The Beatles – A band that came together in 1960 and defined the style and culture of an entire decade. In fact, even today, in the millennial era, The Beatles official page has over 43 million fans (more than Coldplay, Justin Timberlake, Drake and One Direction).
It’s also not easy to understate the significance of Raymond Weil, being the brand they are and announcing an association of such magnitude. There couldn’t have been a better way for Raymond Weil, an independent, family-owned brand to celebrate its 40th anniversary with a music partnership that beats all music partnerships.
Raymond Weil & Music: When Passion And Precision “Come Together” Like the Fab four, Raymond Weil’s story began a decade later in 1976 in the midst of the Swiss watch industry crisis. But Mr Raymond Weil himself had other ideas. Passionate about music, he knew watchmaking, like music, was all about passion and precision and had a completely different take on a vision of what Swiss watchmaking should be. His vision resulted in the birth of timepieces that would eventually bring a completely new dimension to the industry.
John, Paul, George, Ringo And Raymond...Now that you’re familiar with Raymond Weil and their history of honouring musicians and composers, I can guarantee that The Beatles edition was never going to be an easy task for them, given how big a band they are. But they’ve managed to bring together a watch that not only the most avid Beatles fan will admire, but will please watch collectors as well.
The Dial – Journey Of The Beatles...What looks like a usual stainless steel Maestro at one glance, is distinguished with multiple references to the band. All 13 album titles are placed around the silver galvanic dial in an interesting way: Starting with “Please Please Me”, their first album, to the 4 o’clock indication reserved for the unforgettable semaphore interpretation of “Help”, the band’s fifth album released in 1965, it’s almost as if the dial is taking you on a journey through the band’s recording history.
The dial takes you on a journey through the band’s recording history, starting with “Please Please Me”, their first album, to the semaphore interpretation of “Help”, the band’s fifth album and ending it with “Let It Be”.
But there’s another interesting take on the dial not many must have noticed. Raymond Weil’s choice of going with the shiny black hands and hour markers are inspired by the Beatles’s very own iconic black tie. A very personal touch to the tribute watch.
The black theme (Hours indexes, hands and logo) is in fact inspired by the tie worn by the band!
The Case...The Maestro Beatles is an extremely comfortable watch to wear with its 39mm stainless steel case, which is just 9mm thick. The watch is also complemented with a polished stainless steel bracelet, which goes really well with the classic look of the galvanic dial. Fairly sized at 39mm with a 9mm thickness makes the Maestro Beatles extremely comfortable to have on the wrist.
Smoked See Through Sapphire Caseback...The timeless Beatles logo is also found on the ‘smoked’ see-through sapphire case back where you can also discover which out of the 3000 pieces is yours. In terms of the movement, the watch is powered by an automatic 26-jewel RW4200 – a modified version of the ETA2824 and often found in the original Maestro family, having a simple date display complication and a good 38 hours of power reserve.
The timeless logo of “The Beatles” is engraved on the gorgeous looking smoked see-through sapphire case back.
A Special Commemorative Box...The Raymond Weil Maestro Beatles Limited Edition comes with a special commemorative box having the famous “drum” logo and the same 13 album titles inscribed inside. But what I’ve shared about the watch so far are just facts.
The very thought and emotion behind making this timepiece may be hard to understand for those who were not born and have lived through the “Beatlemania” of the 60’s, even hard for me who calls himself a Beatles fan.
The Fab Four tribute is limited to just 3000 pieces, already sold out in most parts of the world and is exclusively available in India at Ethos Watch Boutiques (If You Are From India).
Happy Shop :)