Culture
Richard Mille – 20 Years On
Culture
Richard Mille – 20 Years On
There has been no modern brand in watchmaking history, created by a living founder, that has had such a massive global impact not just on horology, but also on contemporary culture itself. The change has been seismic, pervasive and irreversible. It was brought on by the singular vision of a man who was the ultimate rebel genius, who eschewed every existing aesthetic, technical and even material convention and cliche.
What was once round, he made into a Space Age tonneau that shimmered with Futurist manifesto velocity even standing still. What was once hidden, he made transparent. What once deified the past, he connected to the future. What was once heavy, he made wonderfully, ethereally, almost unbearably light. Indeed, the only thing Mille retained was a reverence for peerless finish and quality in his craft. In so doing, this iconoclast rocked the establishment so completely that you could say there is not a single brand that exists that has not in some way — whether in material use, design or even pricing — been affected by Richard Mille.
Richard Mille is not just a watch but a dream you aspire to, and the timepiece is a symbol that you’ve made it, that you are part of the club. The fact that it is also one of the most stunning technical objects in creation provides its substance. But like water turned to wine at the Last Supper, his watches have undergone a cultural transubstantiation because of what they symbolize to us. Says famed watch journalist Nick Foulkes, “Richard Mille is, for the current generation, as inspiring as F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Great Gatsby was to the audience of the ’20s in that wearing a Richard Mille is the ultimate act of self-creation, self-invention and, of course, success and wealth beyond measure.”
The Significance of Richard Mille
Says Austen Chu, founder of WristCheck.com, “Across so many cultures in the US, but equally in China, a Richard Mille watch embodies that hustle to realize your dreams. I think that’s why especially for entrepreneurs, for guys that made their own success on their own terms, regardless of if it’s New York or Shanghai, Los Angeles or Hong Kong, it’s become the watch for them. It’s their membership badge.”
Read “Richard Mille — The Billionaire’s Masonic Handshake, here.
It was first a novelty when tennis star Rafael Nadal first took to the clay of Roland Garros wearing his RM 27 — which set the record as the world’s lightest mechanical watch when it debuted in 2010 — prompting John McEnroe to remark, “I can’t believe he’s playing tennis with a half-million-dollar watch on his wrist”. Now, we can’t imagine him playing without it! And, a note to McEnroe, the price for that same watch is now more than a million on the secondary market. In the past 11 years, Rafa has worn a Richard Mille to his French Open men’s singles victory every single year, with the exception of 2015 and 2016. That is a total of nine French Open victories, each time with a Richard Mille RM 27 on his wrist. This extraordinary partnership has yielded five versions of the model, each of which represented a major advancement in shock-resistance and lightweight technology, including the first watch with its movement suspended by miniature cables and the first watch with its carbon fiber bridges integrated into the watch case.
Throughout all this, Richard Mille’s ongoing success comes from the brand’s unwavering commitment to material innovation, shock-resistance technology, advances in lightweight technology and ergonomics, though, in the last decade, an artistic and poetic dimension has also been added to the brand, with watches featuring stunning micro-sculptures such as the RM 57-03 Tourbillon Sapphire Dragon and, of course, the RM 69 Erotic Tourbillon which is capable of creating multiple suggestive messages, representing Mille’s idea that a true erotic watch is more cerebral than temporal in allure.
But what I find most extraordinary about Mille the man is, despite his incredible achievements and his cult Svengali-like status, he remains warm, effusive, humble and, most of all, kind.
An Epochal Vision of Watchmaking
If I was to summarize Mille’s momentous achievements over the past 20 years, it would go as follows: Firstly, he created an aesthetic revolution introducing watches that looked like shimmering symbols of modernism. To horology, this will forever remain as revolutionary as Italian Futurist sculptor Umberto Boccioni’s Unique Forms of Continuity in Space was to the art world.
Mille created a watch inspired by aviation and Formula 1, but in some ways his watch surpassed these references to become a new form of hyper complicated machine art. Part of this was the idea of total transparency, showing the movement as the primary aesthetic signature of the watch. At the same time, his movements incorporated never-before-used materials like titanium, aluminum-lithium and carbon fiber, along with all-new construction techniques such as beam skeletonization borrowed from architecture and bonded tubular structure from auto racing that evoked a bird cage frame. In so doing, Mille introduced the watch world’s first truly modern and original language since the inception of wristwatches in the early 20th century.
