RM 52-01
Case : ceramic and carbon, sapphire opening on the back Dimensions : 42.7 x 50mm Movement : tourbillon, hand-wound (Calibre RM052), 21,600 vph, 48-hour power reserve, openworked mainplate made from an alloy composed of titanium (90%), aluminium (6%) and vanadium (4%) Functions : hours, minutes Dial : red gold skull, carbon upper flange, DLC-coated lower titanium flange Water resistance : 50m Limited edition : 30
The second model in the Skull collection, the RM 52-01 picks up the skull symbol vividly illustrating Richard Mille’s anti-conformist approach to watchmaking. Like the preceding RM 052 watch, it is equipped with a hand-wound tourbillon movement built on a PVD-finish titanium mainplate, but its exterior is very different. The skull is made of red gold and the case features an unusual composition of materials. Based on studies conducted on ceramics, the Manufacture succeeded in achieving exceptional quality and in reducing the porosity of the raw material to an absolute minimum. In this instance, it has chosen TZP for the bezel and the case-back surround. This low-density material (6 g.cm3) ceramic is highly scratch-resistant and has a very low thermal conductivity coefficient. Made from 9% yttrium-stabilised zirconium, TZP has a pronounced enabling a perfect finish. Its surfaces were thus microblasted and its bevels were hand-polished. Richard Mille opted to use carbon nanotubes for their proven ability to protect the tourbillon movement against impacts. Bonded to a black polymer, they also serve to reduce the weight of the RM 52-01 which is released in a 30-piece limited edition.
