Raymond Weil’s Freelancer Complete Calendar is slim, stylish and a stunning value proposition
Jamie WeissThere’s something of an emerging trend in the watch industry right now, which is seeing young challenger brands – who have built their reputations and success upon solid, entry-level luxury watches – ‘graduating’ to higher complications. Frederique Constant now has in-house tourbillon and perpetual calendar movements. Christopher Ward’s doing free-sprung open balances and a sonnerie au passage. And then you’ve got Raymond Weil, who’s similarly out here winning GPHG awards and experimenting with world timers and flyback chronographs. At Watches and Wonders Geneva earlier this year, Raymond Weil introduced one of their most interesting watches yet: the Freelancer Complete Calendar, which is not only RW’s first complete calendar watch, but a new high watermark for beauty as well as value for money from the Genevan brand.
The case
The Freelancer family is one of Raymond Weil’s most expansive collections, encompassing a variety of different case shapes and watch formats. The Freelancer Complete Calendar has a straightforward, dressy case, measuring up at 40mm in diameter and 10.15mm thick with lyre(ish) lugs and a broad bezel. 10.15mm makes this one of the thinnest complete calendar watches on the market at any price point.
Two variants are available: a straight stainless steel and a rose gold PVD-treated, both of which feature a preponderance of polished surfaces with a very light brush applied to the case sides. A large, ‘RW’-engraved crown aids in the fine adjustment of all the calendar functions. If I had a nitpick, I’d probably prefer a smaller crown – it feels a little tool-watch-y – or perhaps some crown guards to protect it and add some visual detail.
The dial
I’d describe the Raymond Weil Freelancer Complete Calendar’s dial as being classic with a touch of contemporary flair. The layout is symmetrical and traditional, with day and month windows found above the central pinion at 12 o’clock topped by the Raymond Weil logo, and a moonphase indicator and date hand combined in a single sub-register at 6 o’clock. Unlike the more customary moonphase disc in the Millesime Moon Phase, which features a cheery, smiling moon, the Freelancer Complete Calendar’s disc depicts a photorealistic moon, which was actually inspired by a real NASA photograph. Neat.
A complete calendar is unequivocally an old-school sort of complication, but I like how the Freelancer Complete Calendar keeps things fairly modern. It’s the little things, like a legible but not austere font choice for the numerals on the date wheel, or the slim minute track chapter ring. I reckon the big lume dots on its hour indices will also age really nicely: indeed, I think this whole watch will age well. The steel model gets a smart-casual dark blue sunray dial, whereas the rose gold model gets a off-white silvery colour RW calls ‘Dune’, also with a sunray finish and paired with rose gold PVD indices and hands.
The straps
Each variant gets its own strap option: the steel gets a Jubilee-style five-link bracelet, and the gold gets a brown calfskin strap. The latter has brushed outer links with the three smaller centre links polished up, affixed with a butterfly clasp, whereas the gold’s leather strap has a case-matching folding clasp. The bracelet is totally serviceable, but I prefer the look and feel of the leather strap. If I owned the steel model, the first thing I’d do is put it on a dark blue alligator strap to dress it up a little.
The movement
Like Raymond Weil did with its RW1212 movement, which was designed by the brand in Geneva but is produced by Sellita in its Le Crêt-du-Locle facilities, the new RW3281 powering the Freelancer Complete Calendar was also produced in collaboration with the eminent movement manufacturer. It’s based upon the popular Sellita SW300-1 (which cluey collectors might’ve guessed anyway by the design of its rotor hub), but features an in-house complete calendar movement. It also boasts Sellita’s RDM+ barrel, which boosts the power reserve to 56 hours (even with the additional calendar complications).
The fact that the RW3281 is based on the SW300-1 is no bad thing, actually. On the contrary, I think it’s a major selling point. First of all, it helps keep costs down, which at the end of the day has always been Raymond Weil’s modus operandi. Secondly, the SW300-1 is a known quantity and easily serviceable – even with the addition of a complete calendar complication, these Freelancer Complete Calendars won’t break the bank to keep running.
Most crucially, however, it helps the Freelancer Complete Calendar achieve its remarkable thinness. I wager a vast majority of collectors would prize a thinner watch over a wholly in-house movement just for the sake of it, any day of the week. Finishing-wise, it’s been decorated in a pleasing if not spectacular way. A custom skeletonised, vertically brushed Raymond Weil rotor swings above machine-applied côtes de Genève and perlage, with the balance oriented at 12 o’clock.
The verdict
It was clear on the ground in Geneva in April that the Raymond Weil team were really proud of the Freelancer Complete Calendar… And they should be! I think it’s worth not glossing over how lovely and relatively thin this watch is. Combine that with classic, handsome looks, great specs and sharp pricing, and RW have a real winner on their hands. A Swiss-made complete calendar for less than 4k USD is unheard of.
It can sometimes be fraught talking about the concept of ‘value for money’ with watchmaking, or casting a brand as being an affordable challenger. But it’s a label RW has never been afraid of. There’s nothing wrong with a brand trying something new and expanding its value proposition, and that’s what the Freelancer Complete Calendar is: a great value proposition in an increasingly competitive market.
Raymond Weil Freelancer Complete Calendar pricing and availability
The Raymond Weil Freelancer Complete Calendar is available now from Raymond Weil retailers, with both variants priced identically. Price: US$3,650, A$6,600, CHF 3,495, €3,775, £3,195
| Brand | Raymond Weil |
| Model | Freelancer Complete Calendar |
| Reference Number | 2766-ST-50001 (stainless steel) 2766-PC5-64001 (rose gold) |
| Case Dimensions | 40mm (D) x 10.15mm (T) |
| Case Material | Stainless steel PVD rose gold stainless steel |
| Water Resistance | 100 metres, screw-down crown |
| Crystal(s) | Sapphire front and back |
| Dial | Blue sunray, nickel-plated hands and indices Dune sunray, rose gold PVD hands and indices |
| Strap | Stainless steel Jubilee-style bracelet, butterfly clasp Genuine brown calfskin strap, rose gold PVD-coated ‘RW’ folding clasp |
| Movement | RW3281, Sellita SW300-1 base with in-house calendar module, automatic |
| Power Reserve | 56 hours |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, seconds, day, date, month, moonphase |
| Availability | Available now |
| Price | US$3,650 A$6,600 CHF 3,495 €3,775 £3,195 |