Mille introduced the concept of lightness in high watchmaking. In performance sports from auto racing to bicycling, lightness and strength are the primary goals. But before Mille, the watch industry only valued heavy watches made from precious metals like gold and especially platinum. Mille transformed this mindset by connecting horology with the concept of extreme light weight for greater comfort, ergonomics and shock resistance. This reached the height of achievement with the aforementioned RM 027, the world’s lightest mechanical watch created for none other than Rafael Nadal.
Another milestone: Mille completely transformed the pricing of wristwatches. Because of the extreme development cost coupled with the very small volume of watches produced, it was necessary for Mille to price his watches in a category the watch industry had never seen. What immediately followed was acceptance for Mille’s watches at this level. In fact, so much are his watches in demand that their secondary values massively exceed the already high prices.
Three riders at the 2021 Tour de France, who are wearing RM 67-02s on their wrists and showcasing some world-class riding
OK, with that aside, let’s look at the three watches that, to me, represent Mille’s ceaseless spirit of innovation. While many collectors are now looking at the first decade of Richard Mille as his classic period, in particular the RM 006 which features the world’s first carbon fiber baseplate; the RM 009, the world’s lightest mechanical watch before the RM 027; and the RM 012 with its tubular structure replacing a baseplate, causing the prices of these watches to surge dramatically, as someone who has followed the Richard Mille story for a full 20 years, I am of the opinion that many of Mille’s current watches are destined to become some of the most significant milestones in horological history.
Finally, I should add that even though this year represents his 20th anniversary, Richard Mille was adamant about not celebrating this milestone as he feels that the brand belongs to the future and not the past. So, in accordance with this, let’s look at three recent and new Richard Mille watches that are destined to be his future classics.
Five Years of the Revolutionary Extra Flat RM 67-02
In 2010, Mille enacted a game-changing revolution with the RM 027, the world’s lightest mechanical watch which he strapped to the wrist of tennis’ heaviest hitter, Rafael Nadal. Says Mille, “It wasn’t easy to convince Rafa to wear a watch at first. He is famous for being very specific about his preparation, what he wears and his equipment for his match. He was convinced he would find the watch distracting and uncomfortable. It was only at the behest of King Juan Carlos of Spain that he finally agreed to meet [me] and try the watch. When he did, he couldn’t believe how light and comfortable it was. Of course, it helped that he went on to win the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open the first year he had his Mille on. You could say, since then, it has become his lucky talisman.”
The RM 027 and its non-tourbillon baby sibling, the RM 035 Rafael Nadal, became the focus of even more extreme experimentation on reducing weight, increasing shock resistance and maximizing comfort. Says Mille, “The objective is simple: I wanted Rafa to never even notice he was wearing a watch until he looked at it. We worked on different case materials from carbon fiber to carbon TPT to quartz TPT. We discovered ways to isolate the movement from all external shocks, and we even came up with new types of straps, from the Velcro to what collectors call the ‘loop’ sports band.”
The RM 67-02 was introduced at the IAAF World Championships in London 2017 in green and yellow quartz TPT, and red and white quartz TPT, respectively, for South African sprinter Wayde van Niekerk and Mutaz Essa Barshim, the high jumper from Qatar. Says the Norwegian world and Olympic biathlon champion Johannes Thingnes Bø, who wears a stunning unique RM 67-02 in Norwegian flag livery in competition: “This is the only watch I would wear. For me, it is how slim and ergonomic the watch is. In my sport, I can’t have a watch get caught in my rifle strap or impede my movement in any way. The ultra slim profile of the watch is perfect; also the weight of 32 grams. Time is a crucial element in my sport and with my 67-02, I am able to keep track of it while wearing — let’s just admit it — the coolest watch in the world on my wrist.” Non-professional athletes also love the RM 67-02 for its sheer wearability. Says one of Singapore’s top watch collectors who goes by the Instagram handle @santa_laura, “Like everyone who loves watches, I got into Richard Mille. But soon I started to focus on the 67-02. Why? Because it is one of those few watches that you put on, and you forget you are wearing anything at all. It’s so comfortable and effortless to wear. It is amazing for sports, for the weekend, when you are on holiday at a resort. I also love the different colors the model comes in, and I collect all of them.”
