BORN FOR SPORT

Light as a feather, fit as the brand pa ner and tennis star Alexander Zverev, the eponymous RM67-02 Automatic timepiece by Richard Mille is a force to be reckoned with, set to play the field

ONE LEITMOTIF OF Richard Mille since its early days has been opening horology to active collaboration with partners at the pinnacle of their respective disciplines, athletes in particular. The leading fine watchmaker is known for gracing the wrists of sporting champions, starting with F1 driver Felipe Massa. Subsequent additions to the Richard Mille family include tennis king Rafael Nadal, Bubba Watson from golf, alpine ski medallist Alexis Pinturault, Jamaican sprinter Yohan Blake and so forth. In its extensive RM collection that spans over 70 models, there can be found watches designed for regatta, rally driving, polo, etc.

In hopes of injecting a sporty quality into the extra-flat RM 67-01 based on a single directive: to create a watch that would guarantee a genuine “symbiosis” between a sportsman and his watch, the development engineers at Richard Mille created the RM 67-02 Automatic, headlined by current world no. 3 tennis player Alexander Zverev. Here, the celebrated formula “less is more,” appropriated by Mies van der Rohe to describe his ardour for Minimalism, is applied with perfect accuracy where the essential edges out all superfluity.

STATE-OF-THE-ART CASE

The genius of the RM 67-02 Automatic Alexander Zverev lies in its lightness and resistance, thanks to its case and the significant means deployed in its production. Made of Carbon TPT® and red Quartz

TPT®, composite materials exclusive to Richard Mille, the protective housing ensures exceptional resistance to shocks despite its slim profile of merely 7.8mm.

The bezel and caseback employ Carbon TPT®, a remarkable material with a unique finish obtained by layering hundreds of sheets of carbon fibre with a maximum thickness of 30 microns. The caseband is

something really hard to achieve. You see so many people on the Internet, who may be able to play the guitar really fast, or do all the scales and other fancy gimmicks, but when you boil it down, they don’t have a unique sound, nor is their style any different from the next person you see on the Internet. So, to have that, that’s the most impressive thing to me. Either that or I’m probably just saying that because I can’t do any of the fancy riffs (laughs).

One of the more personal aspects in songwriting for singers/songwriters is that a lot of the musician’s personal life stories go into the songwriting process. How would you weigh out the intimacy of your songwriting process, which subsequently, goes into your albums?

I’d say about 60% of my songwriting comes from personal life experiences. It’s a way to express myself and get it off my chest, the emotions I’m feeling, or the things that are happening in my life. For Hearts That Strain, it’s more about the reflections I have for my life: Indigo Blue is about the reflection of the things I’ve done in my life, and how the decisions to do those things will affect where I’ll be heading to next in life. Besides that, you, of course, have the relationship-themed numbers like Bigger Love and How Soon the Dawn. Love is a very powerful thing, that’s why most songs out there are about it, and it’s something that I feel most righteous to talk about, I suppose.

What is it about country music that appeals to you?

I love the sound of country music; it’s just that my ears like it, and I can’t help it (laughs). It all started when I first got into Johnny Cash, really. I mean, albeit

I’d consider him a little bit more rock and roll, he was definitely the one who opened doorway to country music for me. I suppose, the music and the vocal are always astounding to me. That being said though, country music can be my favourite sound, but it can also be the worst. Everything that’s past 1979, I don’t like it at all. New country music is just the worst!

Will we be expecting anything new from you any time soon?

I’ve been working on some new music, but I can’t say too much about it at this time. I’ve always had a love for pop music, but good pop music̶like The Beatles and ABBA, you know, songs that stand the test of time. I’m in the midst of finding a way to combine that into what I’ve done and learned so far in terms of music. I’m trying to find a nice balance to it. Perhaps something that’s a little bit more accessible to the younger people of today, but hopefully, with lyrics and music that is up to standard as well. AM

“I LOVE THE SOUND OF COUNTRY MUSIC; IT’S JUST THAT MY EARS LIKE IT, AND I CAN’T HELP IT“