Raymond Weil (Company)

Raymond Weil SA
legal form	Corporation
founding	1976
Seat	Lancy , Switzerland
management	Elie Bernheim (CEO) ; Olivier Bernheim (President)
Branch	Watch manufacture
Website	www.raymond-weil.com

Raymond Weil is a Swiss company that manufactures, distributes and sells luxury watches. Founded in 1976 in Geneva by Raymond Weil (1926–2014), the company is one of the last independent Swiss luxury watch manufacturers. The brand is headquartered in Geneva and is present in over 90 countries. In 2011 sales totaled 200 million francs. The focus is on expanding the Asian, Russian and Indian markets.

history

Raymond Weil founded the brand in 1976, in a time of crisis for the watch industry, under his and his grandson's name, Raphael Weil. Raymond Weil Genève initially developed its distribution network in Europe, starting in the UK. The expansion to global sales began in the early 1980s, first in the United Arab Emirates, then in the USA and India. Weil's son-in-law Olivier Bernheim joined the company in 1982 after having worked in marketing for Heineken and Unilever for several years. In 1996 he was named President and CEO. He established the Research and Development Department in 1999 with the aim of fully controlling the watch design process. The achievements of the R&D department include the complication for the GMT function of the Don Giovanni Così Grande with two time zones, the patented system with interchangeable straps for the Shine collection and the moon phase complication for the automatic movement of the Maestro collection.

Elie and Pierre Bernheim, Olivier Bernheim's sons, joined the company in 2006. Elie Bernheim (co-founder of the watch brand 88 Rue du Rhone ) works as Marketing Director, Pierre as Sales Director.

In 2009 the brand founded its first subsidiary in the USA, RW USA Corp., which ended the collaboration with its previous distributor. In 2010 RW India Pvt. Ltd. founded as a wholly-owned subsidiary based in Bangalore and in the same year several exclusive stores were opened in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. Raymond Weil Genève watches are now sold all over the world.

In 2013 the brand converted its UK distribution agreement into a management agreement and in April established a subsidiary, R. Weil Distribution UK Ltd.

Raymond Weil was the first luxury watch brand to set up an exclusive club for watch owners.

Collections

Nabucco : Mechanical collection for men with a diameter of 46 mm and water resistance up to 200 meters.
Shine : The Shine women's collection enables the watch strap to be changed quickly and easily. Each watch comes with a metal strap and an alligator leather strap. The cases are made of 18-carat red gold and are set with diamonds.
Freelancer : Automatic watch collection for women and men, designed by their grandchildren as a homage to Raymond Weil. Some models in the Freelancer collection have a visible clock mechanism.
Parsifal : mechanical collection with automatic winding, available in men's and women's models.
Don Giovanni Così Grande : men's collection that was also the official watch of the Brit Awards 2009. The models in the Don Giovanni Così Grande range are fully mechanical.
Tradition : The Tradition collection includes both mechanical and quartz clocks. The quartz models are round and have a simpler design than their mechanical counterparts.
RW Sport : The watches in the RW Sport range are sporty and stylish. The collection offers watches with an alarm function and an optional digital display.
RW Spirit : RW Spirit is a women's collection. The watches are made of stainless steel, the dials are set with diamonds and mother-of-pearl.
Tango : Mixed collection consisting of classic and other models in a more contemporary style.
Noemia : The Noemia collection was introduced in 2009 and is aimed at women. The collection has two different case sizes, 27 and 32 mm. The cases are domed and made of polished steel set with diamonds.

advertising

In 2013 an image film was presented along with a special microsite to make the brand's connection to music better known. The film draws a parallel between designing a clock and writing a piece of music. The microsite has received several awards.

Engagement in art and music

Raymond Weil has been the Official Timing Partner of the Royal Albert Hall in London since July 2013 .
In 2013 the company started a partnership with Wired , a London-based live music platform that promotes emerging music artists.
In 2012 and 2013, Raymond Weil was a partner of the Labyrinth Theater Company and their annual benefit gala.