Freelancer Piper is the first ever pilot watch by Raymond Weil in its nearly four decades of existence. The timepiece is inspired by the founder’s passion of flying and its styling incorporates several design details that are borrowed from a plane’s cockpit. As for the features, the aviator-friendly traits of the self-winding mechanical watch are its GMT time zone and its chronograph with a tachymetric scale. The watch will be available next fall, at the price of $3,500.
Raymond Weil was the founder of the independent watchmaking brand that he named after himself and which is nowadays ran by his grandson, thus remaining one of the few brands that are still held privately. The man who established the company was a famed watchmaker and musician, but he also had a passion for flying and he was a pilot, as well as an owner of a Piper airplane that he mostly used to fly over the picturesque scenes of the Swiss Alps. In order to tribute the founder’s passion of flight, Raymond Weil Watches is now launching its very first pilot’s timekeeper.
However, the watch only has a few traits that are convenient for pilots. The most notable of these is its GMT feature that is used to show the time in the GMT time zone and which is naturally useful for people who are long distance travelers. Other supported functions of the watch are its chronograph and date display.
The flying spirit of the watch is mostly visible in its styling. One can notice central hour and minute hands that are shaped in a way that resembles the blades of a Piper plane, the small seconds counter looks like the altimeter, while the shape of the GMT hand resembles the pointer of a compass.
By the way, Raymond Weil Freelance Piper is made with a black face with Arabic numerals. Its hands are heavily coated with luminous material, while the supported pointers come in blue and red colors. Most of them are barrel shaped, except the small seconds pointer which is of baton type.
The watch from the Freelance series is set in a round housing made from the combination of stainless steel and titanium. Its diameter is 45 mm, while the thickness is 13.7 mm. The construction of the timekeeper with the reference number 7754-TIC-05209 likewise incorporates a screw down case-back with sapphire crystal, a screwed crown with the brand’s logo, as well as a front sapphire crystal with two sided glare-proof treatment. Thanks to its construction, the watch is waterproof to 100 meters.
The functioning of the men’s timepiece by Raymond Weil is based on a self-winding chronograph movement whose precise designation is RW5020. The caliber integrates 25 rubies and has a power storage which keeps the watch ticking for 46 hours.
As for the bracelet, Freelancer Piper has a black open-worked genuine leather strap which fastens with a folding clasp made of steel and titanium, The clasp includes a double push-button security system. As it has been mentioned, the watch which will hit the shops in about three months will be available at the price of $3,500.
