Raymond Weil Caliber RW4251 Watch Movement

Brand	Raymond Weil
Caliber Number	RW4251, RW 4251
In-House?	No
Base Caliber	Sellita SW260-1 or SW261-1 (see below)
Movement Type	Automatic, self-winding mechanical
Lignes	11.5”’
Diameter	25.6mm
Height	4.6mm or 5.6mm (see below)
Jewel Count	31
Beat Rate	28,800 vph, 4 Hz
Lift Angle	50 degrees
Power Reserve	38 hours
Rotor Style	Ball-bearing
Rotor Winding Direction	Bi-directional
Hand-Windable?	Yes
Anti-Shock Device	Incabloc
Hand Count	3
Functions	Central hours; central minutes; small running seconds subdial at 6:00
Hacking Seconds?	Yes
Country of Manufacture	Switzerland, Swiss made
Known Models	Raymond Weil Millesime (Ref: 2930-STC-65001) (Add your watch to the comments below…)

The Raymond Weil caliber RW4251 is a 3-hander with a small seconds subdial found in the brand’s Millesime Automatic Small Seconds model. The same watch won the Grand Prix de l’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) Challenge Watch Prize in 2023 (source: Raymond Weil press-release 11/15/23).

It is unconfirmed if the RW4251 is a true no-date movement, meaning that it does not have a phantom date position. If you have this watch, please leave a comment below…

Some of the topics covered in this caliber listing:

RW4251 VS RW4200:

Raymond Weil has a similar calibre RW4200 with the main difference being that it has a date at 3:00 – the RW4215 being discussed on this page is a no-date.

Apparently it is so similar, that the brand themselves use an image of the RW4200 on the official product page for the Millesime watch powered by the RW4251. And let’s not get started on the inconsistent caliber number: RW42XX in the website text, but RW 4200 (with a space) on the rotor.

And to make matters worse, if you look closely under the balance wheel of their stock photo, it looks like it says SW200-1, which is a central seconds hand movement.

Editor’s Comments: There is no excuse for a watch brand to present their products in this manner. Especially large watch companies with watches retailing for thousands of dollars. It is lazy and quite frankly not respectful to the customers. As a brand-builder and founder of a 1.5 decades old eCommerce watch shop, it is mind-boggling to me how a brand can get away with such flagrant lack of effort in their presentation. Yet, as many brands have proven, people will still spend money on watches displayed in computer generated imagery with inconsistent information. Alas, I guess that’s why you’re on my site looking it up… but where’s the commission check?

Base Caliber:

The base movement of the RW4251 appears to be a Sellita with a custom rotor.

You may see some reviewers reference the Sellita caliber SW261-1 as the base for the RW4251, but Caliber Corner thinks it is closer to the SW260-1. They are very similar movements, but the small seconds hand pinion is either higher or lower on the dial depending on the version. See below…

The difference between the SW260-1 and SW261-1 is less than a millimeter of distance between the position of the small seconds hand. The image above may be an optical illusion caused by case and dial size (it’s based on a computer render after all). Therefore, this is unconfirmed and just a best guess based on visuals. It would not be surprising if it is in fact the SW261-1 since that movement seems to be more widely used than the SW260-1.

Of course, it doesn’t help when a watch brand is not transparent about their movement specs and the base movement used. If you have a watch with the RW4251, please check under the balance wheel and post an image if possible.

Interestingly, Raymond Weil does not bother to list a jewel count for the RW4251, nor is it found on the rotor or caseback, but their site does list a movement height of 4.6mm. Sellita lists the height of the SW26X-1 as 5.6mm. The SW200-1 (central seconds) is 4.6mm.

Editor’s ~~Comments~~ Rant continued from above: It’s frustrating when the brands themselves do not fully understand the movements in their watches.