ReviewRaymond Weil Introduces Its First In-House Movement, Showcased In The Latest Freelancer RW1212

Any watch enthusiast who has closely followed the free-spirited Raymond Weil will be aware of their two major distinguishing factors. First, it’s one of the only few independent Swiss watch manufacturers left; and second, the brand has an impressive list of associations with the world of music, which has served as inspiration for some handsome Raymond Weil timepieces.

Raymond Weil has now upped its technical game to a whole new level and raised the bar for itself in the watch industry, with its latest, efficient, in-house movement, the RW1212. This is a feat that brands such as Jaeger-LeCoultre, Breitling, Cartier, Omega, among a few others, have been able to achieve. What sets Raymond Weil’s in-house movement on a different pedestal is the detailing entailed in developing the mechanism.

Despite all the toil and know-how, the Swiss watchmakers have not budged from making sure their watches remain affordable. This is indeed commendable since in-house movements spike up the cost to manufacture the watches they power, and that, in turn, sends the price of the timepiece sky-rocketing.

Post-Swatch Group’s decision to restrict ETA movements to its own brands, other manufacturers who were dependent on ETA suffered a terrible blow. But brands such as Raymond Weil turned this move into an advantage, as they opted to work with the other mammoth movement manufacturer – Sellita. The research and development department of the watch company got kicking, and the collaboration with Sellita led to Raymond Weil’s numero uno in-house movement – the RW1212.

Raymond Weil’s Milestone Movement

RW1212 is not just a random alphanumeric code allocated to the movement. It’s well thought of, just like the development of the movement itself. The number, 1212, is the postal code of Grand-Lancy, the suburb of Geneva that has been home to the headquarters of Raymond Weil. Reflecting on the iconic number, Bernheim says, “It symbolises the path we have travelled to date.”

To develop the exclusive movement, it took a gruelling effort on behalf of the R&D department of the Geneva watch company. To translate the movement from a mere concept to an actual, functioning component, Raymond Weil relied upon their production unit based in the Swiss Jura Mountains. The RW1212 is a self-winding, mechanical movement which offers a power reserve of 38 hours and beats at the frequency of 4Hz.

The Revealing Face Of The Watch

Offering a glimpse of this complex movement is the dial of the Freelancer, which is nothing short of a piece of art. Raymond Weil ought to be proud of its technical prowess, and the same is evident in the strategic location of the aperture on the dial that gives us a peek at the movement. The painstaking attention to detail is obvious, as the balance wheel is diamond-polished. The aesthetics of the dial have been enhanced by placing the balance wheel on two bridges, almost portraying it as a tourbillon.

Raymond Weil is not a novice in terms of presenting a dial with an evolved design. The elegant architecture makes sure that the beholder of the watch gets the complete visual delight, courtesy the view of the heart of the watch through the partially open-worked dial.

The black dial has a guilloche pattern in the centre and serves as a perfect background to highlight the stainless steel barrel-shaped hands and indices that are coated with white SuperLuminova.

A Reliable, Sturdy Case

This Freelancer has a fresh, new look, incorporated in a 42.5mm stainless steel case, with a prominent thickness of 10.6mm. Apart from the SuperLuminova in the hands on the dial, there is another aspect that aids clearer visibility, and that’s the presence of sapphire crystal on the case. The anti-glare treatment meted out to the sapphire crystal protects the dial from scratches and amplifies legibility.

Even the screw-down caseback has a sapphire crystal window that allows a view at the rear of the oscillating wheel. The rotor has the Raymond Weil logo and the Côtes de Genève motif etched on it.  The reputed ‘RW’ abbreviation for Raymond Weil is also engraved on the fluted crown. The screwed-down crown makes the Freelancer water resistant to a depth of 100m.

In A Nutshell

The look of the watch is complete with a stainless steel bracelet, which makes it a perfect dress watch, and the partially skeletonised dial is sure to appeal to any watch connoisseur. As the first in-house movement, the RW1212 is a proficient enough to book a spot among any collector’s prized possessions. The RW1212 movement sure has reinforced Raymond Weil’s motto of ‘Precision movements’.

The Raymond Weil Freelancer RW1212 in India is available exclusively at Ethos Watch Boutiques