The ladies’ collection is a fundamental part of Richard Mille, which launched its first feminine model in 2005, just four years after the brand was created. While various new models for women have been regularly introduced over the years, 2014 sees a significant broadening of the range they are offered.

 

Thus the RM 07-01 Ladies represents the perfect mechanical synthesis between Haute Horlogerie elegance and the ‘tough love’ provided by new materials in the creation of a sophisticated 21^st century companion for the most demanding of women. A first for the Richard Mille ladies’ collection, the tripartite case of the RM 07-01 is available in a choice of white ATZ ceramic, or warm brown TZP ceramic – both with a red gold caseband, providing beautiful visual contrast as well as an extremely high level of scratch protection – in addition to versions in full 18K red or white gold. All of them shine with the sensual and curvaceous lines of their tonneau shaped case design and their dial with a gemstone set center field. The heart of this new timepiece centers on the novel, in-house designed caliber CRMA2, a highly skeletonized automatic movement developed specifically for the RM 07-01. The beauty of the technical mastery within the RM 07-01 can be seen perfectly throughout the skeletonized movement with its balance placed at 6 o’clock, highlighting the care given to the high-grade finishing of the movement with its drawn, chamfered and polished surfaces combined with a dramatic, deep black PVD treatment of the plate and bridges.

 

For the RM 07-01 and RM 037, Richard Mille has designed and created a completely new strap, entirely manufactured out of gold and composed of dozens of links, requiring 65 hours of programming and several hours of manufacture. Each link is micro-blasted, satin-brushed and polished. The ensemble is held together by 36 spline screws in grade 5 titanium and completed with a double-fold clasp in gold. As on all the models, the finishes are entirely handcrafted.

 

 

Richard Mille’s ongoing and fruitful association with the famous Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh encompasses a new jewelry creation with the tourbillon RM 51-01 Tiger and Dragon-Michelle Yeoh. This novel artistic creation celebrates her new film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon II, in which Michelle returns to the role of her well known character, Yu Shu Lien. Michelle desired to reiterate the concept of forms and shapes integrated within the watch’s movement, this time with a visual scene centered on the symbolic themes of the Tiger and the Dragon, with a tiger and a dragon clutching the tourbillon movement. Created from 3N red gold, the figures are carved and incised entirely by hand. Special miniature tools were specifically made for the specific artistry required in the physical realization of these two creatures. To increase the realism of these special animals, a long and painstaking process of hand finished micro painting was executed, also including the unseen parts of these two marvelous entities.

 

Famed oscar-winning American actress and worldwide partner of the brand since 2011, Natalie Portman unveiled this year the first watch designed and created together with Richard Mille, embodied in the Tourbillon RM 19-01 Natalie Portman. For this first collaboration, she set her mind on an image combining strong associations and complex undertones expressed by a diamond studded and encrusted tracery based upon the image of a spider. Also a first for Richard Mille, The RM19-01 manual winding tourbillon caliber is assembled around a black rhodium-plated, 18K white gold black sapphire set baseplate. The spider also in 18K white gold and delicately set with diamonds, forms an integral part of the movement, with the abdomen of the spider actually supporting the bridges of the tourbillon, and its legs supporting the two winding barrels. This aesthetic achievement was only possible after a long and difficult machining process followed by many hours of hand polishing, finishing and the guiding eye of the watchmaker working in harmony with the centuries old skills of the jewel setter, together creating the physical manifestation of Natalie’s personal vision for this unique and limited edition timepiece.

