First Blood
Richard Mille’s maiden collaboration with Hollywood star Sylvester Stallone results in a horological monster that any adventure-loving daredevil will love, says Terence Lim
If sylvester stallone were a watch, how would he look like? To that, look no further than the Richard Mille RM 25-01 Tourbillon Adventure. Developed in collaboration with the 72-year-old action star, the ticker is designed as a tool watch that will guide explorers and adventurers out of the prickliest of situations. Several key factors were taken into consideration during the design process. First, the shape—a major aspect when it comes to Richard Mille watches since most of them sport the signature tonneau-shaped case. The RM 25-01 has a round case as Stallone has stated his preference for big, round tickers, similar to the RM 032 on a red strap he sported throughout The Expendables 3. With more space on the bezel and face, it makes for better legibility and allows the team to incorporate a compass, which Stallone specifically requested for, into the design. The compass crafted out of Grade 5 titanium with a DLC coating can be fixed onto the bezel easily using its bayonet mount. Equipped with a sturdy carbon TPT cover with a mirrored back, it features multilayered anti-reflective sapphire crystals, which come with an anti-magnetic coating to prevent any mutual interference of the movement and compass. (TPT stands for thin ply technology and carbon TPT is a lightweight and extremely strong carbon-fibre composite developed in-house.) A spirit level is fixed at 4 o’clock to ensure that the watch is perfectly horizontal for more accurate readings. And in true adventurer spirit, the compass can be detached from the watch and mounted on a carbon TPT plate, which will then make map reading and navigating less of a challenge. There is also a slightly less complicated bezel option in the bidirectional ring made of carbon TPT and titanium. It features a 24-hour scale, a 360-degree graduated disc, and indications for the cardinal directions. On the mechanical front, the RM 25-01 is no shrinking violet either. Besides a tourbillon, it features a “competition” chronograph movement, which is the brand’s way of saying that the optimised mechanism
is more efficient and accurate. The team of engineers working on the chronograph managed to reduce the weight of the manualwinding calibre and upped its precision and long-term chronometric reliability. By reducing the weight, and hence inertia, lesser energy—50 per cent to be exact—is required to drive the movement, which explains why the calibre has a power reserve of 72 hours. When asked about the collaboration with Stallone, Richard Mille explained that it was a natural progression of their friendship, especially when the American actor is a “fan of all things mechanical”. “Naturally, it occurred to us one day that we ought to do something together. The RM 25-01 is like no watch that has ever existed before. Like Sylvester Stallone himself, it is completely unfettered,” Mille said. “Its development was especially slow and painstaking, and as an object, it is completely in sync with the brand: designed for extreme conditions, useful, sophisticated and complex, yet unbelievably tough—the ultimate timepiece!” Only 20 pieces of the Richard Mille RM25-01 Tourbillon Adventure will be available worldwide.