Wearing The Ninth Art On The Wrist: The Raymond Weil Millesime Chronograph Limited Edition Largo Winch
Raymond Weil struck gold with the Millesime, a vintage-inspired watch that won a GPHG award. Belgian comics artist Philippe Francq (1961) also received praise and awards with his Largo Winch series of comic books. The titular character, a Yugoslavian adventurer whose birth name was Largo Winczlav, first appeared in 1990. Since then, 24 graphic novels have come out in French, the original language, and many other languages worldwide, entertaining millions of readers. The Raymond Weil Millesime Chronograph Limited Edition Largo Winch comes out in a universal watch language and will entertain just 300 watch and comic book fans.
What I found most appealing about the vintage-inspired Millesime Tri-Compax Chronograph I reviewed earlier this year was the absence of “fauxtina” on its black dial. Raymond Weil managed to create that warm, nostalgic feeling watch enthusiasts so desperately crave today, not by making the watch look vintage through trickery but by using strong graphical design elements. If you allow me this bombastic statement, the sharpness of a well-executed sector dial transcends time. The Genevan brand, founded in 1976, did great with the Millesime Tri-Compax Chronograph, which comes with either a solid black dial or a blue one with white registers. And now there’s a white and green “panda,” the Raymond Weil Millesime Chronograph Limited Edition Largo Winch.
Feeling like an adventurer wearing the Raymond Weil Millesime Chronograph Limited Edition Largo Winch
The Millesime Chronograph Limited Edition Largo Winch (ref. 7765-STC-50651) differs from the non-limited references in the “RW” collection in two major ways — the dial and the case back. The stainless steel case has a moderate 39.5mm diameter, a 46mm lug-to-lug length, and a 12.9mm thickness. It’s also still water resistant to 50 meters and comfortably fits just about any wrist. Inside the Largo Winch LE also beats the the Sellita-based caliber RW5030, an automatic 27-jewel movement with a 4Hz frequency and 65-hour power reserve. The bubble case back and slim case band also remained the same, but the watch’s name-giver, Largo Winch, severely disrupts the view of the movement.
Largo Winch on a bridge
When you flip over the watch, you will see Largo Winch casually standing on a bridge. No, Fratelli, I don’t mean a movement bridge but an actual bridge. It’s a big bridge in central Geneva. Largo Winch casually carries a bag on his shoulder, equally casually showing the watch named after him with the Genevan flag prominently showing and a detail of one of the lake-cruising boats in the background. Comics artist Philippe Francq was deeply involved in the creation of the watch. He first hand-drew sketches of the scene on the case back on paper with his pencils, and after that, they were converted to digital blueprints.
It results in a very precise picture that shows the codes of the Largo Winch universe, not just on the case back but also on the dial. For instance, the color of dollar bills (Pantone 4214C) was used to color the sub-dials as well as the markings for the tachymeter scale.
Wanna be like Largo?
As the picture on the case back shows, the hero wears this very watch. So, when you put it on, you really can be like Largo Winch. I know someone who wears this watch to be like Largo, and that’s Elie Bernheim, Raymond Weil’s CEO. In the press release about the newest Millesime, he says, “As a child, every album by Philippe Francq took me on an amazing journey to somewhere in the world, and it still does today with my family and children, who are also fans.” Since RW is based in Geneva, I think Mr. Bernheim sometimes walks across the bridge close to the famous fountain in the lake with a bag slung over his shoulder and the Largo Winch LE on his wrist. I can’t blame him. It must be an empowering experience.
Final words on the Millesime Chronograph Limited Edition Largo Winch
In a previous article, I raved about the watch’s box-shaped sapphire crystal over the dial, which helps to achieve the goal of optical slimness and underlines the watch’s retro vibe. I also praised the flat, vertically brushed bezel, polished and classic rounded lugs, traditional pump pushers, and large, fluted crown.
The two existing versions of this chronograph look great. They have a tri-register layout that doesn’t clash with the sector-style dial, peripheral tracks, and central crosshairs. In black or blue, the sub-dials look well balanced with the stick-style Super-LumiNova-treated hour markers and the lumed obelisk-shaped hour and minute hands.
In green, the three slightly recessed sub-dials showing the running seconds at 9, a 30-minute counter at 3, and a 12-hour totalizer at 6 o’clock look their best. Blue and white make a great color combination, but in this case, white and green seem to be a bit more special. The gray leather strap also plays a part in creating a look I have a hard time resisting. To me, this watch truly feels befitting of a graphic novel hero.
The Raymond Weil Millesime Limited Edition Largo Winch, a homage to such a hero and the ninth art itself, costs US$3,775 / €3,895. Seeing that the two non-limited versions cost US$3,625 / €3,725, it’s a minor price increase for a more exclusive watch with a non-gimmicky LE look and a very cool case back. I know “cool” is a subjective term, but one look at Largo Winch, and you know what is objectively cool.
