In December 2024, I reviewed Raymond Weil's Maestro. I was impressed by the family-run company's commitment to preserving the traditions of the Swiss watchmaking industry. The Toccata Heritage, featured here, is Raymond Weil's latest venture into the dress watch category.
Raymond Weil "Maestro" review. This price and quality are the result of a "master conductor"
FEATURESPhotographs & Text by Shun Horiuchi
[Article published on January 3, 2026]
The next assassin sent by Raymond Weil, the man behind the hit "Millesime"
Raymond Weil's Millésime collection is a big hit. As a webChronos member, I'd like to mention that this Millésime collection also includes a limited edition model, known as the "Pirojim," produced by editor-in-chief Masamasa Hirota, whose design reflects his personal tastes.
Traditionally, many watch brands have created special edition watches incorporating their own unique essence, such as exclusives to retailers or watch media. However, it is rare to hear of a watch that incorporates the personal tastes and subjective opinions of an editor-in-chief of a watch media outlet. The success of Millesime is also largely due to the brand's generosity in turning such an idea into reality. This point reveals the true nature of the company as a "family business." However, the success of Millesime is also a reflection of the quality of its original design, such as the design and quality of its regular models.
This model won the Challenge Watch Award at the Geneva Grand Prix Watchmaking (GPHG) 2023. It was the catalyst for the Millésime hit. Automatic movement (Cal. RW4251). 28,800 vph. Power reserve of approximately 38 hours. Stainless steel (diameter 39.5mm, thickness 10.25mm). Water resistant to 5 bar. Price: 374,000 yen (tax included).
Regarding this phenomenon, I believe that "Raymond Weil has recently grasped the formula for success." It is difficult to say exactly what this formula is, but I think it is that the design and packaging are excellent, the details are well-balanced, and the price is reasonable. Above all, the most crucial factor is the "design." However, this is purely a personal opinion.
In Japanese, "design" is closer to design, but in English it also includes the term "sekkei." Watch design is closer to the latter. To be successful in design, one must be familiar with the numerous design variations and design grammar that have been created in the past, and of course have a vast knowledge of everything related to watches, including parts such as movements and cases, as well as their structure and manufacturing methods. They are by no means "one-hit wonders," and so it is only natural that a brand with such a long history can continue to produce a stable of excellent products.
Raymond Weil has revived the two-hand thin dress watch as a tradition, or heritage, in the form of the Toccata Heritage. Some watch enthusiasts may recall the Patek Philippe Golden Ellipse when they see its case shape, sunburst dial, and applied bar indexes. While the price range is an order of magnitude higher, the key is to ensure that the price difference is not felt and that the appeal of the Toccata itself is sublimated.
A slim, two-hand dress watch reminiscent of watches from the 1970s. It's a hand-wound model with an irregular rectangular case. The copper dial is also eye-catching. Hand-wound (Cal. RW4100) 18 jewels, 28,800 vph. Power reserve approximately 45 hours. Stainless steel case with RGPVD (33mm x 38mm, 6.95mm thick). Water resistant to 3 bar. Priced at 319,000 yen (tax included).
Actual impression of the Toccata
It's inevitable that seeing the Toccata will make you think of the Golden Ellipse, and as someone who owns a hand-wound Golden Ellipse, I can't help but give my impressions while glancing at it. However, this article aims to provide an evaluation and impression of the Toccata as a mass-produced watch with a price cap of around 30 yen.
Impressions of the appearance and structure, comparing with Patek Philippe
First, let's take a look at its appearance and structure.
The watch I used for my impressions over the course of about a week was the Ref. 2280-PC5-80001, a manual-winding model with a rose gold PVD case and copper dial. Its dimensions are 33mm long, 38mm wide, and 6.95mm thick, making it the perfect thin dress watch. I measured the lug width, which I was curious about, to find it was 17mm, and the buckle width was 14mm. I was struck by the tapered strap, which reminded me of a classic dress watch.
Although the Golden Ellipse is typically a lugless model, there are also lug-equipped models such as Ref. 3546, 3746, and 3846, so it should be noted that the lug-equipped model is not the "biggest difference from the Golden Ellipse."
