Almost half a century after its founding in the Genevan heart of Swiss watchmaking, RAYMOND WEIL continues to demonstrate its worth in the luxury watch landscape with contemporary designs, compelling product offerings and competitive price points. One of the watchmaker’s latest releases is the RAYMOND WEIL Freelancer Chronograph 7741, a balanced and modern chronograph that is available in your choice of green, or a more traditional “Panda” black and white.
The brand was born amid the Quartz Crisis of the 1970s, however, RAYMOND WEIL persevered through the challenges that many other brands weren’t fortunate enough to survive. This success was thanks, in part, to the fact the brand was family-owned, giving it the agility and flexibility to adapt to the changing horological landscape. It remains family-owned to this day.
The recently released RAYMOND WEIL Freelancer Chronograph 7741 forms a part of this legacy, as a carefully designed and reliably constructed timepiece that is more affordable than it looks. It’s a modern watch through and through, featuring a comfortably sized case, ceramic tachometer bezel and super legible dial.
Both the green and white examples arrive with a 43.5mm stainless steel case, which looks sharp thanks to its clean blend of satin-brushed and polished surfaces. It’s not an ultra-thin timepiece at 13.7mm thick, however, it remains balanced and proportionate, delivering plenty of presence on the wrist without feeling cumbersome.
The case is secured with a sapphire crystal caseback that guarantees 100m of water resistance, while also offering a great view of the automatic movement inside. The chronograph is activated via the pair of steel pump pushers, while you’re able to set the time thanks to the oversized screw-down crown.
The dials of both watches are immediately compelling, nailing the details to offer impressive visual depth and legibility. The design team made the right decision in not including a date window, keeping the two dials clean and symmetrical, and emphasising the subdials of the classic tri-compax chronograph. The green dial is an approachable shade of forest green that would nicely complement almost any outfit with silver-toned circlets framing the three counters, while the quintessential cool of the white dial with contrasting black subdials needs no justification whatsoever.
Powering these two RAYMOND WEIL Freelancer Chronograph 7741 references is the automatic Calibre RW5030, which serves up 56 hours of power reserve. The white dial reference arrives on a stainless steel jubilee-style 5-link bracelet which looks like a million bucks, and the green dial version comes complete on a colour matched green leather strap that perfectly complements the dial.
The latest Freelancer Chronograph from RAYMOND WEIL showcases not only that the brand can make a really good-looking watch, but also that it has its finger on the pulse of what watch enthusiasts are looking for in 2022. As an attractive everyday timepiece, there’s a lot to enjoy about both of the new RAYMOND WEIL Freelancer Chronograph 7741 references.
On the steel bracelet, the RAYMOND WEIL Freelancer Chronograph 7741 arrives with an RRP of $5,795, and the version on the leather strap is $5,695. Both are currently available from selected retailers and online.
This article is sponsored by RAYMOND WEIL. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Boss Hunting.
