TOP-LEVEL ATHLETES

The RM 67-02 is ever lighter and more powerful, and is now joined by three new models dedicated to some outstanding athletes. We take a closer look!

What do the tennis player Alexander Zverev, the skier Alexis Pinturault and the Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso have in common? Apart from the fact that they are all famous sportsmen, they now have a Richard Mille watch associated with their name. To understand why, we need to take a flash-back to 2015, when the brand unveiled an elegant-looking model, the RM 67-01. The timepiece made no claims to rival the stars of the extra-flat, but its light and robust case made of Quartz TPT^® and just 7.8mm thick was the forerunner of a more radical development. Two years later, a sports version was launched, the RM 67-02. The strong point of these watches: a new self-winding calibre with finely tuned skeletonised design, the CRMA7, combined with a high-tech case made of Carbone TPT^® and Quartz TPT^®. Last but not least, by keeping to the essential with only the hours and minutes on display, the model weighs just 32 grams, including the strap!

The brand also made a brand-new strap, specially developed to provide an ultra-comfortable user experience. It is made in a single piece, and stands out through added suppleness, meaning it can be perfectly adjusted to its owner’s morphology, like a second skin.

Price: 120,000 EUR richardmille.com

By Dan Diaconu

TIME STARTS NOW!

High-tech materials, a supercharged engine, aerodynamic design – this new partnership hits the track and takes pole position for chronographs.

After an impressive RM 50-03 equipped with a calibre weighing just 7 grams, Richard Mille and McLaren have just unveiled the RM 11-03, the new fruit of their partnership, at the International Motor Show in Geneva! Like the brand’s most recent creations, the watch features high-tech materials from the world of motor racing. Here the orange TPT Quartz evokes the traditional colour of the UK team and is blended with TPT Carbon to form a zebra-style case that is both aesthetic and robust. Other elements take their inspiration from McLaren, too. The chronograph monopushers echo the design of the lights on the 720S supercar, while the crown is inspired by the shape of a car wheel.

The RM 11-03 McLaren comes with an orange rubber strap with the logo of the UK brand. This is a limited edition of 500 pieces available first and foremost to customers of the McLaren Ultimate Series.

Price: 180,000 CHF exc. VAT richardmille.com

By Dan Diaconu

THE SHOCK OF THE ENCOUNTER

The new RM 53-01 concentrates technical innovations to guarantee uncompromising resistance to the most violent impacts during a polo match.

The calibre of the RM 53-01 will resist impacts of over 5,000g, while ensuring a power reserve of 70 hours.

Price: €941,500 richardmille.com

By Dan Diaconu

A BEAUTIFUL BLEND

Innovate and amaze! That could well be a leitmotif at Richard Mille. The new RM 07-01 is no exception with its diamond-paved ceramic case.

The Richard Mille universe may feature countless men’s timepieces but the ladies haven’t been left out with 18 women’s models in the collection. The new RM 07-01 Gem Set Black Ceramic will join the catalogue after being officially unveiled at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie in Geneva in January 2018. The RM 07-01 isn’t a new piece in itself. Its barrel-shape case has appeared in all sorts of materials blending rose gold with white ceramic or brown ceramic with carbon. The latter stands out for its sparkling diamonds.

Richard Mille wanted the new model to glitter on a high-tech black ceramic case. This is a real first for the model! The material’s resistance makes gem-setting tricky. That was another reason to attempt the challenge. Has it been pulled off? The matt finish enhances the brilliant-cut diamonds’ shine. The dazzling results give the CRMA2 calibre a setting with unique distinction.

The self-winding movement fuels the hour and minute hands gliding over the diamond-paved onyx and red gold dial. The openwork rim surrounds the dial unveiling parts of the cutting-edge movement assembled on bridges and a titanium plate. The sapphire crystal back treats you to a glimpse of the red gold openwork and stylised rotor.

“The more beautiful the diamond, the lighter the setting should be,” said Chamfort, the famous 18^th century French poet and journalist. Richard Mille has followed his advice to the letter. The rubber strap only makes wearing the exceptional RM 07-01 Gem Set Black Ceramic even more of a joy.

Price: €111,000 richardmille.com

By Dan Diaconu

On 2 December 2017, La Dolfina, led by Adolfo Cambiaso, beat arch-rival Ellerstina with a score of 14 to 13 at the close of the thoroughly electrifying final of the Argentine Open. It was a magnificent victory for the team, and for the most daring of our partners, Pablo Mac Donough, who held aloft the trophy of the prestigious Argentine Open for an 8th time in his career.

This 124th edition of the event, held at the Campo Argentino de Polo, known as ‘the Cathedral of Polo’, in the Palermo district of Buenos Aires, pitted against each other the two greatest polo teams of today, before a public that turned out in droves to attend the match. The atmosphere was charged, to say the least! As usual, Pablo wore his RM 053 Tourbillon during play, a wristwatch remarkable for its titanium carbide armour specifically designed to withstand the extreme impacts inevitable in polo.

This was the public’s last opportunity to see Pablo play wearing his RM 053, as Richard Mille has developed an all-new polo calibre with the Argentinian player, also driven by a tourbillon mechanism, but even more sturdy, thanks to an unprecedented technology. This latest watch will be unveiled at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie 2018. richardmille.com

EXCELLENCE THROUGH INNOVATION

Rarely has a watch been designed with such a precise aim: to provide accuracy without concessions. Richard Mille achieves the aim with complete mastery.