In addition, there are a wide variety of Golden Ellipse designs other than the basic oval shape, such as TV screen shapes and horizontally long oval shapes, and at one time there were as many as 50 different references available. In other words, the design of this type of oval-shaped two-hand dress watch had been almost completely cultivated by the 1980s. Patek Philippe is truly impressive. I have summarized this in an entry from about seven years ago on my blog, "Tokino Tawagoto Blog," so if you are interested, please take a look (http://reverso.txt-nifty.com/blog/2019/05/post-2ab40a.html).
Back to the topic.
Now, let's look at how Toccata differs from Golden Ellipse, mainly in terms of design.
The shape of the case sides is different. Specifically, the Toccata tapers towards the case back.
The shape of the hands is different. Ellipse watches are based on thin baton hands.
In other words, that's pretty much the only difference between the two watches. While the shape of the case sides gives it a unique look, the Toccata's frontal appearance is almost identical to the Golden Ellipse. However, as mentioned above, the price is an order of magnitude lower.
Since the renaissance of mechanical watches in the late 1990s, the Golden Ellipse has not been very popular, but it has been gaining attention in recent years, making the release of the Toccata timepiece ...
Even the critical writer was convinced by the detailed content
Let's take a closer look at the details. I know I'll be making comparisons with Patek Philippe at every turn, but that's OK.
First of all, I think the dial is its greatest feature. It has a beautiful radial sunray finish and excellent color. The quality is high. The applied indices are also very sharp. However, it is inevitable that Patek Philippe wins in terms of the smoothness of the surface and the precision of the assembly. That said, it is amazing that they can use this dial in this price range, as it is of such a high level.
The hands, unlike Patek Philippe's baton hands, are slightly tapered, with a slender dauphine shape, except for the ridged portion. While the manufacturing process is of course die-cut, the surface is smooth and well-balanced with the dial. The flowing yet clear edges make a good impression. The hour hand, in particular, flies low close to the dial, and the details are well-crafted.
Also, if the indexes are too thin, they look cheap, but this model is thick enough. The closer the clearance between the minute hand and the index, the more luxurious it generally looks. The vertical spacing between the hands determines how narrow the dial cover width can be, and this model has been closely spaced to a mass-produced level, giving it dimensions that are more than adequate for a dress watch.
Although there are limitations in the manufacturing process, these details are extremely important to prevent a dress watch from looking cheap, and I felt that the watch was carefully designed with the key points in mind.
The black printed minute indices between the five-minute applied indices are kept to a minimum length, making them very natural for a dress watch. The brand name is also printed sharply.
The crystal is naturally flat, fitting perfectly with the distinctive bezel shape, which is neither round nor angular.
The case is entirely polished, which is different from the Golden Ellipse, which has a combined satin and polished finish, but this doesn't look out of place at all. The lugs are understated and leave a good impression, and unlike the Golden Ellipse Ref. 3546, which has a single stroke extending from the side of the case, this gives it a unique look.
The case is two-piece, and the case back is secured with screws at all four corners. While I don't think this is a watch that will be used in situations where you will sweat a lot, these screws are inevitably small, so you should take care to avoid moisture on a daily basis so that you can securely fasten and remove the case back without them getting stuck or breaking during maintenance later.
The case back is a see-through case back, and the oval sapphire crystal glass reveals the Sellita Caliber SW210-1b (RW4100 in this model), which is modeled after the ETA2801. This is an 11.5-ligne round hand-wound movement, and with the relatively large balance wheel located at 12 o'clock, it almost appears to be an oval movement. This is an excellent design that utilizes the illusion. While the finish is merely average, it is clear that attention has been paid to the details, such as the hairline on the main bridge and the use of blued screws.
Actual usage experience and considerations based on design constraints
Now, let's move on to my impressions after actually using it for about a week.
The winding feel needs to be reconsidered.
This is a manual winding watch, and for everyday use it basically requires winding it manually using the crown every day. Winding from a stationary state where the mainspring is fully unwound is relatively easy at first, but as the winding progresses it gradually becomes heavier, and by the time it is fully wound there is considerable resistance.
I wanted to see if this was just my own experience, so I asked my wife to wind the watch when it was about 8% wound. Her response was, "My fingers hurt and I couldn't wind it at all. It was so resistant that I felt like if I applied any more force I would wind the mainspring all the way."
I should point out that this may be a problem specific to this particular unit, so if you do purchase it, please make sure to check whether this is at an acceptable level.
