The Bite Magazine - Spring 2019 - Issue 24

Jada Brookes looks at the history of Raymond Weil and their two new collections for men and women. R AY MO ND bite watches Images courtesy of Grove Communication WE IL BLACK DIAMOND AND THE BEATLES SERGEANT PEPPER W hen the watch industry was in the middle of a crisis, watch enthusiast Raymond Weil decid- ed to start his own company in 1976 and turn his vision of what Swiss watchmaking should be into actual timepieces that would bring a new dimension to the industry. His creations were immediately praised by other watch enthusiasts. Once his business had strongly settled in Switzerland, he went on to explore Europe and the rest of the world, and eventually put together an international network. It was through his son-in-law Olivier Bernheim who joined the family business in 1982 and became President and CEO in 1996 that the structure and organisation of the business was modernised, numerous markets were developed and took charge of the communication and marketing departments. Influenced and inspired by music, the collection consisted of names like Amadeus, named after the classical Austrian com- poser Mozart and was launched in conjunction with Milos Forman’s acclaimed film of the same name. As this genre continued to be used as inspiration for the col- lection names, it soon became a distinguishing feature of the brand’s identity. Another collection, Fidelio, was named after Beethoven’s only opera, as well as more cult collections that have shaped the brand’s personality such as Toccata (meaning to touch), the feminine collection Fantasia, and the emblem- atic Othello, a blend of avant-garde technology and refined design with its ultra-thin timepieces and created in 1986 to celebrate Raymond Weil’s tenth anniversary. The business continued to grow in the early 1990s with the launch of the gentlemen’s and ladies’ Parsifal collection, an original blend of complications, noble materials, meticulous finishes and innovative designs. Tango is a blend of func- tionality and aesthetics with perfectly proportioned round or rectangular cases while Tradition, another emblematic collec- tion, was created with a classical and refined style embodying the watchmaking heritage in its most uncluttered version. By 1999, the company was willing to fully control the watch-design process and felt the need to embrace the latest technological innovations. They went on to create designs such as the Two Times Zone complication and the patent- ed interchangeable bracelet system on the ladies’ collection Shine. Years later, they introduced the totally masculine, ful- ly mechanical Don Giovanni Cosi Grande collection which further established the brand’s watchmaking know-how and technological precision. For their 30th anniversary in 2006, the brand added two more members of the family to the business – Elie and Pierre Bern- heim who were willing to bring their own vision and know- how to the table in terms of contemporary and technologically evolved collections. The exclusively masculine and high-tech Nabucco was the brand’s first collection to bear an imposing 46mm case as well as a water-resistance of 200m and integrat- ing the sophisticated carbon fibre. A split-second chronograph with a power-reserve indicator – a first for the company – was fitted in the Nabucco Cuore Cal-