Raymond Weil, serendipitously with the spooky season, has just expanded their Freelancer Skeleton offerings with a new 40mm interpretation.
Independent watchmaker Raymond Weil has become one of the biggest rising stars in the middle-market watch world. It’s a massive turnaround from where the brand was years prior, having transformed its reputation as a ‘mall watch’ brand. As part of this renewed spirit are releases like the award-winning Millesime and the elegant Toccata Heritage, introducing the brand’s flavour of luxury watchmaking at an accessible price point.
But while such releases are excellent gateways into the wider industry, Raymond Weil has also been known to get a bit adventurous with its catalogue. For its 50th anniversary, the brand even went so far as to restore several Valjoux 23-6 movements to working condition, unveiling them as part of the limited-edition Millesime The Fifty series.
Beyond its limited editions and special collaborations, however, perhaps one of the most underrated facets of the brand’s game is its passion for skeletonisation. Since 2016, openworked dials have fascinated Raymond Weil, which has since integrated the intricate art into its core collections. This year, that model line grows by one, as the brand unveils a new interpretation in a new case size and colourway.
It’s Brutal Out Here
In terms of its positioning, the latest Raymond Weil Freelancer Skeleton is the veritable Goldilocks among its peers. Where previous models sat at either the larger 42mm or smaller 38mm, the new model comes in at a more versatile 40mm. Combined with its 10.6mm thickness, the case is extremely versatile and wearable for most, though it does tend towards the more masculine side.
What I find particularly interesting about this model is the complete omission of polished finishes. Alongside the colour and arrangement of the dial, the new Freelancer Skeleton feels like quite the brutalist piece of architecture, though it retains plenty of visual intrigue thanks to its dial and fully brushed finishes.
It’s a suitably sporty package, a theme supported by its screw-down crown and 100m water resistance. If you were to take it out as a daily driver, scratches on a brushed surface would be much less noticeable than on high-polish finishes. The watch comes on a similarly brushed steel bracelet that tapers slightly towards its signed, sequential butterfly clasp.
In my opinion, the bracelet looks much more apropos for the design, though Raymond Weil does offer the watch on a calfskin leather strap if you so choose. While the leather strap might have the edge in comfort, the bracelet’s five-link configuration helps break up the watch’s appearance, adding texture without contrasting too heavily with the rest of the case silhouette.
Are You Open Minded?
As you might expect, the key point of the Freelancer Skeleton’s dial design is that there isn’t one. However, that doesn’t mean there’s no visual intrigue. Previous models have played with contrasting colours, including black and blue tones, but Raymond Weil’s latest addition simplifies things with an anthracite grey finish. Though it blends with the grey tones of the steel, the colourway is enough to distinguish the skeletonised bridges from the case, movement components and rhodium-plated hands.
Those baton hands are also the only areas of the watch where you’ll find lume, as the indexes have been removed along with the rest of the dial. Legibility is maintained through the use of the grey rehaut, which features a white printed minute track alongside markers at each five-minute interval.
Perhaps the best and most subtle detail here is the finishing of the skeletonised bridges, which appears to follow a spiralling sunburst pattern. It’s not a finish you acutely notice until you’re closer to the piece, giving it that little bit more personal and visual intrigue.
Finally, the crowning element of the design is the central open heart, where the escapement sits precisely at six o’clock, framed by two adjoining bridges. It’s a detail conceived and showcased by Raymond Weil, adding a sense of symmetry to the design while retaining its dynamism.
Testing, 1-2, 1-2
But how could the brand make the open-heart escapement sit almost like a tourbillon? Well, that’s thanks to its longstanding partnership with the rockstar movement manufacturer Sellita. Turning the watch around doesn’t reveal anything you can’t already see through the front: the Cal. RW1212.
Named after the 1212 postcode of Raymond Weil’s Grand-Lancy headquarters in Geneva, the movement’s architecture, layout and open-heart balance bridge were conceived in-house by Raymond Weil. Sellita handled the manufacturing, producing a reliable yet deeply intriguing skeleton movement exclusive to the independent brand.
Beating at the luxury standard of 4Hz (28,800VpH), the Cal. RW1212 displays only the hours and minutes and doesn’t hack. While this might raise a few caution flags for the typical enthusiast, on a skeleton watch with an open-heart display, it’s hardly a reason to freak out.
A hacking seconds feature is wholly unnecessary if you aren’t displaying the seconds to begin with, and there’s no doubt that the watch is functional when used properly. If the escapement is spinning, you know it’s working. If it’s not, it’s not.
Initial Thoughts
I love seeing where Raymond Weil is now. Even before I was massively into watches, reading up on its story and rise through the watch world was quite inspiring. Though I believe the brand deserved respect back then, its recent warpath and incredible craftsmanship have put it in a position where the flowers are well and truly deserved.
And while most of the attention is absorbed by the outstanding Millesime, Toccata Heritage and A.R.T. lines, the Freelancer absolutely deserves the love it’s been getting as of late. With this new iteration of the Skeleton collection, Raymond Weil continues to have fun on its victory lap at the top of the middle-market scene, using the Freelancer as the perfect, versatile canvas for expressive skeletonisation.
Reference & Specifications
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| Reference | 2786-STC-60000 (Leather) 2786-ST-60000 (Bracelet) |
| Dimensions | 40mm case diameter x 10.6mm thickness |
| Case | Stainless steel |
| Dial | Openworked skeletonised, grey |
| Crystal | Sapphire |
| Caseback | Open, sapphire |
| Movement | Automatic Cal. RW1212 |
| Power Reserve | 41h |
| Beat Rate | 4Hz / 28,800VpH |
| Water Resistance | 100m / 10bar |
| Strap/Bracelet | Blue calfskin leather strap with deployant buckle Steel bracelet with butterfly clasp |