Elie Bernheim is musing on his second novel, “Partition Secrète,” a thriller published in February. It is meant to be a quick read. “My goal was to create something you can finish in one evening,” he says. Why? “It’s my way of doing things in life.”
The point he is making, he says, is not about doing things quickly, but about making them accessible. It’s a theory learned from his day job: Mr. Bernheim, a Swiss 45-year-old, is the chief executive of Raymond Weil, one of Switzerland’s so-called accessible luxury watch brands — as in, watches priced in the low thousands of dollars.
Mr. Bernheim may not find much time for writing novels this year. It is the 50th anniversary of his family’s watch company, and his inbox is overflowing. There is the opening (and running) of a first boutique for the brand in its home city of Geneva; the promoting of an anniversary collection of watches (to be introduced this week at Watches and Wonders Geneva); and the fulfilling of The Legacy Tour that began in March and is scheduled to take in stops around the world.
When we spoke, he was fresh off a plane, back from the Japan leg of the tour. He was in his Geneva office, speaking via video call, and insisted that the accessible luxury model his grandfather, Raymond Weil, had adopted when he founded the company in 1976 was still working. “While there is slowdown for some brands, we are growing,” Mr. Bernheim said.
By how much, he would not say, exactly. Morgan Stanley estimates that Raymond Weil’s sales hit 79 million Swiss francs ($100 million) last year, up from 64 million ($81 million) the year before. The number of watches sold last year remained at around 80,000, with an implied average selling price rising to around 1,600 Swiss francs ($2,000). The figures are, Mr. Bernheim said, “not so far from reality.”
Growth has been driven, he said, by two recent collections, the neo-vintage Millesime and the Toccata Heritage, an oval-shaped watch based on a 1990s piece that was one of his grandfather’s favorites. Millesime now accounts for 20 percent of sales and Toccata Heritage 10 percent, he said.
New iterations of both collections are to be introduced this week at Watches and Wonders Geneva, where Raymond Weil is one of 65 exhibiting brands. There will be an anniversary piece called The Fifty, which is a chronograph version of the Millesime in steel and limited to 50 pieces, and a feminine watch called Toccata Muse, based on an original 1977 design, intended for sale later this year.
Mr. Bernheim joined the family business in 2006. At the time, his father, Olivier, was running the company, having succeeded his father-in-law in 1996. Elie Bernheim took the reins in 2014, shortly after Mr. Weil’s death at age 87.
But it was not until the Covid period that he really felt he had assumed control. “I had the feeling we could lose everything,” he said of those first few months when the industry and the world went into lockdown. “I was afraid of the situation, but it helped me make a major decision” to assume total control of product design and direction in a way he had not done before.
He was halfway there during his first six years as chief executive, tapping a number of rock bands and musicians as he bid to “target a younger audience and rejuvenate our consumer.” Watches tied to famous bands and musicians such as the Beatles, AC/DC and David Bowie gave the Raymond Weil brand “multigenerational” appeal, he said, and reflected his own passion for music. “Sometimes you need to take drastic decisions to transform your company,” he said.
The effect of the post-Covid new-look designs was almost instant. In 2023, the Millesime, a vintage-looking round watch on a leather strap, won the Challenge Prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, awarded to watches priced under 3,000 Swiss francs (about $3,800). “It had a huge impact and put us under the spotlight for some time,” Mr. Bernheim said. The Toccata Heritage, a collection of slimline watches that each retail for less than $3,000, followed in 2025.
Mr. Bernheim has taken the brand into new markets, as well. “Before Covid, we had zero points of sale in Japan,” he said. “Today, it’s 65. Hong Kong was almost no distribution. Now we have 12 very nice, select points of sale there.”
The United States remains Raymond Weil’s largest market, accounting for 30 percent of global sales, he said, with Britain not far behind with 20 percent. Covid also prompted a digital rethink, he added, noting that 20 percent of the company’s sales were now through e-commerce.
While fresh designs appear to have renewed interest in the brand, Mr. Bernheim said their popularity went beyond looks.
“Price is one of the key factors in our success,” he said, noting that most Raymond Weil watches retail for $5,000 or less.
He was critical of a trend that has seen many brands raise prices to offset falling volumes. “Some end consumers felt abused by that situation,” he said. “And we’re all paying for that,” adding that he thought Swiss watches as a rule were now too expensive.
Mr. Bernheim said Raymond Weil’s growth had attracted offers from buyers “very recently,” but that he had no plans to sell. “My grandfather said to my father, and he said to me, that you can always be tempted,” he said. But family history suggests that even in today’s challenging climate, he is unlikely to succumb. When his grandfather founded the company , the sector was beset by macroeconomic problems, as well as the onslaught of new quartz technologies, which led to hundreds of Swiss watchmakers going out of business. Today, wars, tariffs, the soaring Swiss franc and price of gold echo those difficult times.
Mr. Bernheim sees the parallel. “It’s a very challenging period,” he conceded. “There is not a single day when we do not need to take into consideration a new external factor.” But one advantage of being an independent company is its “agility, flexibility and reactivity,” he said. “In this climate, which is sometimes scary or difficult, it helps.”
Raymond Weil does however, remain dependent on a global network of third-party retailers. There are around 2,500 Raymond Weil points of sale around the world, but until recently, none were operated by the company. That changed when, earlier this month, it opened a boutique in Geneva’s Old Town as part of its anniversary activities.
His approach could look a bit risk-averse or old-fashioned, but it is beginning to look prudent. While elements of Swiss watchmaking face an uncertain future, Mr. Bernheim has confidence in his plan. “I have one single objective,” he said. “To pass the baton one day to a fourth generation.” A story worthy of another, slightly longer thriller, perhaps.
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