Since 2001, Richard Mille creations have stood out through a unique style underlining the value of fine-watchmaking mechanisms. With the RM 031 Haute Performance, design

and calibre are as one. The aim? To reach the holy grail: ultimate precision. To achieve exceptional performance, the watchmakers have developed a calibre featuring the very latest innovations. The movement has a direct-impulse escapement developed by APR&P for Audemars Piguet. Running at 36,000 VpH and with two balance springs made from Elinvar (unchanging elasticity), a steel-nickel alloy used in making precision chronometer springs, the transmission results are optimised. The result is a time variation of between 0 and 30 seconds a month. The entire mechanism has been improved to guarantee excellent distribution of the energy produced by the pair of fast-rotating barrels (4 hours per revolution instead of 7.5 hours).

This cutting-edge mechanism is housed in an imposing, round, platinum-machined case measuring 50mm. The design of the watch respects a global approach, with each piece of the movement benefitting from a very high-level finish carried out by hand for perfect integration.

The calibre drives the hours, minutes and seconds. It also has a function indicator at 5 o’clock. When the crown is pulled out, the indicator hand show winding (W), hands (H) or neutral (N), somewhat like the gearbox in an automatic car. The RM 031 Haute Performance comes in a limited edition of 10 pieces.

Price: €1,129,500 including VAT richardmille.com

By Dan Diaconu

WHEN WATCHMAKING MOVES UP A GEAR

It took all the genius of Richard Mille to combine cycling and luxury watchmaking in a timepiece equipped with an odometer.

At a period when connected watches are programmed to keep track of all our sporting exploits, Richard Mille has provided an original take on the trend with the new RM 70-01 Tourbillon Alain Prost. The great French racing driver, who has lent his name to the watch, is chiefly famous for his superb career in Formula 1, but he is also well-known for another one of his great passions, cycling. In answer a simple question, namely, how far have I cycled since the start of the season, Richard Mille has provided an original solution by including a unique mechanical odometer in the watch. In concrete terms, you just need to record the distances manually after each ride. A push button at 2 o’clock is used to select one of the 5 odometer rollers on the dial. When the ride is finished, you just need to press the push button at 10 o’clock to display the figure. The only work the user has to do is to add the day’s distance to the number of kilometres already recorded.

The machined TPT carbon case stands out thanks to its asymmetric lines. The original design makes for easy reading, irrespective of your hand’s position on the handlebars. The RM 70-01 Tourbillon Alain Prost is in a limited edition of 30 pieces. Each buyer will also be given a road bike, specially designed by Alain Prost, Richard Mille and the Italian bike-maker Colnago.

Price: €891,960 including VAT richardmille.com

By Dan Diaconu

HIGHER, FURTHER, STRONGER

Richard Mille hopes to smash the high jump world record with new partner Mutaz Essa Barshim. In the meantime, the brand has brought out the lightest self-winding watch in its collections!

The skeleton self-winding movement in the RM 67-02 High Jump fuels the hours and minutes with a 50-hour power reserve when it’s wound up. The calibre has the same architecture as Richard Mille’s most recent pieces such as the rotor with variable inertia for improved reliability in the event of shocks.

The RM 67-02 High Jump is the lightest self-winding watch in Richard Mille’s collections. It has a new strap made in one piece whose flexibility enables it to hug the wrist no matter its shape.

Price: 127,500 CHF richardmille.com

By Dan Diaconu

ALWAYS ON TOP!

Richard Mille is on the cutting edge of innovation and updating its timepieces with modern materials. The RM035 Ultimate Edition has been treated to the latest in technical progress.

The skier Alexis Pinturault has worn an RM 035 with a case made of a magnesium and aluminium alloy for the past two seasons of the Alpine Ski World Cup. The watch’s technical features that make it light and strong have also proved popular with Rafael Nadal. In other models such as the RM 35-01 and the more recent RM 50-03, Richard Mille has proven its expertise in using hi-tech materials to make cases even lighter and stronger. The new RM 035 Ultimate Edition has been treated to the latest innovations in the sector with the signature barrel-shaped case in NTPT carbon.

In terms of movement, Richard Mille has kept the RM 035’s manual wind skeleton movement with a 55-hour power reserve. The double barrel and variable-inertia balance wheel also improve the chronometer’s accuracy and movement architecture’s strength even if it’s knocked. The featherweight 4.3g calibre and polyurethane strap help make the watch ultra-light and comfortable to wear whether you’re a top athlete or just enjoy hitting the slopes.

The use of hi-tech materials gives the watch a monochrome look which is brightened up by flashes of red on the crown and markers. There are 35 of the limited edition RM 035 Ultimate Edition available. It is only available from Richard Mille shops.

Price: 140,500 CHF richardmille.com

By Dan Diaconu

GAME, SET AND MATCH

As Rafael Nadal arrives on court, attempting to win his tenth Roland-Garros, Richard Mille has unveiled the watch the champion will be wearing during the tournament: the highly colourful RM 27-03.

Flashback to 2010: Rafael Nadal creates a sensation at the Roland-Garros tournament in Paris with a watch made by Richard Mille and weighing no more than 20 grams, including the strap. This year, the doubles team of Rafael Nadal and Richard Mille have made a striking return to the clay courts. The Spanish tennis player will be wearing some cutting-edge technology and a precision mechanism in a concentrated form: the RM 27-03. Their strengths? A powerful service with the help of a manual winding mechanism and a comfortable power reserve of 70 hours. A forehand of remarkable intensity, like the machined Quartz TPT® case and its bright colours evoking the Spanish flag. And a backhand that is as precise as the watch’s tourbillon mechanism.

And to maintain the momentum just like Rafa, the RM 27-03 can absorb shocks of up to 10 000g – twice as much as the RM50-03 McLaren F1 unveiled at the last SIHH in Geneva! Enough to resist any shots from future opponents and all the twists and turns during a rally…

Price: € 792 000 richardmille.com

By Dan Diaconu