In 2018, four more versions of the RM 67-02 were added, which included a red, black and yellow version in German flag colors, then a black carbon TPT version with a blue sports strap for rally driver Sébastien Ogier, a white quartz TPT version with a blue strap for skier Alexis Pinturault, and a stunning blue quartz TPT version with yellow and red design elements and a blue strap for F1 driver Fernando Alonso. Together with the first two versions, that means there are six different colorways for the RM 67-02, giving you ample opportunity to collect this model in depth.
The First Extra Flat Richard Mille Tonneau Watch — RM 67-01
The direct predecessor to the RM 67-02 is the RM 67-01, which was first introduced in 2016. Says Ted Fang, an owner of this model, whom I met at a Richard Mille event in Singapore, “From the moment I saw the 67-01, I loved it. It has all of the Richard Mille design codes I love, but it was so easy and effortless to wear. When I first bought it, people were curious about it but asked why I didn’t buy an RM 11. Now everyone tells me how amazing it feels on their wrist. I think Richard knew that collectors would move back to thinner watches, but he just arrived there before the majority of the market. That’s Richard — always leading the way.”
The RM 67-01 is a stunning timepiece. It was Mille’s first extra thin tonneau-shaped watch powered by an all-new, in-house automatic movement, the platinum rotor equipped CRMA6, which measures 3.6mm high. As early as this, Richard Mille saw the need for a more elegant size while retaining the power of his design. Accordingly, the RM 67-01 is 7.75mm high.
When it was first released in 2011, the RM 033 was surprising and unexpected for two reasons. Firstly, the 45.7mm case was round; secondly, the watch was extra thin, measuring an amazing 6.3mm in height to be exact, thanks to the lovely 2.6mm-thick RMXP1 micro-rotor movement inside. This movement was fully skeletonized with its baseplate and bridges in grade 5 titanium. The watch came with radiating Roman numerals. Though the watch was round in form, it was also ergonomically curved like all of Mille’s designs so that it perfectly fit the wrist.
What I find remarkable about Richard Mille’s RM 016, which dates back to 2007, is how fundamentally ahead of the industry it was. It is possibly for this reason that many collectors at the time were somewhat unsure of what to make of it. Up until then, Richard’s most iconic watches, such as the RM 001, RM 004 and RM 008, used his stunning tonneau form and were relatively thick watches, as they all housed varying forms of Mille’s radical aesthetic and shock-resistance experiments, which would come to define the genetic blueprint of his brand. But with the 38mm wide and 49.8mm long curved rectangular case of the RM 16 that was a scant 8.25mm thick, collectors were somewhat baffled. This was, after all, not the Mille watch they were expecting. But, to me, this was Richard’s first experiment with radically enhancing the wearability of his watches by reducing the case height. The RM 67-02 is the combination of this concept with the ultra light, shock resistance and material innovation experiments that came out of the RM 027 and RM 035. But without the important milestone of the RM 016, I don’t think the RM 67-02 would exist today.
Richard Mille’s First In-House Chronograph — RM 72-01
With Richard Mille’s deep connection to auto racing, it is natural that the chronograph has been one of his signature complications. Mille’s foray into chronographs began in 2004 with his collaboration with Audemars Piguet Renaud & Papi (APRP) on his RM 004 Split Seconds Chronograph and the RM 008, essentially the same watch but with a mighty tourbillon. These have always been two of my favorite watches and represent masterworks of design both in terms of the architecture of the movements and the aesthetic of the watches themselves. Both of these were manual wind watches configured with indications not only for the power reserve, but also the quality of mainspring torque, which is actually more important.
Mille’s first automatic chronograph was the now-legendary RM 11 from 2007. This larger, muscular beast of a watch featured a Vaucher movement, which first appeared in the RM 005, as its base caliber. The particularity of this movement was that it used a variable inertia rotor, meaning that depending on where you set the small wings connecting the rotor winding mechanism, you could cause it to spin more or less efficiently. As an amusing aside, the person who came up with this idea was, in fact, Giulio Papi’s father, who had worked at the partially Hermès-owned Vaucher. Mille mated this movement to a module developed by Dubois-Dépraz that featured a chronograph as well as an annual calendar, which automatically compensates for the shifting 30- and 31-day rhythms of the months. The RM 11 has gone on to be one of Mille’s flagship watches. So hotly coveted is it that some versions of the RM 11-03, such as the blue quartz TPT Jean Todt version, have sold for an astounding 250 percent above retail.