 

 

Richard Mille Watches is the official partner the Lotus F1 Team since 2013, and this fruitful collaboration on F1 tracks around the globe has given birth to the first tourbillon watch dedicated to the team and especially one of the Lotus F1 Team drivers, Romain Grosjean for whom Richard Mille created this new tourbillon driven timepiece. The RM 50-01 is in perfect harmony with the world of F1 racing, starting with its mechanical heart, a manual winding tourbillon chronograph caliber with mechanical G-force sensor. The new movement design is founded on a concept of long-term reliability achieved through studies on the profile of the barrel and pinion teeth profiles, optimizing the maximum transmission and regularity of power through the movement’s going train in a similar manner to those profiles found in optimal engine transmission gearing. Able to transcribe the range of G’s endured by the driver during deceleration phases, this exceptionally sporting timepiece has a case created from carbon NTPT^® with a choice of caseband in 5N red gold or carbon NTPT^®. As a Richard Mille exclusivity, the new carbon material consists of more than 600 layers, each 30 microns thick of woven carbon filaments that are compressed and heated to achieve an unbelievable level of strength and rigidity. Each watch of this limited edition is accompanied by one hand assembled 1/5^th scale model of the 2014 Lotus F1 racing car.

 

A further development of the mechanical G-force sensor watches, the new RM 36-01 G-Sensor Tourbillon Sébastien Loeb is the result of the collaboration between Richard Mille and Sébastien Loeb, the most successful driver in WRC history, having won the world rally championship a record nine times in a row and set the new world record on the Pikes Peak Hill Climb in 2013. The key to understanding this new creation can be gleaned from the rotating brown ceramic bezel : the G-force sensor can now be rotated manually to align in different directions, enabling drivers to view the lateral deceleration as well as longitudinal forces found respectively in corners, acceleration and braking on straights. Directly connected to the bezel and sapphire glass, the sensor can indicate G-forces of up to 6 G’s. The scale indicates whether deceleration is safe (green zone) or if it reaches a critical threshold for the pilot (red zone). Resetting to 0 is quickly accomplished with a simple press of the central pusher. This construction is a real technical breakthrough for watchmaking, with part of the movement on the baseplate whilst other movement parts are attached to the bezel/sapphire crystal construction that is turning and adaptable, yet part of an exact timekeeping mechanism.

 

 

Its components are between 300 and 500 times larger, and it weighs 100,000 times more than the RM 27-01 Rafael Nadal.

 

Christened “l’Horloge Porte-bonheurE”, the project was launched in 2008 to celebrate the 400^th anniversary of Quebec City, the biggest French-speaking city in North America. The Republic and Canton of Jura (Switzerland) and Richard Mille wanted to give Quebec a symbolic gift and this exclusive creation is emblematic of the region, representing the culture, know-how and activity of the Canton of Jura, cradle of of watchmaking.. The clock is designed to embody the values and exacting standards of the Jura Maison: incomparably modern design, unprecedented architectural construction and a unique level of technical skills.It took six years for the Richard Mille engineers, working in partnership with the technical college of Porrentruy and the Neuchâtel Haute Ecole Arc, to design, manufacture, and assemble this monumental clock.

 

The Richard Mille clock ranks among the most consummately executed objects ever produced by the brand. It is the first clock designed and made to the exacting standards and conventions of  Haute Horlogerie and required 6,571 hours of development, 5,451 components and 3,952 hours of assembly and adjustment. The stainless steel case recalls the dynamic, curved design of RM watch cases. It is assembled with 16 spline screws and measures 350 x 250 x 130 cm, weighing in at 1,913 kg.

 

This unique timepiece has two faces showing two different displays : on one side you can see the hours and minutes, while the other face displays seconds, minutes, hours and a perpetual calendar. The impressive dial and hands skim over the plate and the ribbed bridges, which recall the central bridges of an RM 003. The other bridges are reminiscent of the RM 055, and the baseplate itself recalls the RM 005. In all, the clock comprises 3,600 parts made of brass, stainless steel, titanium, aluminium, ceramic and ruby. The caliber, gear-trains and balance wheel are visible through the anti-reflective treated mineral glass all around the movement. The designers of this movement have made use of  horological Grande Complication techniques to ensure optimum chronometry, such as the constant-force device. This cam mechanism releases and blocks the force of the daily weight transmitted by two big wheels. Moreover, an equation of the time mechanism operates through the intermediary of a driving-weight which descends once a year. During its slow course, this weight serves as a mobile slide-contact along a sinuous red line etched into the glass. In combination with the scale engraved onto the weight, this line indicates the variations in minutes between real time and average time during the course of the year.

