Millesime ushers in a new era for the family-owned brand.
In 2023, when Stefan Kudoke and Anders Modig stood on the stage of Geneva’s Thèâtre du Léman, in front of the great and the good of the Swiss watch industry, and announced that the Raymond Weil Millesime Automatic Small Seconds was the winner of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) “Challenge” prize — a category reserved for watches priced below CHF 2,000 — the reaction was one of surprise, both in the room and online. Raymond Weil’s dressy neo-vintage number beat buzzy newcomers like Kurono Tokyo and Studio Underd0g, as well as established brands like Seiko and Nomos Glashütte who tend to dominate the conversation around “accessible” timepieces. But really, we shouldn’t have been so surprised. As Raymond Weil CEO Elie Bernheim explained shortly after his GPHG win, “Our aim is to offer refined timepieces at an accessible price. To get this prize in the ‘Challenge’ category means a lot because it’s where we have legitimacy and market share.”
Really though, we should have seen this coming. Raymond Weil has been there all along. Since 1976, Raymond Weil has focused on making stylish, good quality watches at a price which isn’t prohibitive. In decades past, models like the Parsifal and Toccata (and more recently the Freelancer) have seen critical and commercial success, blending the style of the times with versatility, resulting in watches that have a lot to offer. The Millesime is the latest chapter in this long story.
Refined Simplicity
Given that it has helped Raymond Weil to secure a pivotal first GPHG win, we should discuss the Millesime in more detail. First of all, this is a watch that does everything right. Millesime, a French word more often seen in the world of wine-making, literally translates to “Vintage” in English, so it’s quite clear that the watch isn’t trying to hide what it is or what its inspirations are. Elie Bernheim says of the collection’s genesis, “I wanted to have something that would be full of watchmaking know-how, with all the traditional codes, and a touch of modernity.” The Millesime certainly delivers. The 39.5mm wide by 10.25mm tall steel case is a simple round shape, polished, but with a vertically brushed bezel, straight, drilled lugs and a short but grippy crown; the case is quite minimalistic and very much in keeping with its vintage inspiration. It’s also — and this is important — perfectly sized.
This is not just in case width, though 39mm has emerged as the new Goldilocks width for a historically leaning watch these days, but also for the fairly slender height and wearable lug-to-lug length. In short, it walks perfectly between the perhaps too-dainty 1:1 sizing for historical re- creations and the crop of too-large “modern watches with a vintage twist.” By sizing where it did, Raymond Weil has hit the nail on the head in terms of giving (most) people what they want when it comes to a contemporary take on vintage style in this day and age. Of course, the case is only one element of the Millesime, but just as it is with vintage watches — the dial is where the money is.
The exceptionally pleasing sector dial is a real standout. There’s a range of textures at play: a brushed center, smooth hour track and snailed minute track. The printed dial details are in keeping with the mid-century “scientific” dials that this watch draws inspiration from, and a quite large, lume-filled blued dagger handset completes the layout. Both the hands and the dial are slightly curved, which is a nice touch. The GPHG-winning model was a small seconds with a silver dial, but we suspect the salmon and blue dial models with central seconds will find many friends, too, especially under the glassbox sapphire crystal. The straps are solid and exactly what you want on this sort of design: supple calf in muted, vintage tones with contrasting stitching.