HANG TOUGH
RICHARD MILLE HAS COLLABORATED WITH SYLVESTER STALLONE TO CREATE THE ULTIMATE LUXURY TIMEPIECE FOR EXTREME ADVENTURERS
IF RAMBO WORE a watch, what would it look like?
The soldier in the First Blood film series who fought his way through the jungle helped to define Sylvester Stallone’s career: the actor became synonymous with action, brawn and extreme adventure. And now luxury Swiss watchmaker Richard Mille has crafted a watch that embodies the character John Rambo, as well as Stallone.
Richard Mille is known for extravagance in both watch technology and design
– the more, and the bigger, the better. The new RM 25-01 Adventure tourbillon chronograph is the latest example of the brand’s innovation.
Stallone is a personal friend of Richard Mille, the man behind the brand. The RM 25-01 was developed in collaboration with Stallone and is designed for extreme adventure, both in its functionality and durability. But Mille also wanted to honour Stallone for his lesser-known interests and achievements: he’s an avid watch collector, a passionate art collector and a serious painter whose canvases have been shown at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Nice, France. Packs a punch Richard Mille and Sylvester Stallone (below) worked together to design the RM 25-01 (opposite)
This isn’t their first collaboration: in The Expendables 3, the actor sports the brand’s RM 032, which was hard to miss, with its large dial and bright red strap. The RM 2501 is similarly imposing.
And yet it’s lightweight, thanks to the grade-five titanium used for its baseplate and bridges. That’s despite a mechanism that includes a tourbillon complication and a chronograph, all carefully calibrated to further reduce the watch’s weight. The case is made of titanium and Carbon TPT, a near indestructible, lightweight composite. The fine Damascene finish of this material has become something of a brand signature for Richard Mille. Weight reductions also meant cutting its energy consumption in half; the power reserve is 70 hours.
When it comes to the watch’s functionality for adventure activities, no detail was too small. The chronograph’s 24-hour display ensures the wearer can distinguish between am and pm, should there be no sunlight. The chronograph’s other functions include a timer controlled by the pushers at eight o’clock and 10 o’clock, and a power reserve indicator.
A round shape might not seem unusual for a watch, but with the RM 25-01 the shape is essential: a compass can be mounted on top of the dial, a feature that Stallone specifically requested. The compass is one of two interchangeable bezels, made of grade-five titanium and easy to fix on the case.
The compass has a cover with a mirrored back and a slot at 12 o’clock, which help the wearer read it with greater precision. The crystal atop the compass has an anti-reflective treatment, as well as an anti-magnetic coating to prevent any interference between it and the watch movement. A spirit level at four o’clock ensures that the watch is perfectly horizontal for accurate readings. The compass can also be detached from the watch and affixed to a Carbon TPT plate; this configuration is convenient when following a course on a map.
The second bezel is also for navigation. All you have to do is face the sun with the
hour hand and turn the bezel so the local time is indicated on its 24-hour scale, and you’ll be able to identify north, south, east and west.
Any survivalist knows water is a top priority for staying alive. The RM 25-01 even manages to address this concern. At two o’clock, a hermetically sealed gradefive titanium compartment can carry small pills – it comes with five water purification tablets, each of which can make a litre of water safe to drink in about an hour, depending on water quality.
And finally, a camouflage band completes the look, ready for any jungle adventure. How many of us actually head into such treacherous environments? Not many – and anyway, only 20 of this watch were made. But for watch aficionados, it’s the impressive thought that went into it and the technical details that count.