- Man of Many
Raymond Weil is a company unshackled. For over 40 years, the family-owned household name in horology has remained independent, and as such, maintained a unique ability to foster left-of-centre ideas and designs that another maison might be inclined to pass over. Their affinity with loud music and celebrating those who’ve both rocked and rolled is already undisputed, with thanks to their Music Icons special edition pieces of late, which have seen designs honouring David Bowie, Les Paul and Marshall Amplifiers (though, while a Marshall may go to 11, these ones go to 12).
In one of our favourite mash-ups between delicate Swiss mechanical watchmaking and High Voltage Rock ‘n’ Roll (an already flourishing market, we’ll have you know), Raymond Weil’s latest automatic timepiece is an elegant nod to one of the highest selling bands of all-time: Australia’s own hall-of-famers AC/DC.
With a design pulled directly from the Freelancer playbook (read: a 42mm case, two-hands and a balance wheel handsomely exposed at 6 o’clock), it’s already an attractive and practical watch. We covered the recent addition of a skeleton timepiece to the Freelancer range not long back and discussed in detail Raymond Weil’s ability to maintain finesse, class and independence in an ever-changing marketplace. Once again, they’ve proved that no matter their muse, theirs is a tireless and distinct pedigree.
Take, for example, the studded indexes surrounding the dial. At a distance, striking, but up-close a very clever detail. Subtle and understated, it would be so easy to go overboard with a design brief like this, but each element has been tied to the last, and what results is a linear feel to a unique piece of Rock ‘n’ Roll memorabilia.
AC/DC first graced radios in 1974, and despite several line up changes, has continued to fill stadiums and sell records consistently for over 40 years. Guitarist Angus Young and his brother Malcolm steered a collection of the world’s best rock musicians through decades of sold-out tours, record-breaking album sales and hit after hit. Malcolm sadly passed away earlier this year, his spot in the lineup, as rhythm guitarist, has been filled by his nephew Stevie. Their 1980 album, Back in Black, is the highest selling album by a rock group in the world; the second highest selling album of all time in the US, in fact. All up, the band has sold over 200 million records globally since they first struck the strings
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