Raymond Weil celebrates his 50th anniversary with The Fifty, a handsome chronograph powered by a restored Valjoux 23-6 column wheel chronograph from 1976, the year he was born. Featuring a neo-vintage sector dial inspired by the Millesime Small Seconds and the Millesime Chronograph, this accomplished limited edition is ready to captivate a new generation of neo-vintage fans.
Now in the hands of the third generation, Raymond Weil founded his eponymous watch brand in Geneva in 1976. Aiming to offer high-quality timepieces at fair prices, the brand only caught the attention of connoisseurs in 2023 when it released its Millesime Small Seconds model, the first model in what has now become the brand's best-selling collection. Characterized by its elegant neo-vintage dials from the 1930s and 1940s, the Millesime is a well-designed contemporary creation powered by custom-made Sellita movements and available at an affordable price. Undoubtedly inspired by the success of his Millesime collection, Raymond Weil went one better with The Fifty.
Respecting the historical proportions of vintage hand-wound chronographs, the stainless steel case has a compact 37mm diameter, 10.75mm height and an 18k white gold bezel. The 50m waterproof case is decorated with alternating brushed and polished surfaces and features piston-like pushers, a large fluted crown and curved screw-down lugs. The dial is protected by a glass sapphire crystal and underlines its vintage character.
Clearly inspired by the rest of Raymond Weil's Millesime family, the silver gray sector dial features a series of tracks, scales and counters decorated with different finishes to provide precise readings, a fundamental aspect of a chronograph. The architecture of the dial consists of four distinct parts and is characterized by depth, relief and visual richness.
The flange with the tachymeter scale is screwed and has a black precision mark. Going a step deeper is the wider chapter ring with a grained finish and bold black baton indices treated with glowing green Super-LumiNova. At another level, the central area is divided into quarters, each with alternating horizontal or vertical gadroons. The center is crossed by two recessed, snail-shaped subdials. The separately manufactured subdial at 9 o'clock serves the running seconds and the subdial at 3 o'clock serves the 30-minute chronograph counter. The blued and polished subdial hands match the central seconds hand of the chronograph, while the obelisk-shaped hour and minute hands have a Super-LumiNova inlay.
The most exciting news is undoubtedly the Valjoux Caliber 23-6 that powers the watch, an evolution of the classic Valjoux 23. The movement in The Fifty was manufactured in 1976, the same year the brand was founded. The fully restored and hand-decorated vintage chronograph with classic architecture – column wheel and horizontal clutch – operates at 21,600 vibrations per hour, offers a power reserve of 40 hours and can be admired through the caseback. The bridges and balance cock are decorated with Geneva stripes and treated with black ruthenium, providing a vivid contrast to the blued screws. The angulation is done by hand, as are the countersinks around the screws, and you can clearly see the nine pillars of the wheel.
This new and beautiful watch from Raymond Weil comes with a gray calfskin strap and a tang buckle. The Fifty costs a limited edition of 50 pieces CHF 8,650. Further information at raymond-weil.com.
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