type family owned independent swiss luxury watches brand industry watch manufacturing founded 1976 founder raymond weil headquarters geneva switzerland key people elie bernheim ceo olivier bernheim president raymond weil founder products wristwatches timing devices systems fashion accessories swiss luxury watches website www.raymond weil.com raymond weil gen ve french pronunciation em v j is a swiss luxury watchmaker founded in 1976 in geneva . it is a family company founded by raymond weil 1926 2014 1 2 and now managed by olivier bernheim weil s son in law and his two sons elie and pierre bernheim . it is one of the last independent brands in the swiss watch industry . 3 4 tango 5599 st 00659 contents 1 history 1.1 initial setup 1.2 development 1.3 key people 2 watch collections 3 advertising 3.1 charity actions 4 engagement in the arts & music 5 distinctions & awards 6 references 7 external links history edit 1976 raymond weil creates the company at a time when the swiss watch industry is in turmoil due to the quartz crisis . 5 1982 olivier bernheim raymond weil s son in law joins the company . 6 1983 the amadeus collection is launched in conjunction with milo forman s film of the same name . 7 1986 launch of the othello collection an ultra thin watch 1.2 mm 8 1988 launch of the traviata collection 9 1991 launch of the parsifal collection . 7 1995 launch raymond weil s still actual collections tango one of the most famous collections . 10 1998 the don giovanni line is added to the collection . launch of the saxo collection . 7 1999 the celebrate the moment advertising campaign is presented promoting raymond weil s supposed attachment to music art and culture worldwide . the research & development department is created to have full control of the watch design process . among other innovations the company s r & d group created the complication for the gmt function of the famous don giovanni cos grande two time zones watch and the interchangeable bracelet system for the shine collection . 11 2001 raymond weil unveils the new othello collection . 12 2003 the new parsifal collection is launched around the world . 12 2006 elie and pierre bernheim mr raymond weil s grandsons join the company . this same year the ladies shine collection is launched and raymond weil is the first luxury watch brand to propose the rw club for their fans and watch owners 13 2007 launch of the nabucco and freelancer collections . the new brand identity logo and independence is a state of mind concept was introduced . 14 2009 launch of the ladies noemia collection . creation of the nabucco rivoluzione limited edition . 15 2010 launch of the maestro collection . creation of the nabucco va pensiero and freelancer summertime limited editions . 14 2011 launch of the jasmine collection and maestro 35th anniversary limited edition . creation of the brand s first moon phase complication movement . new advertising campaign and slogan precision is my inspiration . 14 2012 launch of a new advertising campaign depicting musical scores taking off around the brand s latest watches . launch of the maestro phase de lune semainer raymond weil s first automatic watch with date day month week number and moon phase complications . 14 2013 launch of the precision is my inspiration brand film and accompanying microsite drawing a parallel between the composing of music and the creation of a watch . 16 17 18 2014 launch of the toccata collection . 19 20 elie bernheim grandson of mr raymond weil takes over the management of the company . 21 22 initial setup edit raymond weil created the brand that bears his name in 1976 a period of crisis for the watch industry . he then set up his distribution network first in europe and then worldwide . 5 weil s son in law olivier bernheim enters the company in 1982 after several years working in the marketing field for heineken and unilever . he is appointed president and ceo in 1996 and has been working on the development of the brand s worldwide presence since then . 6 elie and pierre bernheim olivier bernheim s sons joined the company in 2006 . elie bernheim co founder of 88 rue du rhone works as a marketing director and works on the strategic development of the brand while preserving its family identity . pierre is a sales director and travels to develop new markets . 23 24 parsifal 9460 sg5 00658 two tone silver dial development edit raymond weil gen ve first developed in europe in the uk before developing its distribution network worldwide first starting with the united arab emirates and then the united states and india in the early 1980s . olivier bernheim created the research and development department in 1999 with the full control of the watch design process as an objective . the r & d department is responsible for the complication for the gmt function of the don giovanni cos grande two time zones the patented interchangeable bracelet system for the shine collection the moon phase complication on automatic movement of the maestro collection . 25 the brand opened in 2009 its own subsidiary in the united states rw usa corp. thus ending its collaboration with its historic distributor . it also created rw india pvt. ltd. in 2010 100 % subsidiary company in bangalore and opened several exclusive boutiques in delhi mumbai chennai that same year . raymond weil gen ve watches are now sold worldwide . 26 27 28 29 in 2013 the brand converted its distribution contract in the united kingdom into a management agreement and created a subsidiary r. weil distribution uk ltd in april . 