PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES
THE NEW RM 65-01 IS RICHARD MILLE’S MOST COMPLICATED CHRONOGRAPH EVER
RICHARD MILLE has built its reputation on high-complication chronograph watches that are constructed using advanced materials and methods, so it’s no surprise that the latest release from the brand, the RM 65-01, is an Automatic Winding, Split Seconds Chronograph. Said to be the most complex watch ever produced by Richard Mille – it incorporates more than 600 components – it’s the end result of a painstaking development programme that lasted some five years.
Working in partnership with Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier, the Swiss maison developed a bespoke integrated movement with six-column-wheel architecture and vertical coupling that features a variable-intertia high-frequency balance, beats at 36,000vph and offers precise stopwatch accuracy to increments as minute as one-tenth of a second. The calibre rests on a chassis in grade 5 titanium and is supported by titanium bridges.
A further innovation is the watch’s rapid-winding mechanism, which is activated by a brilliant red quartz TPT pusher at 8 o’clock, with each press adding to the power reserve of up to 60 hours; in a function that the Richard Mille engineers describe as “playful”, the barrel becomes fully wound after 125 presses. Moreover, a newly developed gearbox has enabled the incorporation of a selector that can be switched between three positions – traditional winding (W), semiinstantaneous date adjustment (D) and time-setting (H) – simply by pressing the crown.
For increased legibility the dial is colour-coded, with yellow used for the time (hours, minutes and, at 6 o’clock, a small seconds dial), green referring to the date display, orange for the chronograph indications (sweep second hand, and 30-minute and 12-hour totalisers), and red for the winding mechanism; the split-seconds hand, meanwhile, is in blue. These vivid hues align with those used for the watch’s various pushers.
Naturally, this being Richard Mille, the RM 65-01 employs aerospace- and Formula 1-style methods of construction for its internals and housing, with Carbon TPT – an especially strong and light material – used for the case and bezel, as well as the caseback and band. The crown and chronograph pushers are in polished and satin-finished grade 5 titanium. For those customers seeking an even more luxurious interpretation of this highly advanced timepiece, a version in red gold and Carbon TPT is also available.