ReviewFor Those About To Rock, Here’s Raymond Weil’s Freelancer AC/DC Limited Edition
As a salute to the Australian high-voltage Rock and Roll Hall of Famers AC/DC, Swiss watchmaker Raymond Weil brings an inspired, power-packed limited edition watch
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AC/DC’s legacy is regarded as one of rock’s purest spectacles. Since entering the music scene in 1973, the Australian rock band has become idiosyncratic for their explosive and larger-than-life stage performances fuelled by headbanging-inducing guitar riffs, flashy drums and banshee-yell vocals. Over the course of time, the band has churned out a slew of bestselling albums, leading to an exponential growth of their global fan base. So much so that on August 15, 457 musicians gathered at the Sydney Guitar Festival in Australia to perform the AC/DC classic ‘Highway to hell’ in an attempt to break the record for most people playing the same song on the electric guitar at once. The previous record was set in India by 368 guitarists in 2013.
Of late, rumours about the AC/DC band members recording for a new album have been gaining traction, as past and present bandmates have often been spotted together outside the Vancouver-based Warehouse Studios. Needless to say, followers of the rock icons have been going in a frenzy. We cannot ascertain what the school boy-uniform band has up their sleeve, but we at The Watch Guide do know how an admirer of the band can pay homage to them—the Raymond Weil Freelancer AC/DC Limited Edition.
Live Wire
Adding to its Music Icons series, Raymond Weil introduced the sensational Freelancer AC/DC Limited Edition in March this year. What lies at the heart of this timepiece is the in-house mechanical self-winding movement, the Calibre RW1212, with a visible balance wheel at six o’clock, through which Raymond Weil has upped its technical game to a whole new level and raised the bar for itself in the watch industry. As Elie Bernheim, CEO, Raymond Weil stated, “RW1212 is a tribute to the present and a symbol of the future,” proving this as befitting addition in the AC/DC watch.
Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the family-owned luxury watch brand has taken a fresh look at the world of music through their timekeeping instruments and successfully intertwined watchmaking craftsmanship with music-themed timepieces that include the Maestro The Beatles ‘Abbey Road’, Gibson Les Paul Freelancer, Maestro Buddy Holly Limited Edition, David Bowie Freelancer Special Edition and Bob Marley Tango 300 Limited Edition.
Let There Be Rock
Housed in a 42mm stainless steel case, the black galvanic dial amps up the beauty of this pièce de résistance. Lined with luminescent treatment, the watch exudes a rock ‘n’ roll attitude through and through—right from how the hours are marked with studded indexes and the barrel-shaped hands that have been enhanced with white SuperLuminova.
It is imbued with subtle AC/DC-inspired design cues, like the black dial features a textured pattern that resembles the AC/DC high voltage bolt graphics, the iconic AC/DC typography placed at 12 o’clock and the band’s official logo embossed on the black leather strap. The screwed-down crown flaunts the RW monogram. This watch is water resistant up to 100m and offers a power reserve of 38 hours.
Available in a series of 3,000 pieces, this limited edition Freelancer for men carries forward the legacy of the collection’s eclectic mix of urbane mechanical watches crafted with impressive horological know-how. The inimitable design of this timepiece is a perfect representation of the tireless energy of the pioneers of hard rock and heavy metal music, along with the stage persona that they built over the years. Presented in a specially designed watch case, this is a treasure item for AC/DC aficionados and watch collectors alike.
