Richard Mille used this year's SIHH to unveil more finely tuned timepieces made from cutting-edge materials. Often dubbed the 'watch F1', its 2013 watches continue in the spirit of the brand's previous horological milestones, such as the 2003 Tourbillon RM008 and Rafael Nadal's lucky Richard Mille timepiece.
Richard Mille watches feel like every millimetre has been scrupulously engineered to remove any unnecessary element, which, despite their size, makes them among the lightest timepieces in the world. The most exclusive and limited model launched at the SIHH was the RM 56-01 Tourbillon Sapphire, limited to just five pieces. The RM 56-01's entire case has been cut and milled from blocks of solid sapphire, which means you can see the intricacies of the manual winding tourbillon movement in close-up. Meanwhile, the bold RM 59-01 Yohan Blake was created as a tribute to the eponymous Jamaican sprinter. In yellow and green - Jamaica's iconic national colours - the case is made of a translucent composite composed of injected carbon nanotubes.
If those two pieces are similar in style to the Rafael Nadal calibre, the Richard Mille RM 039 Flyback Chronograph has been designed for those looking for a more classical men's watch, infused with the Mille engineering nous. Limited to 30 pieces, the baseplate and bridges are made from an alloy that is 90% titanium, 6% aluminium and 4% vanadium - tough, resistant, and unbelievably hardwearing.
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The back of the Richard Mille RM 58-01 Tourbillon World-Timer Jean Todt. The fixed bezel and the case back are made from red gold, both polished and satin-brushed. The case middle is made from grade five titanium with a vertical satin-brushing, while the rotating bezel is in shot-blasted and polished titanium.
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Richard Mille RM 58-01 Tourbillon World-Timer Jean Todt. Limited to 35 pieces. Features manual winding tourbillon movement with hours, minutes, power reserve indicator universal 24-hour time display, tourbillon at nine o’clock.
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The back of the Richard Mille RM 59-01 Yohan Blake.
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Richard Mille RM 59-01 Yohan Blake. Limited edition of 50 pieces. Manual winding tourbillon movement with hours, minutes. The case is made from a translucent composite composed of injected carbon nanotubes.
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Richard Mille RM 27-01 Rafael Nadal Caliber. Limited edition of 50 timepieces. Manual winding tourbillon movement with hours and minutes. A free sprung balance with variable inertia and a terminal-curve spring ensures greater reliability from shocks and bumps.
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The back of the Richard Mille RM-11-01 Automatic Flyback Chronograph Roberto Mancini.
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Richard Mille RM-11-01 Automatic Flyback Chronograph Roberto Mancini. Available in red gold and titanium. Features automatic winding movement with hours, minutes, seconds, flyback chronograph, central minutes counter, twelve hour totalizer, annual calendar and adjustable rotor geometry.
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The back of the Richard Mille RM 036 Tourbillon G-Sensor Jean Todt. It takes 20 hours to set a machine and thirty hours of programming to produce just a single kit. The case requires 255 machining operations and the finishing phase involves five hours of satin finishing and polishing.
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Richard Mille RM 036 Tourbillon G-Sensor Jean Todt. Limited edition of 15 pieces in titanium. Manual winding tourbillon movement with hours, minutes, small seconds at six o’clock, G sensor and function selector.
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The back of the Richard Mille RM 039 Flyback Chronograph. The five pushers, their components and the crown of the RM 039 require ten days of machining,
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Richard Mille RM 039 Flyback Chronograph. Limited to 30 pieces. Manual winding tourbillon movement with hours, minutes, seconds at six o’clock, UTC function, oversize date, flyback chronograph with central seconds and minutes counter and hours at nine o’clock, countdown mode, function selector and power reserve indicator.
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The back of the Richard Mille RM 56-01 Tourbillon Sapphire. The entire case - front bezel, caseband, back of the RM 56-01 are cut and milled from solid blocks of sapphire. No external structures are used to support the assembled parts.
