The new Freelancer, expressed in traditional colors for a modern, sporty look

RAYMOND WEIL

The Freelancer Full Skeleton, featuring traditional French colors on its movement, is updated.

RAYMOND WEIL, an independent watch brand founded in 1976 to protect Switzerland's traditional mechanical watch industry, which was threatened by the rise of quartz watches, has released the second generation of its "Freelancer" full skeleton model, featuring the traditional French color "anthracite" applied to the movement with advanced technology. The design deliberately omits indices to further highlight the beautifully colored movement.

Text by OZAKI Sayaka | Edit by TSUCHIDA Takashi

A Skeleton Movement Adorned with Anthracite, a Deep and Refined Hue

The Freelancer, the flagship collection of RAYMOND WEIL, a luxury watch brand headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, is characterized by a design that reinterprets tradition in a modern way. From this collection, an updated model of the "Freelancer" full skeleton type, featuring the traditional French color "anthracite" applied to the movement, has been released: the "2785 BKR 20000."

This timepiece is based on a movement colored in anthracite, a traditional French color that resembles a dark gray close to black, with the overall tone unified in black and gray. It is combined with a stainless steel case with black PVD coating, a see-through case back using smoked sapphire crystal, and a black rubber strap with gray stitching, bringing a sophisticated and urban atmosphere to the wrist.

Furthermore, energetic and sporty accents are added with minute markers on the flange displaying a combination of Arabic numerals and bars, and a perforated rubber strap.

The New Freelancer, Expressed in Traditional Colors for a Modern, Sporty Look | RAYMOND WEIL

The anthracite coloring applied to the movement is achieved through a coating technology using a platinum alloy called NAC finishing. This was realized through cutting-edge technology developed over three years and completed in 2017 by STS (Saulcy Traitement de Surface), a Swiss surface treatment provider favored by luxury watch Maisons.

Élie Bernheim, CEO of RAYMOND WEIL, resonated with STS's ability to express traditional French colors with new technology, and in 2018, they announced a skeleton model of the "Freelancer" equipped with an anthracite-colored movement. This timepiece is the second generation, further updated.

NAC finishing, which allows for uniform coating without color unevenness due to its high ductility and adhesion, is applied to the main plate, bridges, and rotor of the movement, creating a deep, lustrous beauty akin to lacquerware. Each part is skeletonized, with the main plate and bridges featuring perlage decoration, and the rotor combined with a hairline finish, expressing the tradition and innovation of Swiss watchmaking.

The movement is the Caliber "RW 1212," completed in 2017 by the RAYMOND WEIL development team in collaboration with movement manufacturer Sellita, over 18 months. Its distinctive feature is the bold design that places the balance wheel, usually at the 12 o'clock position, at the opposite 6 o'clock position. The parts and weight were repeatedly adjusted to allow the precise and beautiful movement of the mechanical watch to be viewed from the dial side, and then skeletonized. It is a movement befitting the flagship collection of RAYMOND WEIL, which upholds the belief in sincere watchmaking.