While the diving watch category may not be what one instinctively associates with the avant-garde brand Richard Mille, the 032 collection, which successfully deploys RM’s signature materials and aesthetic on underwater-bound timepieces, has actually been in existence since 2011.

This release, the Richard Mille Automatic Flyback Chronograph Ultimate Edition, marks the final entry in the 032 series, debuting 13 years after the first. It is a typically over-the-top, overbuilt, and over-styled expression of aspirational creativity, and despite its round rather than tonneau-shaped case, is unmistakably on brand.

Branding experts the world over would likely advise any maker to label their wares with the brand’s name, but truly successful branding comes through in a product that could be identified without. It is a testament to Richard Mille that even when the brand departs from its usual fare, the resulting product couldn’t feasibly come from any other company.

For a diving watch, the RM 032 is … exceptionally complicated

The massive and impressively legible date between 12 o’clock and center comprises two “reverse stencil” discs in black, sitting against a white field. Although we’ve seen this kind of date wheel before (very commonly from Hublot as well as less often from other forward-looking brands), the double date version is less common and is an excellent example of how to effectively display information clearly on an otherwise busy and convoluted dial.

Furthermore, the Richard Mille Automatic Flyback Chronograph Ultimate Edition sports a month indicator between the four and five o’clock hour markers as part of the watch’s annual calendar functionality — an unusual addition for a highly technical dive watch, but a neat one nonetheless.

A massive and satisfyingly graphical running indicator is located at three o’clock. It is particularly appropriate considering the ambassador attached to this project is the French free diver Arnaud Jerald, holder of eight world records in his chosen discipline. The reason for this aptness stems from the way free divers tend to interact with their watches underwater, which stands in stark contrast to the general usage habits of Scuba divers.

Rather than using the dive watch to time remaining oxygen supplies and ascent times, free divers tend to observe the running of the seconds hand instead, not so much for timing, but rather to help them achieve the almost meditative state they must enter to enable their bodies to endure such extreme pressures and harsh environmental conditions. Therefore, the sheer size of this large, luminous wheel as well as its soothing, two-rotations-per-minute animation, feels like a perfect companion for a free diver as they haul themselves deep beneath the waves.

The flyback chronograph function records the seconds, minutes, and hours up to 12 hours and, thanks to the watch’s 28,800 vph operating frequency, the chronograph is accurate to one-eighth of a second.

Caliber RMAC2 is keen on variables, featuring both a variable inertia balance wheel and a variable geometry rotor, although both operate quite differently despite sharing similar sounding names.

The variable inertia glucydur balance wheel has four arms and four weights and can be adjusted by a watchmaker to achieve the perfect poise. When combined with a free-sprung hairspring, owners of the RM Automatic Flyback Chronograph Ultimate Edition can therefore be quite confident in the watch’s isochronous performance. As such, once it leaves the watchmaker’s bench, the inertia of the balance wheel should not vary on its own.

Conversely, the variable geometry rotor weight actually adjusts a six-position white gold weight segment to change the point of inertia on the fly to suit the watch’s wearer’s habits and achieve the optimal wind-versus-component-wear ratio. When more relaxed movements are taking place, the rotor’s center of gravity shifts outwards, increasing the speed of the unidirectional winder. Whenever the wearer is engaged in vigorous physical activity, the weight is distributed towards the center of the movement to slow its spin. 

At 50mm wide and 17.8mm thick and boasting an eye-catching array of colors on the dial, this new Richard Mille is not for the faint-hearted or slim-wristed, but I am sure that all 80 pieces of this memorable limited edition will find homes easily enough.

A mixture of grade-five titanium and carbon TPT gives the case its on-brand character and marks it as an action-obsessed wristwatch tough enough to withstand 30 atmospheres and any knocks an active lifestyle might have in store for it.

Tech Specs: Richard Mille RM 032 Automatic Flyback Chronograph Ultimate Edition

Movement: Automatic-winding Caliber RMAC2; 50-hour power reserve
Functions: Hours and minutes; oversize date; month; flyback chronograph; running indicator; variable-geometry rotor
Case: 50mm ×17.8mm; grade 5 titanium and Carbon TPT; water-resistant to 300m
Dial: Skeletonized
Strap: Rubber strap
Availability: Limited to 80 pieces
Price: US$250,000