Raymond Weil S.A.

My watch reads 12:15 PM as I ride up to watchmaker Raymond Weil's 4-story head office. I'm about five miles from downtown Geneva on a ridge overlooking the railroad freight yards. Trying the front doors I find them locked. Hmm, that's typical around here where from noon to 1:30 most companies shut down.

I ride around the area and return at 2 PM to find receptionist Jacqueline Badan Zosso unlocking the front doors. "What time do you close for lunch?" I ask. "12:30", she answers. I explain what I do and how I sent a letter of introduction a month earlier to CEO Oliver Bernheim. The receptionist calls upstairs and no one knows anything about the letter. Just then, CEO Bernheim comes walking into the lobby. I'm standing right next to him as Badan Zosso shows him my yellow postcard and explains in French what I do. Bernheim doesn't even look at the card and just dismisses the whole thing with a wave of his hand as he heads to the elevator a few steps away. Bernheim was standing so close to me I could smell his breath yet he doesn't even acknowledge my existence---seems to me he has an exaggerated sense of self-importance.

Well, there's nothing special about the building. Receptionist Badan Zosso says it was built in 1990 but to me it looks older. About 70 people work here. Didn't see any Raymond Weil watches on display though Badan Rosso is wearing one.