30 the company also develops its presence online . it is the first luxury watch brand to have opened a club reserved to watch owners . the brand was also the first in the luxury watchmaking industry on location based social media foursquare and the first to use fcommerce facebook commerce . in september 2007 raymond weil also became the first luxury watchmaker to create its island on second life . the brand s presence on second life and other social media channels is part of a strategic choice to adopt new channels of communication so as to be closer to clients and convey the brand s values . 31 32 33 key people edit parsifal 7260 sc5 00208 automatic chronograph two tone on leather strap raymond weil founder and honorary president was born in geneva in 1926 . after he got a diploma in commerce he entered camy watch s.a. a swiss watchmaker in 1949 where he was to become manager and spend 26 years of his life . in 1976 during a crisis that affected the watch industry he decided to create his own company . 34 raymond weil occupied several high positions in various professional organisations he was president of the geneva watchmaker union vice president of the watchmaking industry training centre cfh and member of the watchmaking federation fh and other employers associations . until 1995 he was also president of the exhibitors committee of the basel international watch and jewellery fair . raymond weil is married has 2 daughters and 6 grandchildren . he got his flying certificate at the age of 56 . 5 on 27 january 2014 the company announced that raymond weil died . 1 olivier bernheim president he was born in 1954 in strasbourg france and has a law degree from the management school of strasbourg france . he started his career at kronenbourg before he became marketing development manager at unilever in paris . he joined raymond weil gen ve s.a. in 1982 34 and became president and ceo in 1996 . his mission was to restructure develop and consolidate the image and international presence of the brand without it losing its family identity . olivier bernheim shares mr weil s interest in music and art and has oriented the brand universe in that direction . he founded the research and development department in 1999 . olivier bernheim is both swiss and french and is married to mr weil s elder daughter diana a professional pianist . they have three children together elie pierre and no mi . 31 elie bernheim ceo is olivier bernheim s elder son . after graduating from the prestigious ecole h teli re de lausanne and creating his own import export textile company elie joined the family company in 2006 . his mission is to plan the brand s strategic development . just like his father and grandfather he enjoys music and owns a professional diploma in cello . among his various projects and developments one can count the renewal of the collections change of raymond weil gen ve s corporate identity creation of new male and female advertising campaigns with famous swiss photographer jo l von allmen and the nabucco advertising . 31 ellie bernheim became ceo of the company in april 2014 . 21 22 pierre bernheim director is mr weil s grandson and the second son of olivier bernheim and joined the company in 2006 . already graduated in accounts pierre graduated in international business and administration from la haute ecole de gestion in geneva . interested in finance he worked in institutional asset management for mirabaud bank one of the most famous swiss private banks . he is passionate about aviation and owns several flying certificates a flying licence a high aerobatic flying licence and a seaplane licence . 24 31 watch collections edit noemia 5932 sts 00995 32 mm steel on steel 62 diamonds nabucco 7700 tir 05207 steel and titanium intenso special edition freelancer 7730 stc 65025 automatic chronograph steel on leather strap rose gold indexes and hands toccata 2014 originally created in 1996 the toccata collection was redesigned and relaunched in 2014 . the collection is said to be a tribute to the art of composing . it is a quartz collection . 19 20 jasmine 2011 jasmine is a ladies collection and offers its models in two diameters and both quartz and automatic movements . maestro 2010 maestro proposes both ladies and men s watches . the collection was enhanced in 2011 with maestro phase de lune watches which as their name suggests is equipped with a moon phase complication . that same year also saw the creation of the maestro 35th anniversary edition to celebrate the brand s 35 year of activity in the watchmaking field and a special edition to benefit the union for international cancer control uicc . noemia 2009 the name is a reference to mr weil s granddaughter no mi . it is a ladies collection and offers two diameters and is manufactured with a quartz movement . a special edition noemia sweet october was designed in 2010 to benefit susan g. komen s breast cancer foundation komen for the cure . nabucco 2007 this men s collection was named after giuseppe verdi s opera of the same name . it is a fully mechanical collection and has had several limited editions cuore caldo 2008 rivoluzione 2009 va pensiero 2010 inverso 2011 intenso 2012 cuore vivo 2012 . freelancer 2007 freelancer is both a ladies and a men s collection . its name is claimed to be a homage to mr weil and his desire to remain independent . this collection saw the introduction of a balance wheel visible through an aperture on the dial and the creation of a mechanical range for ladies . the collection was enhanced with special models freelancer black 8 freelancer autumn time freelancer crazy time freelancer lady sunshine and freelancer urban black . shine 2006 shine is for women . its distinctive characteristic is the patented interchangeable bracelet system which allows the wearer to easily change the strap . each watch is sold with a leather