BEJEWELLED LEGACY
An action movie icon and an avant-garde brand create the ultimate tool watch.
Heritage arts patron and jeweller Edmond Chin discusses the relevance of jewellery in helping us understand our culture.
WHAT IT IS:
With their sizeable, distinctive case shapes and signature skeletonised dials and movements, Richard Mille watches are not for the faint of heart. Its recent collaborative timepiece with action star, directorproducer and painter ( yes, he paints, and pretty well, too) Sylvester Stallone is over the top, even for the avant-garde Swiss company.
The RM 25- 01 Tourbillon Adventure Sylvester Stallone is a 50.85mm watch in lightweight titanium and carbon TPT with compass bezels, a spirit level – to ensure it is perfectly horizontal when you’re in the middle of nowhere and trying to read directions off it – and a compartment that can store up to five water purification tablets.
HOW IT LOOKS:
At first glance, it looks like an extremely busy compass. In fact, the watch comes with two interchangeable compass bezels; one has a cover with a mirror for more precise sightings that can be used differently – or, more likely, according to the kind of look the wearer is going for. Through the open dial and caseback, you can admire the depth, complexity and crisp finishing of the manually wound tourbillonequipped chronograph movement. Even though it feels light for its size, the timepiece is reassuringly solid. Edges are smooth yet defined, right down to those of tiny features such as the twist-top cap of the tablet compartment. In other words, it is exactly how we would expect a million-dollar watch to feel like.
HOW IT WEARS:
Improbable as it might seem, we find the RM 25- 01 less insanely oversized on the wrist than its specifications might suggest (nearly 51mm in diameter and 23.65mm in height). This is because of the curved, short lugs that flow seamlessly into the camouflage-print rubber strap as well as the ergonomic curved case that distinguishes Richard Mille watches, whether tonneaushaped or round, from others.
That said, while it wears smaller than one might think, it’s still a substantial timepiece, to put it mildly. To wear it, we reckon you’d either have to be Sylvester Stallone or a serious Richard Mille fan with a relatively impressive physique – and no fear of being repeatedly quizzed about why you have a compass strapped to your wrist.