The new Raymond Weil Millesime is perhaps one of the surprise packages of 2024's watch releases, providing a classy sector dial piece from a brand that's gotten some well-deserved recognition.
This new model follows from the 2023 small-seconds complication variant surprisingly taking the GPHG Challenge award at last year's awards and brings with it ounces of style and class in a thin, well-proportioned case. At £1475, it's got a lot of potential for value for money, too.
The Case
The Millesime features a 39.5mm diameter case, hitting the sweet spot for most wrists, and looking excellent in the process. Its stainless steel case looks to be well finished too, with the brushed bezel and case edges adding some welcome flair where warranted.
This is also a slender piece, with a thickness of just 9.25mm. That's especially svelte and helps the Millesime to fit well under virtually any jacket or jumper cuff without being obtuse. Helping along its class and increasingly classical looks is a glass-box sapphire crystal, which looks excellent while offering marvellous scratch resistance.
The caseback opts for a polished finish, and an exhibition style so you can gawp at the lovely rotor with its intriguing W-shaped cutouts to denote this as a Raymond Weil piece. There is also some small, almost calligraphic, lettering on the caseback on four sides, denoting the stainless steel material and 50m of water resistance that the Millesime has.
All in all, it looks elegant and rather timeless, and I'm quite pleased with the Millesime's level of finishing for its price tag. There's little to complain about here.
The Dial
Where things get interesting with the Millesime is with its dial. It's available with a range of complications, be it as a tri-compax chronograph, with a moonphase, or with a small-seconds dial at six o'clock. You can also get it as I do here, without any form of complication.
Personally, I like the clean and simple look of this iteration of the Millesime, especially with that sector dial pattern. It's a two-tone blue dial in this instance, with plenty of texture and depth, even if it may look simple at first glance.
Everything is very prim and proper with the Millesime, as it lack any unnecessary dial lettering or details, choosing only to go for the RW logo at 12 o'clock and 'Automatic' at six o'clock. Combined with this, its stick hour markers integrate well within the minimalistic nature of the dial. It's representative of the Millesime's positioning as more of a classic piece that doesn't spring any surprises, which I'm certainly here for.
It's also much the same story for the sword handset, which is noticeably dainty and oozes class, as a good dress watch should. It's straight, and to the point, but integrates well with the overall package.
The Movement
The movement inside the Millesime is described as RW's own RW4200 calibre, a mechanical self-winding movement with 41 hours of power reserve. As with other movements of its kind, this is based on the popular Sellita SW200-1.
There isn't anything wrong with this movement in the slightest, nor is the fact it's based on a reliable Swiss made Sellita movement an issue. Other brands such as Christopher Ward have sworn by a similar calibre for a long time, and there's a reason why it's still in use today.
Raymond Weil doesn't specify the accuracy of the RW4200, although it makes sense to expect a usual tolerance of plus and minus 20 seconds per day, if the SW200-1's tolerance can be applied here. The aforementioned 41 hours of power reserve keeps it chugging along nicely, too.
The Strap
This iteration of the Millesime comes with a functional blue leather strap, complete with stainless steel clasp which unifies the piece's look well. It looks to be a comfortable strap, although cannot be swapped out too easily if you wanted to, as this isn't a quick-release option.
Different coloured models of the Millesime have a different strap to match, too. The blue one is complemented nicely with a blue strap, while the salmon and dark grey models opt for a grey strap, and the silver dial arrives with a brown leather strap.
Most of these models, including the green dial model, are also available with a five-link bracelet that's integrated into the stainless steel case in a similar vein to the recently revitalised Freelancer 2790 reference. It arguably becomes a much dressier piece on the bracelet and can be perhaps a formal choice for suit and tie occasions too.
Final Thoughts
The Raymond Weil Millesime is a fantastic dress watch for those after a more affordable choice with an interesting sector dial, thin case and generally classy looks. It also comes with a reliable movement with decent accuracy and power reserve to boot. It seems the GPHG Challenge Award win has pushed RW into a level of prominence previously unseen, and the Millesime is the ideal watch to take the brand to prominence.
Raymond Weil Millesime Tech Specs -
- Indications: Hours, minutes, seconds
- Case: Stainless steel
- Diameter: 39.5mm
- Thickness: 9.25mm
- Crystal: Sapphire, antireflective coating
- Crown: Fluted with RW monogram
- Caseback: Exhibition, sapphire
- Water resistance: 5 ATM, approx. 50 meters or 164 feet
- Dial: Choice of blue, green, silver and grey dials
- Movement: Swiss, self-winding mechanical. RW4200 calibre
- Power reserve: approx. 41 hours
- Bracelet & Strap: Stainless steel five-link option, or leather strap
