ReviewIntroducing: The Raymond Weil Freelancer Real Team

In a world full of luxury watch conglomerates, Raymond Weil stands defiantly as the ‘odd one out’. Established in 1979, it remains one of the few watchmaking brands still in the hands of its family. One of the brand’s most popular collections, the Freelancer, is said to be named after late Mr. Weil’s desire for the company to remain independent forever. Introduced back in 2007, the Freelancer has enjoyed different variations through the years which have mostly been simple & classic designs.

Their newest take on the beloved collection is away from the classics. Instead, it’s one made and designed in partnership with the Swiss professional sailing team, who also happen to be the best sailing team in the world – ‘Realteam Sailing’. To commemorate the occasion of being their official timing partner, the brand introduced a new Freelancer that has been designed to take on the seas with the team. Let’s take a look at the Freelancer made for the best sailing team in the world, the ‘Freelancer RealTeam’:

A deep relationship with the seas:

Away from the watchmaking world, late Mr. Weil himself was a keen sailor and an active member of the Geneva Yacht Club. And even though the brand remains musically inclined, we were going see this association coming sooner or later. As a tribute to his passion, the brand announced their long-term partnership with the Geneva-based RealTeam sailing team and is now the Official Timing Partner for both, the D35 trophy on Lake Geneva and the international GC32 Racing Tour.

But the association doesn’t end there. The two have come together to bring the passion of sailing to the wrist by co-designing a watch that would be as tough as the team that inspired it.

The Dial – Clear, uncluttered and legible:

Because this watch is made primarily for sailors and divers (both being extreme sports), the 2016 Freelancer echoes the aesthetics and dynamics you would expect from a solid watch. Fairly sized at 42.5mm, available in polished stainless steel or with a black PVD coating, it has a unidirectional rotating bezel in black ceramic with white, green or orange marking options, with a luminescent indicator at 12. The Super-Luminova isn’t all over the watch but on key elements of the dial, again designed to assist divers, and ensures perfect readability even in the darkest depths of the seas. There’s a date aperture showing three numbers, which works rather neatly at the four-o’clock position.

The folding clasp of the rubber strap that has a double push-security system and an integrated steel diver extension, allows for easy adjustment of the width. This helps the diver or sailor to adjust the strap depending on the comfort and equipment they chose to wear.

A High Caliber Automatic Movement with 300m Water Resistance:

Driven by the automatic RW4000 movement, the new Freelancer has a 38-hour power reserve, which isn’t a lot compared to its competitors but is also not an essential feature for divers or sailors. So unless you’re planning on staying completely still under water or on your yacht, you don’t have to worry about your watch going to sleep.

The 2016 Freelancer is water-resistant to a depth of 300m, and has successfully passed all extreme tests, ensuring its resistance to impact, magnetic waves, and pressure and temperature changes.

A great looking timepiece:

Though in terms of features it is a textbook diver’s watch, it’s definitely the best-looking one available in the market. The minimalistic yet powerful design of 42.5mm Freelancer speaks volumes of the fact that a diver’s watch doesn’t necessarily need to be boring to look at. But the Freelancer Real Team wasn’t going to be content to being just a good looking watch, after all, it’s now a ‘part of the crew’.

The watch has gone through a series of stringent tests which ensure it’s as tough as nails. Successfully passing impact resistance, anti-magnetism, pressure and temperature assessments by the experts in Geneva, making this a bona fide diving accessory and, at the same time, a smart watch to own.

Price and Availability:

The 2016 Raymond Weil Freelancer Real Team starts at INR 1,46,000 and is available in India at Ethos Watch Boutiques.

Do you like the Real team? Let us know in the comments section below!