Hitting the Sweet Spot… The new Raymond Weil Millesime Small Seconds 35mm

Raymond Weil’s Millesime assortment, launched in 2024, is an enthralling retro-inspired household that has caught many a watch aficionado’s eye. Injecting a brand new lease of life right into a model that was usually missed, the Millesime household is out to overcome the market of neo-vintage gown watches with trendy specs. Coupled with aggressive costs, the Millesime has positioned itself as a worthy contender within the gown watch class. In spite of everything, not all people can afford Patek Philippe’s newest Calatrava – the king of gown watches – that seduced quite a lot of members of the MONOCHROME workforce. Following within the profitable wake of the bigger 39.5mm Millesime Small Seconds, Raymond Weil launches a extra compact 35mm case dimension. Inching nearer and nearer to excellent gown watch proportions, the Millesime Small Seconds 35mm may effectively hit the candy spot.

Based in 1976, the model is now within the palms of Raymond Weil’s grandson, Elie Bernheim, the CEO behind the launch of the Millesime. With no strings connected to a venerable ancestor, designers at Raymond Weil got carte blanche to create their imaginative and prescient of a retro-inspired sector dial watch with modern specs. The elegant geometric dial, a function discovered all through the gathering, displays the sector dials prevalent throughout the Artwork Deco interval, a show that’s having fun with one thing of a renaissance at this time.

This isn’t the primary Millesime reference to undertake a smaller case dimension; the Central Seconds and Moon Part fashions have been downsized final yr. Sitting alongside the bigger 39.5mm Millesime Small Seconds, the three new 35mm references have a case thickness of 10.25mm. The three-part chrome steel case has a flat, vertically brushed bezel and case flanks. In distinction, the screwed lugs (good for strap swapping) and the bevel of the bezel are polished. Whereas gown watch purists may flip their noses up on the brushed parts of the case, the ending echoes the brushed space within the dial’s centre. Reaffirming its retro character, the dial is topped by a glassbox sapphire crystal.

Accessible in three dial colors – anthracite, salmon and silver – the enticing sector dial is split into distinct geometric areas. The three concentric tracks, progressing in dimension from seconds (180 quick markers) on the periphery to minutes (60 medium markers) and hours (12 thick markers), facilitate precision time readings. One other function usually discovered on sector dials is the embossed crosshair within the centre, dividing the world into 4 segments and adorned with a vertically brushed end. The recessed small seconds counter invades the hours monitor and shares an identical easy matte end.

Along with the geometric sections, the dial is adorned with completely different finishes, creating completely different tonalities of the bottom color. The chapter ring with the hours, for instance, is easy, whereas the minutes and seconds tracks are snailed. The anthracite mannequin stands out with the mint inexperienced color used to focus on the peripheral tracks on the dial and the small seconds counter. In step with modern expectations, the indices and hour and minute palms are handled with Tremendous-LumiNova.

The watch is powered by the calibre RW4251 based mostly on a no-frills Sellita SW261 computerized motion with small seconds and a customized W-shaped rotor. Seen on the caseback, this commonplace computerized has a 4Hz frequency and an influence reserve of 41 hours.

The salmon and silver dial references are paired with gray calfskin straps, and the anthracite mannequin has a brown one. All three Millesime Small Seconds 35mm share a retail value of EUR 2,050 (incl. VAT) and will be bought straight from Raymond-weil.com. An optionally available 5-link chrome steel bracelet can also be obtainable, bringing the value to EUR 2,150.