Q&AA Great Vintage: Raymond Weil’s Chief On Their Latest Success, India And More

Could you offer your perspective on the novelties this year—the new Millesime watches?

We launched the Millesime collection last year with the idea in mind to enlarge our collection, bring into the mix something that will be appealing for other clients. We knew that the brand had great potential in some markets, but without the right products, sometimes it’s not so obvious and easy for the brand to perform. So we developed the collection in order to particularly attract some key European markets, but also some Asian countries and, since we launched the collection, we’ve had such good momentum, in the sense that we won the GPHG prize in the ‘challenge watch’ category, which is for watches just below CHF 2,000 (approximately INR 1.93 lakh). The Millesime with small seconds at six o’clock is priced at about CHF 1,850 (approximately INR 1.8 lakh).

It was fantastic recognition for us, to get rewarded by our peers. It was fantastic motivation for the team as well.

Was the objective always to expand on this collection, even before the GPHG win?

Yes, that was the plan, and this year, we have come out with 11 more references. In order to have a larger and more complete offering, we have two sizes—39mm and 35mm. The 39mm now sees an extension of the line through a moon phase display, which we call a ‘happy human moon phase’. There’s also a chronograph edition at 39mm. In the Indian market, we think that there is great potential. We are 100 percent sure that Millesime will see great success in India thanks to the aesthetics. And the 35mm is more of a unisex size, so we have high expectations from this collection.

"In order to have a larger and more complete offering, we have two sizes—39mm and 35mm"

"The 39mm now sees an extension of the line through a moon phase display, which we call a ‘happy human moon phase'"

Where would you say the Millesime collection fits in with the other lines—the Freelancer, Maestro, etc?

It fits in just next to Freelancer. As I’ve said before, Freelancer has been our flagship collection for many years now. But we felt that there was a need to develop another collection next to Freelancer, in terms of price point—something more simple, classy, with an elegant style. And that’s the reason why we developed this new collection. Tango and Toccata are the two other key collections of Raymond Weil, while Millesime and Freelancer are the two automatic collections.

How important is it for the brand to develop and produce in-house movements, considering that it possibly increases the prices?

I think it’s also a question of brand legitimacy, you know, brand notoriety. I think that we manage the development of our in-house movements quite nicely, by designing, developing but not manufacturing the movement, which makes it relatively less expensive for the brand to have our own movements. At the same time, it’s very important for the prestige and brand notoriety.

"I think that we manage the development of our in-house movements quite nicely, by designing, developing but not manufacturing the movement, which makes it relatively less expensive for the brand to have our own movements." Seen here is a Freelancer skeleton edition, which runs on Raymond Weil's calibre RW1212

How much in advance are your products planned before the launch?

To give you an idea, the most recent timeline I can share with you is probably the time we took to develop the Millesime collection before the official launch. It took us no more than three years from the very initial product brief to the official launch in the market. Usually, it could be more, it could be less. But I think an average of three years of development is not far from a good timeline for developing a new line. If it’s just a variation of a dial, we don’t need that much time.

What was the response for the Freelancer Square edition like?

It was much more positive than we ever thought or expected, because again, 90 percent of watch production is that of round cases. We knew that this piece would be well received because it was a different shape—almost cushion-shaped, but for it to have been such a success, it was quite unbelievable.

"[The response to the Freelancer Square] was much more positive than we ever thought or expected, because again, 90 percent of watch production is that of round cases. We knew that this piece would be well received because it was a different shape—almost cushion-shaped"

We haven’t seen a ‘Music Icons’ timepiece in a while, especially not at the scale of AC/DC, The Beatles, Jimmi Hendricks, Bob Marley, etc. Is there any particular reason for that?

You’re right. It’s just that we decided to launch the Jean-Michel Basquiat Special Edition last year, and with great success. The idea with this new edition was to open our communication territory to art and culture in general, and not restrict our special editions to music associations. However, music is definitely part of our DNA, our brand universe. But very soon, we will be launching a new ‘Music Icons’ edition. I can’t reveal what the collaboration is, but we’ve already signed the deal, so I can say that it will be coming soon.

What are the most prominent watchmaking trends you’ve observed in recent times?

Sizes are down. I would say we have so. We’re developing more 38 to 39mm cases for gents even, if not smaller. In terms of colours, I think green and blue have been trending lately, and they’re very important colours for current developments.

Mr [Olivier] Bernheim (president, Raymond Weil) said after Baselworld shut down, that there’s no need for the brand to be at any watch fair. How did you decide to participate in at Watches and Wonders, and what is the plan going forward?

I said the same thing at the time, and I was wrong. And, you know, it’s sometimes good to say that we could have been wrong. It was also the reason why we missed the first two on-ground editions of this fair. When the first edition was being planned, I thought that it was more important to wait and see how things would go, because I was not sure at that time that the fair or the concept of the fair would last too long. And I was totally wrong. Why? Because people want to meet or to connect with other people in the industry. They want to spend that one week together. They want to share emotions and experiences, meeting professionals from all over the world. And for the brand, it’s the opportunity to meet within few days, all the stakeholders, from suppliers and distributors to retailers and the media. For my colleagues, it brings a fantastic energy. When I realised this during the first edition of Watches and Wonders, it was already too late to confirm our participation for the second edition. The best we could do then was to confirm for the third fair. And we are very happy to have participated. We will be here next year too, and so on. Which means that I changed my mind, and I was wrong.

Raymond Weil's booth at one of the editions of Baselworld—the world's largest watch and jewellery fair, until 2019, which was the last edition of the event

Raymond Weil's booth at their first ever Watches and Wonders Geneva (2024)

Could you talk about the Indian market? It’s particularly dear to your father, Olivier Bernheim. What does it mean for the brand?

The Indian market is very important for my family. My grandfather used to travel to India in the early 80s. Then my father came on board, and he was even more passionate for India. He truly loved the Indian market and now I’m the third generation. I can assure you that I like it even more than my father and my grandfather did. I really love the Indian culture. I think it’s rich in so many things—colour, spices, history and so on. I really like travelling in India. But I also feel that from an economical point of view, the potential of growth for our industry, and also for other industries, is huge in India now. I have really high expectations for growing the business in India, and I will do my best to make it happen, in the coming years.