Description

The origins of RM 17-01 can be traced back to the original RM 017 which is one of the few unconventional watches the brand has produced. Unconventional in terms of Richard Mille design language, featuring a different aesthetic compared to what we are accustomed to associate the brand with, which is the iconic tonneau shaped curved case with five-spline screws.
The RM017 is an older gen Richard Mille featuring an extra flat, rectangular case with a conical crown that sticks out a bit far from the case, housing a skeletonized, hand-wound tourbillon movement. The ultra-thin flat profile first featured on RM016.

The present watch is the RM17-01 which was launched quietly on social media without any noise, and limited to just 10 pieces worldwide. It features the same movement as the RM017, but in a more “recognisable” and a super light case, carved in Carbon TPT.

The case measures 48.15mm x 40.1mm x 13.8mm. The skeleton dial features the hours, minutes and seconds hands at the center, a 70hr power reserve indicator at 2 o’clock and a function indicator at 4 o’clock. The Tourbillon cage is further enhanced by a ceramic endstone and sits just above 6 o’clock while the mainspring barrel completes the symmetry at 12.

The finishing on the hand-wound Tourbillon movement is impressive. The baseplate and the bridges are crafted in a grade 5 titanium alloy, similar to the one used in aerospace and automobile industries. Enhancing this extremely industrial mechanical art is the hand finishing on the bridges, counter sinks as well as the hands.

The hour markers and the minutes track are painted in a shade of yellow / gold, and they float on the thick 0.3mm sapphire crystal. The contrast of colors against the wavy black / grey case is breathtaking as the light plays on different surfaces of the watch.

 Richard Mille – bio

Richard Mille (born 13 February 1951, in France) started work at Finhor, a local watchmaking company in 1974. The company was bought by Matra in 1981 and Richard Mille rose to manage Matra’s watchmaking business, which then included the brands Yema and Cupillard Rième. Matra’s watchmaking activities were sold to Seiko, who Mille left in 1992 to start a watchmaking business for jewellery firm Mauboussin. In 1999 he founded the company Richard Mille SA in collaboration with Audemars Piguet. Its first product, the RM001 went on sale in 2001