What Women Want
An interesting insight into the new RM 07-01 from eponymous luxury Swiss watch brand, Richard Mille
Samantha Lim discovers Richard Mille’s latest timepiece, designed by a female jeweller, which culls inspiration from Art Deco as well as augmented reality—namely Pokémon GO!
Why, pray tell, do manifestations of ‘what women want’ often lie on the opposite spectrum of desire? Released in pink or purple, relegated to base movements, and gaudier than Gaudi, the large sum of women’s watches are, quite frankly, more chichi than chic. So imagine the relief felt by the fairer sex when Richard Mille, an eponymous Swiss maison extolled for its sporty timepieces, released the RM 007 in 2005. No dainty accessory, the RM 007 remains singular in both style and substance. Powered by the Calibre RM 007 and fashioned from 18-carat sandblasted gold, the watch opened the floodgates for future innovations, including the RM 71-01 Automatic Tourbillon Talisman. What better way to determine the direction of its latest female collection than to hand over the reins to a lady? “We needed a modern, creative and talented young woman to inject new energy into our status quo,” conceded Richard Mille. “It was Cécile Guenat, the daughter of my
friend and business partner Dominique, who met this challenge by overcoming technical obstacles—freeing herself from consensus and establishing a unique and resolutely contemporary style.” Despite having crafted collections for a number of couture houses in London, Guenat was facing a blank canvas—it was the jeweller’s first foray into watchmaking. This inexperience, ironically, is what allowed inspiration to flow freely. “I got a little carried away, and rather than sticking to a single idea, I found myself drawing several different versions,” admitted the designer, whose diligence resulted in an entire collection instead of a single casing. “I realise that I myself, as a woman, like being offered a choice. To make my case, I showed the teams a series of variations on the traditional dial. Very quickly, it became fairly obvious to everyone that we would be offering separate versions. It was at this point that I really began to champion the idea of a collection as understood in couture or fine jewellery.” Filled with elation upon seeing Guenat’s sketches, the head of Richard Mille’s workshop in Geneva trilled, “I recognised the sheer genius. Why has this not been done before? Anything is possible in art, once an idea is there!” Combining classic studies with contemporary influences, Guenat’s references ranged from Art Deco to Bauhaus, and African masks to an augmented reality game adored by old and young alike: “My work is nourished by a range of very different influences, sometimes unexpected or even improbable,” she said. “When I designed this collection, it was the summer of Pokémon GO, and the notion of ‘morphing’ that underlies its creatures’ evolution, inspired certain aspects of the collection.” But what are appearances without aptitude? A state-of-the-art talisman, the RM 71-01 also houses the first ever in-house tourbillon movement by Richard Mille. “Far from a fragile item, this ladies’ watch is designed to be worn day-in day-out, precisely because it has an automatic winding mechanism,” remarked Salvador Arbonam, technical director for movements.