The Art of Creativity

At RICHARD MILLE, every new creation is a world unto itself, as is testament by the RM 72-01 Lifestyle In-house Chronograph. Singular, yet timeless, it provides the perfect harmony between tradition and modernity

Taking 30 months to create, Richard Mille’s first in-house and most compact flyback chronograph to date features a patented chronograph mechanism design which was entirely designed and developed by the brand. The RM 72-01 adopts all the design codes of its time and also embodies and synthesises the know-how accumulated by Richard Mille over the last 20 years.

Considered as the new classic of the brand – suitable for both men and women – the timepiece sets a new performance record in the world of Richard Mille. Featuring a stylised dial and dimensions, the RM 72-01 is an assertive artistic and architectural timepiece, with elegant curves designed for everyday wear. It is poised at the intersection of horlogerie, dance and music. The technical prowess, precision and movement are perfectly complemented by the watch’s aesthetics.

The new RM 72-01 keeps time, three beats to a measure, a rhythm emphasising three numbers: three, eight and eleven. Three beats for the three counters that immediately capture every eye. The hands dance in stylised harmony within their three respective timescales (blue for seconds, orange for minutes, green for hours), orchestrated by a six-column wheel.

The transfers from minutes to hours have been isolated from the seconds wheel in this flyback chronograph, which incorporates a double oscillating pinion mechanism developed and patented by Richard Mille.

“This pinion, which can enmesh or withdraw from the gear teeth, has been twinned. There’s now one for the minutes and another for seconds. This system is thinner than a vertical clutch, which would be hard to fit into the heart of the movement,” explains Salvador Arbona, Technical Director for Movements. As a result, the chronograph function has little impact on the power reserve. The Calibre CRMC1 thus remains quite slim, at just 6.05mm thick, despite comprising 425 different components.

Equipped with 24-hour and 60-minute counters positioned at 5 o’clock and 2 o’clock respectively, it proves that a chronograph need not be limited to timing only short periods. This mechanism was entirely imagined, manufactured and assembled in Les Breuleux, at the brand’s facilities. Its sublime precision can be viewed through its openwork caseback, a hallmark of Richard Mille.

The model is available in four different combinations: 5N red gold, titanium and black or white ceramic. It features an automatic winding movement, with a 50-hour power reserve – irrespective of how much the chronograph is activated.

Richard Mille has always been closely associated with the arts and culture, with partnership with Palais De Tokyo, the most prestigious and contemporary art institution. As part of the watch launch, an artistic video titled Within was co-produced with friends of the brand, choreographer

Benjamin Millepied and composer Thomas

Roussel.

Be it in the realms of ballet or symphonic orchestra, Millepied and

Roussel both rely on a wealth of heritage and tradition to shape modern visions of their respective arts. They fashion singular works that powerfully combine the quintessence of their disciplines and their contemporary sensibilities.

And it is precisely this hybrid synthesis of science and emotion that prompted them to embrace Richard Mille’s new project.

For their work titled Within,

Millepied took his place behind the camera this time, at the Joshua Tree National

Park in California, in the heart of sand and stone.

This stark mineral environment exalts the nobility and beauty of the materials Richard Mille employs for its watches.

Amidst this sublime décor, the dancers unfurl a choreography of cyclical parallels that sifts and winnows the seconds, clothing time and space with intense vitality and energy.

This mysterious setting, in which humanity appears to reconnect with our origins, was a perfect source of inspiration for Roussel. After sampling the watch’s chronometric function, the composer built a tempo around it; a musical rhythm anchored in the raw energy and abandon of the dancers. Around a whirlwind of vitality, he weaves a music redolent of origins, repetitive and mysterious. The final composition was recorded by the 50 musicians of the prestigious London Symphony Orchestra in the studio at St. Luke’s church in London.