Sport the Design World’s Hottest Trend on Your Wrist
The second round of Richard Mille’s cheery RM 07-01 series moves from the Bauhaus movement to Memphis Design, just in time for some holiday cheer.
The festive season is upon us, and that means it’s time for our accessories to match our buoyant moods. Richard Mille has released a sequel to its candy-coloured RM 07-01 from 2021 with three new models — this time with dials inspired by the Memphis Design style from the 80s. Characterised by riotous colour and a chaotic mash of geometric shapes, the irreverent design movement adds playfulness to this capsule collection.
The dials, made from grey PVD treated red gold, show off Memphis motifs filled with bits of coloured ceramic, laser-cut rubber appliques, and diamonds. And just like how the Memphis Group rebelled against the solemnity of minimalism, Richard Mille transformed the traditional stylings of guilloche into modern, tactile grooves.
The cases, which measure 31.4mm by 45.23mm, are made of tetragonal zirconia polycrystal (TZP) ceramic, which the brand chose for its lightness, strength, colour retention, and corrosion- and scratch-resistance. The ceramic front and back are fixed on micro-blasted and polished white gold pillars via five titanium screws, and the gaskets placed between the three-part case give the watches 50m of water resistance.
Even when its watches look the furthest thing from serious (who could forget the RM 88 Smiley and the 10-piece Bonbon collection?), there is no doubting the earnestness of the brand’s watchmaking. Behind these candy colours beats the selfwinding CRMA2 movement featuring titanium bridges and baseplates. Thanks to its skeletonised structure, you can easily admire the drawn, chamfered, and polished surfaces with micro-blasted and
electroplasma treatments. The calibre also boasts a variable inertia balance wheel for greater torque stability and a variable geometry rotor in red gold that adapts its (bidirectional) winding to the wearer’s activity levels. Its full involute gear train provides 50 hours of autonomy.
“I find Memphis Design particularly fascinating in its diversity and freedom,” says Cecile Guenat, creative and development director at Richard Mille. “At the heart of the design process for this collection was the idea of juxtaposing colours in materials. Then we enriched this work by weaving inside the ancient craft of guillochage. This creates a symbiosis of the ultra-modern and the traditional in watchmaking.”
Each watch has a contrasting colour strap — this time in calfskin instead of rubber — with a sprinkles pattern on one end and a micro-blasted white-gold loop on the other. And unlike the 2021 editions, these are not limited editions.