Watches

Founder’s grandson takes over at Raymond Weil

WatchesAug 09, 2016

Founder’s grandson takes over at Raymond Weil

Swiss watch brand Raymond Weil announced Thursday that Elie Bernheim is its new CEO, taking over for his father, Olivier Bernheim. 

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Elie Bernheim, the new CEO of Raymond Weil
Geneva--Swiss watch brand Raymond Weil announced Thursday that Elie Bernheim is its new CEO, taking over for his father, Olivier Bernheim.

Elie Bernheim officially was named to his new post Tuesday, and his appointment marks the third generation to head the brand that his late grandfather Raymond Weil founded in 1976. Weil died in January at the age of 87.

RELATED CONTENT: Watch pioneer Raymond Weil dies at 87

Olivier Bernheim, who joined the company in 1982 and became CEO in 1996, will remain president of the watch company’s board of directors and a company consultant. 

 Elie Bernheim began working at Raymond Weil in 2006 after graduating from the Hospitality Management School of Lausanne in Switzerland. He has experience in watchmaking, marketing and company management, and was heading the development and optimization of the brand’s global strategy in recent years.

He also started 88 Rue du Rhone, a separate brand of lower-priced watches, many of them quartz, with his brother Pierre in 2012.

RELATED CONTENT: From Basel: 5 watches from 88 Rue du Rhone

In addition to being CEO, Bernheim will remain head of the watch company’s marketing department.

Founded in 1976 and based in Geneva, Raymond Weil is one of the last family-owned Swiss watchmaking companies. Much of the brand’s inspiration for its watches comes from music--the names of two of its lines, Nabucco and Parsifal, are taken from famous operas--and it has a number of partnerships with concert halls, prestigious awards in music, online music platforms and charitable activities linked to the musical world.

The company notes that Elie Bernheim, whose mother is a professional pianist, shares this passion for music and that it will continue to influence the design and marketing of the brand’s watches going forward. 

Michelle Graffis the editor-in-chief at National Jeweler, directing the publication’s coverage both online and in print.

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