HIGH-TECH COMPOSITE

Richard Mille debuts new sophisticated material composed of ceramic and metal

FOLLOWING YEARS OF painstaking research and development, Richard Mille launches the RM 11-05 Automatic Flyback Chronograph GMT in grey cermet, an exclusive material in watchmaking that combines the lightness of titanium and the hardness of diamond.

The cermet owes its unique grey colour to the combination of a metallic zirconium matrix with high-performance ceramic inserts. Its implementation required a degree of rigour commensurate with that needed to create the materials themselves. Heating and pressing together very different kinds of materials at a high temperature without altering their respective qualities was a challenge.

It proved even more difficult to obtain a homogeneous whole, as nickel and cobalt, which are normally used in this family of hard materials, were excluded in order to adhere to REACH standards, which ensure safety in the production and use of chemicals in the European industry. The procedure to remove these undesirable binders and only retain suitable materials took numerous years for Richard Mille, in partnership with IMI Group, a specialist in micro-technology, to develop and perfect.

The technology pairs classic hot stamping with a series of powerful electrical current pulses to increase the sintering kinetics, a technique known as ‘flash sintering’. Its density of 4.1g/cm3 ‒ less than that of titanium ‒ and its hardness of 2,360 Vickers ‒ almost the same as diamond’s 2,400 Vickers ‒ make Cermet a judicious choice for use in bezels that are very exposed to scratches, while maintaining overall lightness. Cermet’s physical properties are widely recognised, hence its frequent use in ballistic protection, external aerospace fuselage components, and in the brakes of competition vehicles.

The construction of the automatic movement gives pride of place to titanium. Its functions notably include a GMT display that can be effortlessly adjusted thanks to a push-piece at 9 o’clock, a 24-hour flyback chronograph, and an annual calendar. The added grey cermet is adapted to the pure aerodynamic lines of the iconic case, which measures 50 x 42.7mm with a total thickness of 16.15mm.

The combination of a Carbon TPT case-band, a titanium case-back and a grey Cermet bezel helps to significantly reduce the weight of the RM 11-05 Automatic Flyback Chronograph GMT, a limited edition of just 140 pieces.