In traditional chronographs, this wheel is connected to a coupling lever. Co-axial to the seconds wheel, usually sitting on the lever, is — for lack of a better term — a second seconds wheel. This wheel powers a wheel of the same gear ratio, called the drive wheel. When the chronograph is activated, the coupling lever shifts to bring the drive wheel in contact with the centrally mounted chronograph seconds wheel. On the dial side, the chronograph seconds hand starts to rotate. With each revolution, the chronograph wheel activates a mechanism which pulls the minute counter forward.
Indeed, it is often the practice during servicing for vertical clutch movements that the clutch section is removed and replaced. Arbona continues, “So, we decided to use another solution called the oscillating pinion, which has three main advantages. The first is that it is a more direct and simple system; energy is being fed from a geared pinion directly from the seconds wheel to the chronograph wheel. Secondly, because it is simpler, it takes up less space, so you are able to make a smaller movement. Thirdly, it does not affect the timekeeping function. However, I say that with a caveat because our movement is the first chronograph in the world with two oscillating pinions specifically for this reason.”
This is how the caliber CRMC1 works. The seconds wheel drives an oscillating pinion that is slightly canted when in its rest position. When it is activated, it shifts to engage the chronograph wheel. Says Arbona, “Another area in which chronographs lose power is through the system where the seconds wheel drives the minute counter.” To resolve this, Arbona created a reduction gear coming directly from the barrel, driving a pinion that powers the chronograph minute counter.
He explains, “This way, the torque directly from the barrel, where power is at its greatest, is being split three ways: to the timekeeping function, which also powers the chronograph seconds; to the chronograph minute counter; and, using reduction gearing, directly to the hour counter. Because the hour counter turns so slowly, it is not necessary to create an oscillating pinion [for it]. But the end result is a system that is far less parasitical and does not affect the underlying chronometric performance of the movement.”
All these technical achievements aside, one of the things I don’t think people talk about enough is how stunning the movement design of Richard Mille watches are. The CRMC1 is a fantastic example. As more brands have become inspired by Mille’s contemporary skeletonized caliber architecture, you see more and more examples of this throughout the industry. But no one does it with the same imagination and finesse as Mille. Take a look, for example, at the skeletonization of the full traversing balance bridge on the CRMC1. Look at the stunning hand-polished bevels, countersinks and angles applied to skeletonized grade 5 titanium bridges. Admire the finish on the rotor, as this is the one area in which Richard Mille retains all the traditional skill sets of haut de gamme horlogerie. The result is, to me, a watch that is hugely innovative and imaginative, both in terms of its stunning design and its technical substance.
For my full story on the RM 72-01, please check it out, here.
Ultra Precision in the RM 65-01 Split Seconds Chronograph
A split seconds chronograph is often considered to be a complication eclipsed only by the minute repeater in terms of the challenge in perfecting its setup. Which is precisely why Mille decided that his first chronograph, the RM 004, should be precisely this type of watch: To show in the context of 2003 when the model was launched, that there were no limits to what his brand could achieve. This movement, which has gone on to appear in many of Mille’s most iconic models, was born out of a collaboration with Mille and APRP. And while it was stunningly modern in appearance, the watch was still somewhat traditional in terms of being manually wound and laterally coupled. When it came time to create a high performance, ultra high precision watch, Mille’s team looked at their collaboration with Vaucher to create the ultimate movement.
From the beginning, Mille took inspiration from the world of F1, where engines for cars are often sourced from the very best manufacturers. This resulted in the collaboration with APRP and also in the long-term partnership with Vaucher. In 2018, Vaucher announced the creation of one of the industry’s most stunning new chronograph movements, the VMF 6710. Besides the Zenith El Primero, it is the only other automatic column wheel-activated chronograph movement that beats at a lightning fast 5Hz or 36,000 vibrations per hour. However, one critical distinction to this movement is that it uses a vertical clutch as opposed to the El Primero’s laterally coupled clutch. The vertical clutch enables the chronograph to be left running indefinitely with no erosive effect on the underlying accuracy of the watch. In addition, the movement is a treasure trove of innovation featuring, for example, a full traversing balance bridge for the free sprung balance that can be micro-adjusted higher or lower to guarantee perfect engagement with the escapement.
