lmost 50 years ago, in 1976, Raymond Weil, formerly at the head of Camy Watch, launched his namesake brand. Success soon followed along with rapid international expansion. Weil’s son-in-law, Olivier Bernheim, joined the company in 1982, becoming CEO in 1996. His son, Elie, came onboard in 2006 and took over as CEO in 2014 —  the year that the founder of the brand, his grandfather Raymond Weil, passed away.

On a personal note, our own father and grandfather, Gilbert Maillard, was an old friend of Raymond Weil, the two having studied together at Geneva business school. Through Europa Star, Gilbert Maillard made an important contribution to the brand’s development. This gave a special tone to our conversation with, on each side, two generations whose stories overlap.

Olivier and Elie Bernheim

Photo: Nicolas Righetti

Europa Star: Olivier, from your arrival at Raymond Weil in 1982 to your appointment as CEO and, to borrow your expression, “captain of the ship” in 1996, the watch industry underwent many major changes, not to say a radical transformation…

Olivier Bernheim: When I started in 1982, the market was a very different place to what it is today. There were relatively few brands in our price range. You had Cartier and its Must, Ebel, Longines, Mido, Tissot… then groups started to form and extend their hold. Our response was to go from supplying large volumes of affordable, quality watches – as many as several hundred thousand units a year – which happened to have the Raymond Weil name on the dial, to developing a distinct style and identity, with products structured into collections.

This was a transformation marked by stages, as we established a brand image. The inflection point came in 1990 with the launch of the Parsifal, which was an instant hit in the United States.

I had Raymond’s full backing throughout this period of profound change. He understood that the company had to evolve and was always extremely supportive. Perhaps I was the son he never had [Raymond Weil was the father of two daughters: Olivier’s wife Diana, a musician, and Anita, an artist and sculptor]. My early career had nothing to do with watches. I was a marketing guy employed by Unilever. I had my first encounter with watchmaking at the New York State Fair on August 1, 1982.

Advertisement for Raymond Weil from the 1990s. ©Archives Europa Star

From which point, the handover took place gradually…

OB: That’s right. As well as Raymond, I must say I had another wonderful mentor in the person of your father and grandfather, Gilbert Maillard. I was very close to him. He introduced me to the watch industry, its markets and brands. His help in developing concepts, for advertising in particular, would be decisive. He gave me confidence in the directions I was taking and came to my defence when certain agents were proving reluctant. And we had the support of Raymond himself, who was fully behind what we were doing. Also, I hired people for a number of key executive and technical positions. This meant that when Elie arrived, he could count on a highly competent and professional team.

Elie, when you joined the business in 2006, you didn’t have a background in watches, either.

Elie Bernheim: True, I don’t have a technical background in watchmaking but I do have a lot of watchmaking baggage and have done from a young age. I studied at Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne but let’s be honest, my objective was always to join Raymond Weil. I’ve been a watch enthusiast from an early age. I’m a collector at heart and also have an entrepreneurial mindset. My father never put me under any pressure. There was never any mention of my taking the reins, but the fact that I did join the business lifted a huge weight from his shoulders in terms of succession and continuity. I have three children myself and would never force them or tell them it will be their turn next.

OB: When you join a family business, you’re on the front line. You’re responsible for its future. Raymond always listened and showed me immense consideration and so I do the same for Elie. I listen and offer my advice whenever he feels he needs it.

EB: When I arrived in 2006, my grandfather was still coming into the office on an almost daily basis, meaning there were three generations present at the same time. Raymond and Olivier had very different personalities, so I had two people to “coach” me. I also realised that, fundamentally, the job is about having the right people around you.

The Millesime Moon Phase is fitted with the RW4280 automatic movement with 38 hours of power reserve.

What was your first realisation?

