RAYMOND WEIL – FREELANCER 'World-Traveller' Blue Dial 40 mm Steel 50th Anniversary Edition 2026
1976-2026: 50 YEARS OF, 100 YEARS OF HERITAGE.
The Freelancer World-Traveller pays tribute to Mr Raymond Weil, the visionary founder with a passion for Swiss watchmaking and travel, through a timepiece that brings together GMT and Worldtimer functions.
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To celebrate the centenary of the birth of its founder, Mr Raymond Weil, and the 50th anniversary of the Maison he established in Geneva in 1976, Raymond Weil unveils the Freelancer World-Traveller. This new creation, limited to just 260 pieces, combines GMT and Worldtimer functions to offer three simultaneous time displays – local time, a second time zone and, through the 24 cities arranged around the bezel, the time zones of the world. At the heart of the dial, a relief world map brings this invitation to travel vividly to life, in a tribute to a man with a deep curiosity about people, cultures and distant horizons.
“The Freelancer World-Traveller is, of course, about travel, but what resonates with me most is what travel meant to my grandfather. For him, travelling was a way of connecting with others. He was curious about people, cultures and different ways of thinking, and he built Raymond Weil through these encounters. Some of those relationships still exist today, several generations later. This watch speaks of that openness to the world, but also of something deeply personal and familial — the passing down of a story that began with him, and which we now have the responsibility of carrying forward." Elie Bernheim, CEO of Raymond Weil.
On 10 October 2026, Raymond Weil would have celebrated his 100th birthday
Some anniversaries are a celebration of a Maison; others bring us back to the man with whom it all began. In 2026, Raymond Weil will celebrate fifty years of independent watchmaking. Fifty years of a family tradition that began in Geneva in 1976, when, at a particularly challenging time for Swiss watchmaking, one man set out to establish an independent watchmaking Maison bearing his own name. This decision — a bold and visionary one for its time — would lay the foundations for a family story now carried forward by the third generation.
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The 10 October 2026 marks another, even more personal anniversary — the birth of Mr Raymond Weil himself, who would have been 100 this year. An entrepreneur, pioneer and passionate traveller, Raymond Weil also harboured a genuine passion for flying. He spent much of his life travelling the world to promote his Geneva-based watchmaking Maison, meet with partners and build relationships that often went above and beyond the professional realm. For him, travel was not simply a matter of getting from one place to another. It was about connecting with people, discovering a culture, understanding a market, sharing a moment, building a relationship and, often, making it last. Some of the partners he met on these journeys are still working with the Maison today, in some cases through a second or even third generation. The Freelancer World-Traveller was born out of this legacy.
Freelancer, a collection born in the spirit of Mr. Raymond Weil
When Elie Bernheim first conceived the Freelancer collection in 2007, he chose a name that expressed a particular vision of independence — the freedom to make decisions, to forge one’s own path and to follow one’s intuition.
This was a philosophy that closely echoed that of his grandfather. Almost twenty years later, as the Maison celebrates its fiftieth anniversary, the Freelancer collection was the natural choice to embody this tribute.
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At Raymond Weil, however, independence was not just about the company’s family structure; it was a way of life. It was the way of an entrepreneur who, in 1976, at a time of major upheaval in Swiss watchmaking, chose to establish his own Maison rather than follow a pre-determined path. This is precisely the spirit that the name Freelancer has embodied since its inception.
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“When I chose the name Freelancer in 2007, I was already thinking of my grandfather. To me, he embodied the meaning of that word long before the collection existed — a man who was free in his decisions, independent in his approach to business, and bold enough to follow his own path. Nearly twenty years on, choosing Freelancer to mark his 100th birthday is no coincidence. It is perhaps the collection that best captures the man he was." Elie Bernheim, CEO of Raymond Weil.
Freelancer World-Traveller: the world in relief, time without borders
Conceived as a true traveller’s watch, the 40 mm Freelancer World-Traveller presents its information across three distinct levels. At the centre, the dial features a world map in relief, around which the traditional hour, minute and second displays are arranged, as well as the GMT hand, highlighted with a red outline and fitted with a white Super-LumiNova® insert for optimal readability of the second time zone. Surrounding this, a 24-hour graduated flange provides an immediate indication of day and night: from 6 am to 6 pm, it takes on a champagne hue, while the period between 6 pm and 6 am is rendered in midnight blue. Finally, a third ring, uniformly finished in midnight blue, features the names of 24 cities corresponding to 24 time zones.
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The world map is one of the most intricately crafted elements of the dial. It is inspired by the Mercator projection, and created through a series of stamping processes that bring the continents into relief while precisely preserving the positions required for the hour markers. Laser texturing is then used to accentuate the contours and give the world map its topographical appearance. Colouring is subsequently applied in several stages. The continents are first treated and protected before the midnight-blue colour of the oceans is applied. No gradients are used — instead, contrasts in colour, texture and relief create the depth of the dial. Raymond Weil’s hand-written signature, on the dial and the minute track, is then applied using a decal, and then the hour markers, enhanced with Super-LumiNova®, are fitted.
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The outer ring featuring the 24 cities is directly connected to the watch’s rotating bezel. Its indexed, notched mechanism allows the selected city to be positioned precisely against the 24-hour scale, making it easier to read the different time zones. The bezel’s new fluted design also improves grip and reinforces the functional character of the timepiece.
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The navy-blue strap, accented with tone-on-tone topstitching, complements the timepiece’s overall colour scheme. On the caseback, ‘World-Traveller’ is engraved as a reminder of the commemorative significance of this creation, produced in a limited edition of just 260 pieces to mark the centenary of the founder’s birth.
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TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION
Collection:FREELANCER
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Reference: 2762-STC-02026
Material: Stainless steel, with a combination of brushed and polished finishes
Dimensions: 40 mm
Thickness: 10.25 mm
Glass: Sapphire crystal with double-sided anti-reflective coating
Crown: Fluted and stamped with RW
Caseback: Screw-down, with sapphire crystal
Water-resistant to 50 m, 160 ft, 5 atm
Dial
In three parts:
Dial featuring a relief-rendered world map in champagne, stamped and textured. Hand-written ‘Raymond Weil’ signature applied by decal
‘24-hour’ flange with a day/night indication (midnight blue from 6 pm to 6 am and champagne from 6 am to 6 pm)
Midnight-blue ‘world’ ring featuring the names of 24 cities
Hands: Polished tonneau-shaped hands with white Super-LumiNova® green glow
Index: Nickel-plated applied hour markers with Super-LumiNova® green glow
Movement
Self-winding mechanical movement with GMT – RW3230
Power reserve of 56 hours
Functions
Hours, minutes, seconds
Worldtimer, Day/Night, GMT, date (window at 6 o’clock)
Strap
Navy-blue leather strap
Stainless-steel RW folding clasp with double safety push-buttons
🔴MSRP: CHF 3’995 /USD 4.395 / EUR 4.395 / GBP 3’895💰
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Press Release- 2026
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RAYMOND WEIL S.A
AVENUE EUGENE-LANCE 36-38
P.O.BOX 1569 - 1211 GENEVA 26
SWITZERLAND
TEL. 022/884.00.55
FAX 022/884.00.50
For any further information:
RAYMOND WEIL Genève
prdepartment@raymond-weil.ch
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