Richard Mille and The Peak present tough watches for the tenacious gent.
Richard Mille and The Peak present tough watches for the tenacious gent.
If anyone knows what it means to build a sturdy watch, it’s Richard Mille. He has built his entire brand with wrist-worn machines that not only look the part, but are very resilient and useful to boot. A highly exclusive brand that is not driven by volume, Richard Mille has been free to let innovation in high-tech materials and a strong identity in design be the foundation of success. The result is a host of exclusive timepieces crafted for a true champion.
ROUND TRIP
The RM 63-02 World Timer Automatic Watch adds even more convenience to the already useful complication. The satin-brushed and polished titanium rotating bezel is connected to the movement, so rotating it to the city of choice will automatically move the hour hand to the correct time zone. The inner 24-hour ring doubles as a day/night indicator with dark blue for PM and white for AM, while the date window at 12 o’clock can be easily set via a pusher at 10 o’clock.
LEAN MACHINE
The RM 67-01 is the first watch from Richard Mille to have the iconic tonneau shaped case in an extra flat form. Ironically, the slimmest case in its current collection is still one of the most complex and time consuming cases to make within the Swiss watch industry. To add visual depth to the RM 67-01, extreme skeletonisation has also been applied to the movement.
SPECIAL FORCES
Not only is the RM 38-01 Bubba Watson done in the golfer’s favourite colour, green, but it also includes an exclusive function any golfer would appreciate: a G-sensor. The mechanism, which comprises 50 moving parts, allows the wearer to see the accumulated motion of their swing in Gs. It also includes a tourbillon, which is uncommon for a sports watch, but its case is rigid enough to protect the delicate complication.
FLASH OF BRILLIANCE
Part of the Richard Mille timepiece collection made for tennis legend and friend of the brand Rafael Nadal, the RM 35-02 sports a blazing red case made of Quartz TPT, which is made up of layers of silicon resin. Another first is the exhibition caseback, where one can admire the RMAL1 movement and its titanium baseplate and sandblasted bridges. These “Nadal” timepieces have come to be synonymous with innovation, lightness and shock-resistance.
AN ICON IS REBORN
The RM 11-03 represents the first major change to what has been one of the brand’s most revered and popular models since its introduction a decade ago. While all icons need to evolve, the RM 11-03 continues to embody the Richard Mille spirit. The rotor has two adjustable white gold “wings” that control the inertia of the winding, much like how the aerodynamic appendages of Formula 1 racing cars control downforce during a race.
POWER PLAY
Automatic watches are wonderfully convenient, but overwinding will damage the self-winding mechanism. Richard Mille spent four years tackling the issue and developed the RM 030 with a declutchable rotor. Once the spring is fully wound, it is automatically disconnected from the rotor’s winding mechanism and re-engages when the stored energy drops below 40 hours. An on/off indicator at 12 o’clock will allow the wearer to see if the watch is winding.
PHOTOS CHRISTOPHE BOUQUET