But imagine now that the Richard Mille team was looking at this base caliber and recognizing its potential, but also seeing the level to which they could bring it by totally redesigning and rebuilding it to their specifications. This was how they created the RMAC4 movement, which brings several massive leaps forward to the base movement. The RMAC4 features a split seconds function, a rapid winding pusher that can fully wind the movements barrel with 125 pushes and a variable inertia/geometry rotor that can be set up to correspond to the owner’s level of energy output. But that’s just the beginning because the RMAC4 has every bridge made out of grade 5 titanium before it is fully skeletonized, bringing the weight of the movement down to the very minimum.
On the dial side, the RM 65-01 takes the concept of color coding we’ve seen on the RM 72-01 and dials it all the way up. The hour and minute hand, hour indexes and small seconds are all rendered yellow; the chronograph 12-hour counter at nine o’clock and the 30-minute counter at three o’clock are both in orange, as is the chronograph seconds hand. But superimposed on top of the chrono seconds hand is the blue split seconds hand. Bottom right, you’ll find the gear selector and top left you’ll find the date. Now check out the array of buttons. The top right is start/stop and the bottom right is reset. The top left is the split seconds pusher and the bottom left, in bright red, is the quick winding button that charges the barrel to full in 125 pushes.
Start the watch and activate the split seconds hand. The first thing you’ll notice is the tremendous work that Richard Mille has done to optimize the split seconds function. With the split seconds hand frozen, you can record a lap time, then hit the button on the top left and you will see the blazing fast “rattrapante” or catch-up action of the split hand with the chronograph hand. I have to say, the speed and accuracy with which the hand catches up is impressive. Set off the black carbon TPT case, the multi-hued elements of the watch are certainly attention-getting, but Richard Mille watches have never been for the timid. They are, as Richard always likes to point out, for people with strength of character. There is no doubt that Mille will continue to use the manual wind split seconds caliber introduced in the RM 004 for his ultra high concept watches, such as the one-million-dollar RM 50-03 McLaren F1, the world’s lightest tourbillon split seconds chronograph. But the RM 65-01 introduces a fantastic everyday functionality to the split seconds chronograph category with a watch that is also a stunning new timepiece.
Sometimes people get it wrong about Richard Mille. You don’t admire the watch or the man wearing it because you know it probably costs at least half a million dollars. You admire the watch because it is the first genuine 21st century horological icon that has stood the test of time and become even more relevant with the passing of the years. You admire the individuals wearing it, both women and men, because of what they’ve achieved in life to enable them to wear a Mille. Individuals like Michelle Yeoh who once jumped a motorcycle onto a moving train in a Jackie Chan movie and who is amongst the most devoted of Richard Mille ambassadors. At a Richard Mille event in Singapore hosted by Mille’s partners in Asia, Dave and Eddie Tan, she once tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around, and she nodded at my wine glass and said, “Bottoms up. We like to have fun. This is the Richard Mille family.” That is perhaps the most charming thing about Mille and the family he created that includes his partner in the US, John “Uncle John” Simonian, and in Europe, Peter Harrison.
In Singapore, Richard’s partners for Asia, Dave Tan and his brother Eddie, are now handing the leadership reins over to the very capable Bryan Tan, who is Dave’s son. Says Bryan, “In my age group, the Richard Mille community here in Asia is incredibly strong, tight-knit, and it is constantly growing and expanding. This community all throughout Asia will be our customers now and for the future.” Adds Keita Kawasaki, CEO of Richard Mille Japan, which opened its first boutique in 2007, “Richard Mille watches are wearable artworks and continue to create value. Richard Mille Japan is also passionate about charity work since 2011 and will continue to do so.”
Peter Harrison, CEO of Richard Mille EMEA, says, “I was friends with Richard long before we became business partners so there was already trust between us. At that time, he wanted to create a very exclusive brand, in an industry where competition was already tough, but I was immediately seduced, and here we are 20 years later, still working together, associated in a flourishing brand, which is a leader in its field.”
The point is that despite the stratospheric success the brand has achieved, everyone involved in the brand is remarkably down to earth and, most importantly, genuinely nice. Sure, they and their clients might be amongst the most successful people in their respective countries, but everyone takes their lead from Richard himself, who is the embodiment of humility and kindness despite his crazy, unparalleled success. A full 20 years after he irrevocably altered the course of watchmaking, Richard Mille, the brand, the man and the team around it, are at the height of their creative powers. And so, it seems that the next 20 years will be even better than the past two decades, which have already changed the world irrevocably and forever.