Watches & Wonders can be a blur of new releases in and of itself. So, when a brand asks if you want to preview some upcoming introductions for the year ahead, it can start to make your head spin. However, at my Raymond Weil appointment this past spring, I relinquished. The brand had a small display of archival pieces in a vitrine at their booth, and its Chief Marketing Officer Jeremie Bernheim assured me the reveal would be worth viewing alongside the mini museum of vintage designs. What he shared with me was a new capsule within Raymond Weil’s Toccata collection drawing from the retro models and aptly named Toccata Heritage. Today, this collection comes to you in nine styles, each more beautiful than the next, and with the option of either quartz or mechanical, manually wound movements for the first time.
If you have followed Raymond Weil through any point of its nearly 50-year history, you know the brand loves to play with shape and case architecture. The existing Toccata collection explores this with a combination of rectangular and round models. For the new Toccata Heritage capsule, the maison has refined this design language even further.
Here, you have a shape the brand simply calls oval, but in my humble opinion, this description does not do the case justice. The case design of the new Toccata Heritage models is decidedly not the harsh, egg-shaped oval profile you might associate with other watch brands. Instead, it takes the structure of the current rectangular models as a base and rounds and softens the edges to create its own signature shape that is best described as a rectangular cushion silhouette. “The shape may not seem revolutionary and in fact is rather simple,” Bernheim explains. “However, to build something this well balanced with the perfect proportions to be versatile and unisex for any wrist was not as easy as one might think – it was really like a chemical equation our designers labored over.” This work paid off, and I can personally attest that the shape and the proportions (33x38mm for the mechanical versions and 31x36mm for the quartz versions) lay perfectly on the wrist, even my petite 5.75-inch wrist.
The consideration of design and shape extends even further in the four mechanical versions. Here, for the first time in the Toccata collection, you have the option of a manually wound movement – the Swiss-made RW4100, based on the Sellita SW210. Visible through an oval exhibition caseback, the movement takes on the illusion of the oval shape while in fact being a standard round caliber. “When we gave a sneak peek of these models at Watches & Wonders, as you remember, we really fooled people with the exhibition caseback,” Bernheim jests. “So many people remarked on the oval movement and asked how we achieved that – then they were very surprised to learn it was not our expertise in mechanics at play but rather our expertise in design.”
This attention to detail really epitomizes the ethos of Raymond Weil. Founded in Geneva in 1976, Raymond Weil’s mission was to democratize Swiss watchmaking by creating exceptional watches in the Swiss tradition but at steady and accessible price points. Now in its third generation of family leadership and on the precipice of its monumental 50th anniversary year in 2026, the brand perpetuates this legacy thanks to maintaining its independent status.
“It is really an honor and a privilege to learn time and time again over the years that we are many new collector’s first Swiss watch,” beams Bernheim. “While many brands are trying to capture higher and higher segments and their prices begin to go through the roof, we remain steady. On the business side, we have received critique for this,” he confesses. “We have had many people say that we are stupid – that for the quality we offer, we should price higher and have better margins – but fortunately, because of our independence, we do not have to listen to this. We know what we stand for.”
In addition, you also have five quartz versions that embody the classical essence of Raymond Weil. You must orient yourself in the year of the brand’s founding, 1976. This was right in the middle of the quartz crisis. Yes, Raymond Weil initially launched with quartz pieces in line with the times, but you still must understand the bravery and drive of a Swiss brand to establish itself in a time when the entire watch industry was in flux. When you really consider it, the move was quite audacious and maybe a bit crazy and ill-advised, yet it paid off.
The new Toccata Heritage lineup is anchored by these quartz pieces that really reflect the roots of the brand. Here, you have five different style variations in a wide array of configurations including classic stainless steel as well as stainless steel with both yellow gold and rose gold PVD. In the stainless steel and rose gold PVD iterations, you have the option of a five-link bracelet. Alternatively, there is also the choice of a calf leather strap. In addition, you have three different dial colors, each with a sunray finish – either silver, grape, or blue. Last but not least, the quartz versions also offer the choice of a diamond bezel in the stainless steel and rose gold PVD variants.
The manually wound mechanical models offer a different and more subdued yet complementary color palette. Here, you have three stainless steel versions with the choice of a silver or blue dial and five-link bracelet or calf leather strap. The piece de resistance of the mechanical lineup is the rose gold PVD version with a gorgeous monochromatic copper dial complete with a contrasting dark gray leather band.
Thanks to the brand’s commitment to accessibility across all of its collections – quartz and mechanical – the prices between each of the variants whether technical or aesthetic remains within a tight range, starting at $1450 and going up to $2625. All nine versions join Raymond Weil’s core collection as a precursor to the brand’s 50th anniversary celebration just months away as we count down to 2026.
For that anniversary year, we can expect to see some exciting things from the brand, expanding on the archival pieces we saw presented at Watches & Wonders this spring. CEO and third generation of the family leadership Elie Bernheim shares, “For our 50th anniversary next year, we are preparing a very special timepiece that will honor our heritage while showcasing the evolution of the brand—this tribute piece will reflect our past and how we plan to step into the future.” Raymond Weil
Cait Bazemore
2025-10-29 18:00:00