 

To remind everyone of the clock’s provenance and its strongly symbolic stature, a second time zone – that of the Jura – is displayed all along the glass column, made visible by the ascending movement of a specific window. The Richard Mille clock is installed in the Jardins de l’Hôtel de Ville in Quebec, where it will stand permanently as a symbol of the strong friendship between Quebec and the Republic and Canton of Jura.

 

RM 037 Ladies

Case : TPZ black ceramic, in ATZ white ceramic and in white or red gold, final matt surface finish, sapphire case back, water resistant to 50m  Size : 52.63 x 34.40 x 13.00 mm Movement : self-winding mechanical movement (caliber CRMA1, 50h power reserve), baseplate and bridges in grade 5 titanium, variable-inertia balance, fast rotating barrel, adjustable rotor geometry, ceramic ball bearings Functions : hours, minutes, oversize date and function selector Dial : upper flange in carbon fiber, gemstone set center field  Bracelet : on demand

 

RM 07-01 Ladies

Case  : available in TPZ-Z brown ceramic, in ATZ white ceramic and in white or red gold, final matt surface finish, sapphire case back, water resistant to 50m Size : 45.66 x 31.40 x 11.85 mm Movement : self-winding mechanical movement (caliber CRMA2, 50h power reserve), baseplate and bridges in grade 5 titanium, variable-inertia balance, fast rotating barrel, adjustable rotor geometry, ceramic ball bearings Functions : hours, minutes Dial : upper flange in carbon fiber, gemstone set center field Bracelet : on demand

 

Tourbillon RM 19-01 Natalie Portman 

Case : white or red gold, bezel side in sapphire, sapphire case back, water resistant to 50m Size : 46.40 x 38.30 x 12.45 mm Movement : hand-wound mechanical movement (48h power reserve), baseplate in gemset 18K white gold, polished by hand and then black rhodium-plated, bridges in grade 5 titanium, variable-inertia balance, barrel pawl with progressive recoil Functions : hours, minutes, tourbillon, power reserve indicator Dial : rhodium-plated white gold spider, set with diamonds, as integral part of the movement Bracelet : On demand Limited edition : 20 pieces

 

RM 51-01 Tiger and Dragon-Michelle Yeoh

Case : white or red gold, bezel side in sapphire, sapphire case back, water resistant to 50m Size : 48.00 x 39.70 x  12.80 mm Movement : hand-wound mechanical movement (48h power reserve), skeletonized baseplate and bridges in grade 5 titanium, variable-inertia balance, barrel pawl with progressive recoil Functions : hours, minutes, tourbillon, power reserve indicator. Dial : tiger and dragon in red gold integrated into the movement, upper and lower flange in black metal. Bracelet : on demand Limited edition : 20 pieces

 

RM 36-01 G-Sensor Tourbillon Sébastien Loeb 

Case : carbon nanotubes and titanium, water resistant to 50m Size : 47.70 x 17.37 mm Movement : hand-wound mechanical movement (70h power reserve), skeletonised baseplate and bridges in grade 5 titanium, variable-inertia balance, barrel pawl with progressive recoil, wheel with central developing profile, fast-rotating barrel, modular time setting mechanism fitted against the case back, ceramic endstone for the tourbillon cage Functions : hours, minutes, tourbillon, rotary G-sensor, power reserve indicator and function selector Dial : sapphire, flanges In titanium, black galvanic coated, with index point filled with approved luminous material Bracelet : On demand Limited edition : 30 pieces

 

RM 50-01 G Sensor Lotus F1 Team Romain Grosjean

Case : carbon NTPT^®, sapphire case back, water resistant to 50m Size : 50.00 x 42.70 x 16.40 mm Movement : hand-wound mechanical movement (70h power reserve), skeletonised baseplate and bridges in grade 5 titanium, variable-inertia balance, barrel pawl with progressive recoil, wheel with central developing profile, fast-rotating barrel Functions : hours, minutes, tourbillon, G-sensor, chronograph with central seconds and 30mn counter at 9, function indicator Dial : sapphire, flanges in black metal with index points filled with approved luminous material Bracelet : On demand Limited edition  : 30 pieces