The Raymond Weil Millesime Automatic Chronograph

There was a time when watch companies looked to the future, trying to capture the mood, technology, and materials of what might be happening in the coming decades. Then there was the trend for vintage or retro-styled watches, and brands with aeons of heritage dug up classics from the past and revisited them with contemporary specs. That works for several brands, but what happens if your brand isn’t old enough to dust off some past glories? In the case of Raymond Weil, which was founded in 1976, the answer was to concoct a neo-vintage watch with a sector-style dial known as the Millesime (French for vintage). Buoyed by the success of the Millesime Small Seconds, Central Seconds and Moon Phase models, Raymond Weil introduces a sportier Millesime Automatic Chronograph.

A first look confirms the chronograph’s convincing retro spirit with its piston-style pushers and classic tri-compax layout. The 50m water-resistant stainless steel case shares the same relatively compact 39.5mm diameter as the earlier models but is slightly thicker (12.9mm) due to the chronograph movement. The brand has done an excellent job in design and construction to visually reduce the thickness of the case by fitting it with a bubble caseback and a box-shaped sapphire crystal over the dial, making the caseband relatively thin. The flat bezel is vertically brushed, while the rounded lugs, pistons and large fluted crown are polished for contrast.

Available with a bold, all-black dial or a fun reversed panda dial with a midnight blue background and contrasting counters, the Raymond Weil Millesime Automatic Chronograph retains the sector-style dial of this collection with its peripheral precision tracks and embossed central crosshair. The two precision tracks on the periphery are white, and the external track is dedicated to the tachymeter function. The third track is for the applied baton hour markers treated with Super-LumiNova.

Slightly recessed, the tri-compax counter layout (running seconds at 9, 30-minute elapsed times at 3, and 12-hour counter at 6 o’clock) underscores the vintage spirit of the watch. In the case of the blue reversed panda dial, the counters are a matte silver colour with black tracks and blue numerals, while those on the black model feature white markings. The obelisk hour and minute hands are nickel-plated and treated with Super-LumiNova. However, the central chronograph seconds hand doesn’t have a contrasting coloured tip that might make consulting elapsed time a little tricky in low-light conditions.

The snapped caseback has a sapphire crystal with a view of the RW5030 automatic chronograph (Sellita SW510 base) movement. A cam-operated chronograph using the architecture of the Valjoux 7753, the movement delivers a respectable power reserve of 56 hours.

The Raymond Weil Millesime Automatic Chronograph watches are presented with casual calfskin leather straps (blue for the reversed panda dial, black for the black dial) with grey top-stitching near the drilled lugs. The retail price is CHF 3,450 or EUR 3,725. For more information, please visit www.raymond-weil.com.