Richard Mille apporte une extrême féminité au carbone TPT®

Translated from the original French text

What happens when Richard Mille, the watchmaker renowned for pushing back the boundaries with its revolutionary techniques and its love of state-of-the-art materials, wants to create a feminine version of its timepieces? Well, in addition to the usual pioneering techniques, you obviously get specially adapted sizes and new challenges! It's as if you had an F1 racing car coated in diamond powder, yet still scratchproof... A fun comparison, but not as crazy as you might imagine, since carbon TPT®is a familiar sight in the cutting-edge automotive, aeronautical and nautical industries.

Richard Mille RM 07-01 Gem-Set NTPT

Rock-hard…

TPT®carbon composite offers exceptional features, such as maximum lightness and strength, and hence makes the optimum choice for housing a watchmaking mechanism. However, it's extremely difficult to machine, let alone set gems into this novel material! These tricky operations require the use of special CNC machines, fitted with diamond-head milling cutters. The latter are used to puncture the TPT® carbon,in other words create tiny cavities into which the diamonds and claws are embedded for the paved settings found in the RM 07-01 and RM 037 (both of which can consist of up to 250 diamonds!).

Richard Mille RM 07-01 Gem-Set NTPT

…throughout several layers

Comprising many sheets of parallel strands, obtained after separating the fibres,the TPT®carbon layers are impregnated with a resin. These are then piled up on a machine, which changes orientation by 45° between layers. After being heated to 120° at a pressure of 6 bars, theTPT®carbon is then ready to be machined to shape in a CNC machining centre at ProArt (Richard Mille's case factory). The resultant motifs to emerge from the interwoven layers create a surface effect of figured Damask, which lends the watchcase its futuristic, organic aesthetics.

Richard Mille RM 037 Gem-Set NTPT

Titanium heart

The RM 07-01 and the RM 037 do not stop there when it comes to performance. Their cases are water-resistant to 50 meters and comprise three parts assembled together with the aid of special "spline" screws made of grade 5 titanium. Titanium is, in effect, present in touches throughout the model, and in particular constitutes the bottom plate and bridges of the movements; the CRMA1 with large date feature gracing the 037 and the CRMA2 equipping the 07-01.

Richard Mille RM 037 Gem-Set NTPT

Special chilling option

Both calibres are fitted with a variable geometry rotor, a prior consideration for optimum automatic winding, adapted to the physical activity of the wearer. The setting is modified by adjusting the two weights. The inertia of the movement is increased when the 2 weights are closer together and the barrel rewinds more quickly. If they are apart, the inertia is decreased, thus resulting in the barrel winding more slowly. This is what lends momentum to the rotor and what sets the rate at which the mechanism self-winds. The variable inertia balance wheel proffers reliability and long-term precision, even in the event of shocks.

Richard Mille RM 037 Gem-Set NTPT

The power of beauty

Such techniques, when they are applied to the tiniest detail necessarily create a certain aesthetic. It's still rare to find TPT®carbon combined with precious gem settings. In its matt version, it serves to contrast with the fire of the diamonds, further enhanced by a leather, or rubber strap, or a gold bracelet. The skeletonized movement also reveals its full force, finesse and technical prowess. Finally, the strength and lightness obtained with the use of unique watchmaking materials create the perfect balance with the sophistication of its gem-settings.