Raymond Weil Breaks the Dress Code
Raymond Weil joins seconde seconde to reshape the dress watch with a clever balance of heritage, refined design, and modern character.
As RAYMOND WEIL approaches its fiftieth anniversary, the independent Geneva maison has chosen to celebrate not with solemnity but with a moment of playful self-awareness.
Its new collaboration with Romaric André, the French designer behind seconde seconde, reimagines the recently revived Toccata Heritage with a blend of classical restraint and subtle irreverence.
André is known for challenging the conventions of traditional watch design. His work often takes the familiar and teases it just enough to make collectors look again.
Here, he applies that sensibility to the Toccata case first introduced by Raymond Weil four decades ago, a shape that was neither rectangular nor oval and has since acquired a quietly distinctive vintage appeal.
Under chief executive officer Elie Bernheim, the line has been refined for modern tastes while preserving its original elegance.
The limited edition reference 2280 explores the etiquette of the dress watch through a concept that feels both charming and considered. Its anthracite dial is divided into two contrasting halves.
The left side, rendered in a soft, almost veiled finish, hints at the long-held rule that a shirt cuff should cover much of a dress watch. A yellow inscription at nine o'clock states this with disarming directness.
The right side presents a more conventional sunburst surface, though with its inscriptions set vertically to provoke a second glance.
The case back continues the theme with an engraved reminder that one should never wind a watch while wearing it, but should remove it and do so with appropriate ceremony.
A single visible wheel beneath a sapphire crystal serves as a discreet nod to traditional craftsmanship.
Despite the humour, the watch is serious about what matters. It carries a manually wound movement in a slim steel case measuring 37.7 millimetres by 32.5 millimetres, complemented by Dauphine hands, polished lugs and a refined leather strap. The proportions echo the clarity and discretion of classical Swiss dress watches.
This collaboration works because its wit never overshadows its horological integrity. It invites collectors to enjoy the traditions of formal watchmaking while acknowledging that rules are at their best when treated with a light touch.
The Toccata Heritage x seconde seconde is refined, articulate and refreshingly self-aware, a reminder that elegance and humour can coexist beautifully on the wrist.