EB: That there is always something to contend with. Back in 2006 the economy was in good health, brands were thriving, investing. A year later, in 2007, I created the first collection that was entirely mine, the Freelancer, which now accounts for 40% of sales. And then what? The subprime crisis, the European debt crisis, smartwatches. It’s pretty much one challenge after another, but I’m sticking to the direction set by Olivier, who has moved from a “mass market” mentality to a “less is more” brand, if I can call it that. We want coherency, constancy, legibility, without highs and lows. Our prices have evolved since 2007, rising slowly but surely, with more focused ranges. Prices currently start at around CHF 1,000 and go up to CHF 4,000, with a core price of CHF 2,500, which is double compared to when I arrived. There is a tendency within the market to offer increasingly complex mechanisms but we choose to stay within our comfort zone.

OB: As Raymond used to say: “stick to what you’re good at”.

After music and contemporary art, the brand has looked to graphic novels for this model, inspired by comic-book adventurer Largo Winch.

At one point it did seem Raymond Weil had fallen off the radar, which clearly isn’t the case today.

EB: True. We lacked the means and struggled to compete against others who had ties to groups and far greater investment capability. Particularly in China. We turned the situation around by focusing on markets where we were already performing well, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, English-speaking markets. Having said that, and to be perfectly honest, we did miss one boat. We underestimated the wave of “collectionitis”, the emergence of watch enthusiasts around the globe, and so didn’t pay them as much attention as we should have. We had to recapture the interest of this audience whose opinion shapes trends and tastes on a global scale.

OB: We are part of a long-term perspective. Raymond formed strong bonds with people all over the world and this is possibly his greatest legacy. It’s no coincidence that until 1995 he was at the head of the Exhibitor Committee for Baselworld, where the watch industry and retailers would all converge. Many of these ties are just as strong today. But Raymond’s legacy also lies with the product, its quality, its positioning at “the threshold to luxury” and its distribution.

EB: We currently have a sales network of 2,500 doors.

OB: Distribution needs a stable and reliable independent brand with a long-term vision. A brand which, like us, drives footfall and has a strong sell-out.

EB: The move upmarket has opened a whole new space for us, particularly among multi-brand retailers. Affordable watches are vital to the Swiss watch industry overall. One of the biggest dangers we face would be the loss of this ecosystem.

Which reminds us of something François Habersaat, the then president of the Fédération de l’Industrie Horlogère Suisse, used to say: “Forget the mid-range at your peril!”

EB: We launched the Millesime collection to put the brand back in the global spotlight and also to open new markets. Winning the Challenge Prize at the 2023 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève for the Millesime Automatic Small Seconds confirmed this was the right strategy. The Millesime already accounts for 25% of sales. Another sign that Raymond Weil is back centre-stage is our participation, since 2024, at Watches and Wonders. We’ve entered a virtuous circle.

OB: It’s been a gradual evolution. If you were to draw a line through our markets on a map, it would be like a wave, starting from the United States, through the United Kingdom, Scandinavia, then down to the Middle East, India and Singapore, and now extending to Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Where Europe’s concerned, we’re turning towards Italy.

EB: The only figure we disclose is our annual production of 80,000 watches. Any growth is organic in response to market demand. We don’t go chasing after volume for the sake of it.

Distinguished by a sector dial, in keeping with the neo-vintage trend, the Millesime collection has been regularly extended since its introduction in 2023, becoming a new pillar of the brand in its return centre-stage.

Coming back to our theme, what state of mind should you be in when handing over to the next generation?

OB: When you pass the mantle, you already know the background of the person who is next in line. You hand over to someone you have confidence in. There have been so many changes to the market, and communication is so different now, the matter of most interest to me is the capacity to understand the future which Elie has. Succession always looks to the future. In fact Elie is already thinking about how he will pass the torch himself, whether it’s to his children or to his brother Pierre’s children.

EB: Although I have to say there is a certain sense of solitude. A feeling of marginality compared with the state of the competition today. Its real state.

Raymond Weil has introduced a 38mm version of its international bestseller, the Freelancer Calibre RW1212 Skeleton.

Might you be tempted to sell, one day?

EB: The temptation is always there. We’ve had offers, when the market’s been up and when the market’s been down. But when you’re capable of consistency, investment, when you can develop in an intelligent way and embrace creativity, when you can do all this with confidence and pleasure, why not remain a family firm? Why on earth would you want to sell?