Hard to Resist
Richard Mille’s latest watch for polo star Pablo Macdonough has returned to a traditional aesthetic, but its new, highly resistant material is miles ahead of its time
RICHARD MILLE AND Pablo Mac Donough’s partnership dates back to 2012, when the watchmaker presented its first polo-inspired timepiece, RM 053, to the Argentinian polo star. Its armour of titanium carbide functioned as a shield from the potentially punishing impacts of polo, like a crushing hit from a mallet, while time was displayed via two tiny, strategically angled portholes to lower its chances of destruction. It also flaunted a small, manual winding tourbillon movement to demonstrate its success in keeping the highly fragile complication intact.
Indeed, more than half a decade on and the RM 053 has survived with barely a few scratches. “Every time I felt like something hit the watch, I’d think, I shouldn’t check the watch because I’m sure the watch is destroyed this time. But then I’d look at it and it was still intact,” Mac Donough reveals.
But, gone is the iconic pothole design. Richard Mille has flipped the tables with the more traditional-looking RM 53-01, created in partnership with Macdonough. Unlike its titanium carbide-encased predecessor, this edition's new manual winding tourbillon movement, Calibre RM53-01, is displayed in full glory. A complex cable and pulley suspension system, similarly seen in the highly shockresistant RM 27-01 for Rafael Nadal, holds the openworked movement within the case.
Issued in a limited edition of 30 pieces, the new RM 53-01 is protected by an ultra-light but extremely robust Carbon TPT case, a material known for its high resistance to micro cracks and splits. The watch also features a uniquely laminated sapphire glass, designed to withstand up to 5000Gs, with a patent-pending lamination to hold broken shards in place, should the glass actually encounter a force strong enough to crack it. Finally, the cherry on top of this remarkable edition is, of course, a “classically designed” tourbillon movement as a testament to watchmaking flair and the RM 53-01’s high tolerance to the dangers in the polo arena.