01 CAN’T CRACK THIS CASE

Richard Mille’s latest is still light and tough – and in a new material.

If a material is tough and light, and has never been used in watchmaking before, Richard Mille will be all over it. Just look at all the models cased in high-tech stuff like Carbon TPT, TPT Quartz, TZP-N and ATZ ceramics that were chosen for durability and a unique appearance. With the RM 11-05, the brand can add one more material to the list: grey cermet.

This isn’t the first time cermet — a contraction of ceramic and metal — has been used in a watch, but it is still fairly uncommon and is a first for the brand. It took years of working with microtechnology company IMI Group to get the formula for the mix of ceramic inserts and a metallic zirconium matrix just right, but it was worth the wait for a case that’s as light as titanium and virtually as hard as a diamond.

It’s pretty impressive under the hood, too. The Vaucher-made RMAC3 movement gives the watch a 50-hour power reserve, flyback chronograph, annual calendar and GMT indicator, with everything proudly exposed through skeletonisation. It’s limited to 140 pieces.