The Freelancer collection stands actually for what Raymond Weil really is. You might not think of the brand as such, because of its success and scale, but Raymond Weil is still a family owned and operated watch brand. When the current CEO, and grandson of Raymond Weil, Elie Bernheim joined the company in 2006, the freelancer collection was his first creation.
Almost a decade later the Freelancer collection has lost none of its appeal. And the latest addition is the perfect example of Urban Chique. 42mm in diameter is still a nice size for a chronograph; easy to read and operate yet not to bulky to interfere with the movements of your wrist. The high polished steel of the case is a nice contrast with the slate grey dial, that gets a bit of a velvety look thanks to the sun-brushed decorations. In our honest opinion nothing is at chique as a grey dial. But when you combine this with orange accents for the chronograph hands, the grey provides a sporty contrast.
And sporty it is, thanks to the chronograph in this watch. The Freelancer is powered by a Valjoux 7750 automatic movement. This is still regarded as one of the most robust and reliable chronograph movements out there. Typical for this movement is the day and date function and Raymond Weil has incorporated them both in the Freelancer. Personally we would have loved to see both the day and the date wheel in slate grey with orange writing on them. However, we must reluctantly agree that the black on white is much easier to read.
Cool detail on the Freelancer is the running seconds sub dial. This one looks screwed on the dial, adding another playful element to the watch. A plain calf leather strap ensures that you can wear it comfortable on the wrist. While we normally prefer to see a bit of texture in our straps, this smooth leather compliments the dial perfectly. All together the new Freelancer Chronograph is a solid addition to Raymond Weil’s line-up and we wouldn’t be surprised to see it soon on the wrist of quite a few urban watch enthusiasts.