Here's a consideration. It's not hard to imagine that the mainspring used in Cal. RW4100 (SW210) is quite strong, but I also think that the reduction ratio from the winding stem to the barrel is relatively small.
The obvious solution to reducing this winding force would be to make the crown larger. In fact, the Toccata's crown is large, reaching almost to the bottom of the case back, and is clearly different from the small crown of the Golden Ellipse. I imagine that the reason for the see-through back was not only to allow users to enjoy viewing the movement, but also to ensure the thickness of the case back, which allowed for the larger crown.
However, I felt that the design of this crown did not fully utilize its size from the perspective of winding. If it had been given a knurl with sharper ridges and a design that maintained a large diameter all the way to the outer periphery where the finger rests, the impression might have been slightly different.
Since a hand-wound watch is basically wound by turning the crown every day, it is important that the winding process, which is directly connected to the mechanism, is comfortable. If it weren't a little lighter, it would be difficult to move on to impressions such as the "click feeling of the screwdriver." This is a shame, as the watch is otherwise well-made.
There is also a smaller, thinner quartz model of the Toccata. The crown on this model is relatively small, giving it a similar appearance to the Golden Ellipse. The manual-winding Golden Ellipse is equipped with the Cal. 23-300 or Cal. 215 movement, and both have small and delicate manual winding torque, which I think reflects the price difference. It can't be helped.
Movement characteristics
There are two more points to note about the movement, which are not good or bad but rather distinctive features.
First of all, this movement is a center seconds movement, with the fourth wheel located in the center. Since it only has two hands, it doesn't really matter whether the gear train is a small seconds or a center seconds, and that's true. However, thin, hand-wound, two-hand dress watch movements are strongly associated with small seconds gear trains, such as Patek Philippe's Cal. 215, Vacheron Constantin Cal. 1001-1003, and Jaeger-LeCoultre's Cal. 849. The prominent gear in the center of these famous small seconds movements is the second wheel, and because it takes one hour to complete one rotation, its rotation is difficult to notice.
On the other hand, since the Cal. RW4100 is a center-seconds watch, the center gear is the fourth wheel, which rotates once per minute. I'm sure I'm not the only watch enthusiast who finds this speed strange.
What's even more interesting is that this movement is hackable! Since there is no second hand, there seems to be little point in stopping the hands, but the mechanism is used as is without any modifications. However, if you were to try to make a thin, hand-wound, two-hand dress watch like the Toccata mass-produced at an affordable price, the most likely movements would be the ETA2801 and SW210.
The accuracy of this watch cannot be measured precisely because it does not have a second hand, but after a week or so, it was found to have gained approximately one minute of time visually. A simple calculation shows that it gains within 10 seconds per day, which is quite accurate.
About the fit
This model has a see-through case back, which makes it slightly thicker than a solid case back. Still, the packaging is impressive, coming in at just 6.95mm thick, and its not-too-big size means it sits comfortably on the wrist. It's so thin, there's no need to mention the height of the center of gravity, and it fits easily into a shirt cuff, making it a perfectly reasonable dress watch.
The sophisticated green calfskin strap is embossed with an alligator pattern. However, it has a high-quality feel, is supple, comfortable, and by no means cheap-looking. There are no visible seams on either the front or back, making it a classic dress watch strap design. What's more, there are very few other men's watches these days that feature a strap with a 17mm lug diameter and a 14mm buckle.
The buckle, designed with the case shape in mind, is an easy-to-use pin buckle and has the same rose gold-colored PVD finish as the case. It is primarily made using a press process, and the logo appears to be laser-marked. There are almost no irregularities on the back or sides, which are often seen on budget watches, and the finish is excellent, considering the price.
These features result in a superb wearing experience, as expected of a thin, two-hand watch. The only weak point for everyday use is the stiffness of the winding crown, which is a real shame. Again, this may be an issue specific to this particular watch, so please check before purchasing.
Summary
The Toccata is a new release from Raymond Weil, which has "gotten it" when it comes to creating a hit, and it certainly lives up to its name. While it feels strongly influenced by the Golden Ellipse, which has become popular in recent years, the lug shape and other features are unique, while the texture of the parts and the excellent overall construction and details, which are important in a thin dress watch, make it a highly-integrated, excellent overall package, even without considering the price. It would be a strong choice for connoisseurs looking for a thin dress watch.
