the design. The challenge for both parties was to develop a Raymond Weil timepiece but with clear identifiers that instantly linked it to Jean-Michel Basquiat.
In past interviews, you said that after the Freelancer X Basquiat edition, the brand wants to infuse more art in their future timepieces.
Elie: Art and culture are integral to Raymond Weil, though we are not too strict that it should only encompass music or visual arts. For instance, we just launched the Largo Winch limited edition, an evolution of the Millesime Chronograph Tri Compax. Largo Winch is the famous Belgian comic book series, which was adapted into a French thriller film in 2008 that became a blockbuster. With this watch, we explored what is referred to as the ninth art—comic books. It does not fall under the influence of music or painting as with our previous watches, but it’s graphic arts that brought together the DNA of Millesime and Largo Winch. Philippe Francq, the Belgian comic book illustrator behind Largo Winch, has designed the caseback. It shows the hero Largo Winch crossing the landmark Pont du Mont-Blanc bridge, with Geneva and Swiss flags in the background, reinforcing the brand’s Swiss origins.
Is it a trend that watch editions which are dedicated to a provenance rake good sale?
Elie: Yes, and we like to undertake such projects because it brings us closer to our buyers and their culture. It’s not always necessary to create the map of the country, as in the case of the Raymond Weil Freelancer Ganges India limited edition, but we can also use a specific symbol, a sign or astrological relevance.
Most of the music icons on whom the Maestro timepieces are designed, except for ACDC and half of The Beatles, have been long dead. Any plans on collaborating with a living legend?
Elie: Yes! People have asked me this question before, and I have listened to the feedback, and so you can be rest assured that the next collab is with someone who is very much alive (laughs).
Fashioned after The Beatles bestselling record, Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the Raymond Weil Maestro 'The Beatles Sgt Pepper’s Limited Edition' features a grey dial incorporating the 1967 album’s famous drum motif in black, the band logo at six o’clock and a specially configured four o’clock
Raymond Weil produced four Maestro watches themed after The Beatles. Is it because you are a hardcore fan, or you had predicted that such a collab would yield thumping sales?
Elie: I love The Beatles and their music. There are four watches because there were four Beatles. It was established before we signed the agreement with Apple Corps Limited—formed by the band members themselves to manage their rights—that Raymond Weil would produce four limited edition watches. You are also right about the sales angle, because yes, all four iterations were big commercial successes.
It’s well known that Raymond Weil’s own history is rooted in music. Most of your family members play a music instrument, and you yourself are a cellist. I believe the brand has also innovated a timepiece inspired by the cello.
Elie: Yes, it was the Nabucco Cello Tourbillon watch. The design had four cello strings stretched taut, crossed the dial from nine o’clock to the three o’clock hour markers, and there were F-hole like bridges, which together resembled a miniature cello. We only did 10 pieces, and all sold out on Day One itself! Playing music by the notes can feel extremely rational, especially with classical music that relies on the precision of keeping time, but at the end of the day, if you have no emotions, the audience feels nothing. It’s the same with developing timepieces. We can give you the same hour, minute and second hands in the most perfect display. But then there would be no uniqueness to the design, and thus no magic. That kind of magical touch only comes from combining rational with the emotional.
Olivier, what qualities of your father-in-law have you come to cherish and have passed down to your son Elie?
Olivier: One of Raymond Weil’s key elements is our DNA. My father-in-law, who founded the brand, trained me for many years. He shaped the mindset I have towards watchmaking, and I imparted that knowledge to Elie when he joined me in 2006. This continuity, this natural transmission of knowledge from one generation to the another, became our own school of thought, and can be seen in all our watches, despite their diversity in pattern and technology. Mr Raymond was very strict about quality, price positioning and design. Elie has that same mindset. It’s a continuous process to be a visionary, which Elie is today. He can anticipate the needs of the market, and already has already planned out the brand’s strategy for next two to three years. That’s the difference between a group-run company and a family-run company like ours. Group-run brands get new managers/directors every two to three years because the selected candidate usually has a career plan that might not align with the brand, like harbouring the ambition to join a more prosperous group. With Elie, he maintains a long-term perspective that is coherent with Raymond Weil’s evolution. Plus, the watch market is fascinating but also turbulent; it changes so fast and so often that there are learnings at every corner. I’m still learning, and so is my son. These are things you won’t learn at a watchmaking school.
Elie, did you want to get into watchmaking early on?
Elie: Yes. I never thought of doing something else because my family’s passion for watchmaking had grown on me since I was very young. It was only a matter of time I would join my father. It’s my personal goal to pass on the baton to the fourth generation, either to my son, daughters or nephews. To have one generation behind me so that Raymond Weil stays operational in the family’s hands.
