Introducing: Three New Raymond Weil Millesime Small Seconds Watches With Tuxedo Dials
Three years ago, the Raymond Weil Millesime Automatic Small Seconds timepiece won the GPHG 2023 Challenge Watch Prize. That was a bigger surprise to most watch fans than Audemars Piguet winning the Grand Prix for the Code 11.59 Ultra-Complication Universelle RD#4. Since that award-winning watch, many variations have debuted. And truth be told, they all share the same universal beauty and appeal of the RW model that surprised the world. Three new Raymond Weil Millesime Small Seconds watches featuring tuxedo dials will not stir things up as much as the first Millesime did three years ago. Still, the Millesime has become somewhat of a head-turner.
The three New Raymond Weil Millesime Small Seconds watches with tuxedo dials are direct descendants of the GPHG winner. They offer the same 39.5 × 46.3mm steel case with nicely shaped, short lugs and a 10.25mm total thickness. Thanks to these measurements, it fits well on the wrist. There are also a couple of details here. The bezel, for instance, shows a vertically brushed satin finish that contrasts ever so delicately with its polished, beveled edge. Plus, the case keeps the self-winding caliber RW4251, a Sellita SW261-1 that beats at 4 Hz (28,800 vibrations per hour) and has a power reserve of 38 hours, safe and dry to a depth of 50 meters underwater. It’s the new dials that make the difference.
Three New Raymond Weil Millesime Small Seconds watches with tuxedo dials
The three new Raymond Weil creations show tapered, silver-tone hour and minute hands that provide plenty of contrast with the dial during the day. Not only that, but a touch of Super-LumiNova also provides readability in dark conditions. The Millesime sector dials inspired by Art Deco aesthetics got a boost from the addition of color. The result is a Millesime that looks more solid somehow and a bit more contemporary.
Mainly, the color combinations lend it a modern appearance. A dial in red grape with a light gray hour ring (ref. 2930-ST-05450) is hardly a classic colorway for classic watches. Midnight blue with a black hour sector (ref. 2930-ST-05502) also looks quite contemporary. The white-and-black creation (ref. 2930-ST-05642) is by far the most conservative, yet even that watch commands attention. Let me phrase it like this: it’s not like a waiter that blends into the decor but, rather, a well-known, confident secret agent who’s ready for a game of high-risk poker.
Depth and discretion
Beneath a vintage-inspired domed sapphire crystal, these three watches’ sector dials alternate light and dark zones to structure legibility. At the same time, they are good examples of visual sophistication. A close inspection of the dials reveals different finishes, for instance.
The hour track is smooth, the minute track is concentrically grained, and the dial’s central area features a fine, vertically brushed finish. It is intersected by structural crosshairs and a V-shaped groove, graphic signatures that subtly echo the Art Deco spirit. Also, the opaline, recessed sub-seconds register framed by a discreet recessed ring at 6 o’clock is nicely detailed.
The bold, classically toned composition features a light central disc, minute track, and small seconds counter set against a black hour ring with contrasting Arabic numerals. Reference 2930-ST-05502 shows added depth, featuring midnight blue across the central section and sub-dial, framed by a black-lacquered hour ring and blue minute track. The reference with a red-grape center and sub-dial displays a light gray hour ring, while the minute track reprises the red-grape color to tie the watch together, so to speak.
Trying on a “tux”
The three references each come with an interchangeable calfskin leather strap. There’s also the option of a stainless steel five-row bracelet. The price for a Millesime Small Seconds Tuxedo on a leather strap is €2,250 / US$2,295. With a bracelet, the watch costs €2,375 / US$2,425.
Which tuxedo is the right one for you? Are you going to play it safe and choose classic white and black, or is the more modern combo of blue and black the way to go? Although you will never catch me in anything red-grape-colored with light gray accents, let alone a tuxedo, when that color combination is applied to a Raymond Weil Millesime Small Seconds, it is my pick.
