Continuing its recent efforts to have some fun while also maintaining its connection to artists, Raymond Weil has created a special edition watch incorporating the neo-expressionist art of Jean-Michel Basquiat. While Raymond Weil has focused its art watches on musical icons like The Beatles and Les Paul, this watch brings another twist to the brand’s elevation of artists through watches. With the Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat (via its exclusive licensing agency, Artestar), Raymond Weil has brought the seminal artist’s look to its Freelancer chronograph with the Raymond Weil X Basquiat™ Freelancer Special Edition.
The Basquiat™ Freelancer Special Edition gets its case from the stock Freelancer 7780 chronograph, with a 43.5mm diameter and 13.7mm thickness. The case is made of titanium which should help balance the size when on the wrist. The pushers and screw-down crown are PVD coated for added contrast, with each receiving inserts with symbols borrowed from Basquiat’s work. The black ceramic tachymeter bezel is struck with slashes of primary colors. Even in the press photos, there’s almost an electric kinesis created by the colorful markings on the bezel. The watch has a flat sapphire bezel and 100m water resistance and comes on a fitted black leather strap (which in my recent experience is far too thick and far too stiff) with a branded deployant buckle.
The bezel is just the first act, though, as Raymond Weil has used the dial as a full canvas to exhibit Basquiat’s most celebrated works. At 12 o’clock we find the artist’s crown symbol (fully lumed), which he used throughout his short career as a symbol of class struggle and inequality (perhaps ironic on a $4k timepiece). In the center of the dial, the famous “Pez Dispenser” dinosaur makes itself known; this image was demonstrative of Basquiat’s use of pop culture icons. In fact, the original artwork featured both the Pez dinosaur and the crown, and in doing so created an implicit link between consumer culture and inequality. The running seconds subdial gets intersecting lines echoing the bezel, with a cutout spiral, while the 30-minute chronograph register touches on the broad themes of Basquiat’s work: life, death, and humanity. While it isn’t part of the theme, the script date wheel all of a sudden seems more at home with this watch design than it did on the earlier releases of the bi-compax model. Note, too, that the chronograph seconds hand and the pulsations scale get the color treatment.
On the sapphire crystal in the stainless steel caseback (it’s PVD coated to get the titanium look), the brand has printed Basquiat’s signature, which hovers over the RW5030 movement. This rebranded Sellita Sw510 BH features a custom rotor, though I would’ve liked to see the brand triple down on the crown symbol here. It runs a 28,800 vph with a 56-hour power reserve. The chronograph features a column wheel mechanism but omits the flyback functionality of the RW5530 seen in the recent Pilot chrono.
Being a student of art, and artist, or an admirer of Basquiat’s work isn’t a prerequisite for enjoying a watch like this. At the risk of reducing the artist’s important body of work, this is a fun watch. You don’t need to know that all the colors, symbols, and pictograms are derived from such a brilliant artistic mind to fall in love with this vibrant watch, but knowing it will almost certainly make you appreciate it more. The Raymond Weil X Basquiat™ Freelancer Special Edition is priced at $4,495 USD and while labeled as a special edition, does not appear to be limited. For more information, please visit the brand’s website.
