Culture Archives - Revolution Watch

Stolen Watches: The F1 Drivers Who Fought Back

Katherine Arteche — Thu, 14 Sep 2023 10:30:01 +0000

Stolen Watches: The F1 Drivers Who Fought Back

Formula 1 drivers are experiencing similar thefts involving Richard Mille watches. Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc, and Lando Norris have fallen victim to watch robberies, and it appears there may be a concerning pattern emerging.

Culture

By Katherine Arteche

Sep 14, 2023

In an alarming trend, Formula 1 drivers are increasingly falling victim to daring thefts of their high-end Richard Mille watches. The most recent incident unfolded just hours after the Italian Grand Prix, after Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz’s podium win.

Carlos Sainz pictured with his RM 67-02 at the Italian GP before it was stolen. Image: Scuderia Ferrari Press Office

However, this wasn’t an isolated case. Similar incidents occurred to two other F1 stars, Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris, with all three thefts involving Richard Mille watches. Norris, the McLaren driver, experienced this unfortunate occurrence twice—first outside Wembley during Euro 2020 and then again during the summer in Marbella. Leclerc, on the other hand, had his watch snatched while on vacation in Viareggio, Italy.

Carlos Sainz chased robbers on foot

The Spanish driver found himself the target of a knife-point robbery outside Milan’s Armani Hotel. What sets this incident apart is Sainz’s remarkable response. Unwilling to let the thieves escape with his precious timepiece, the 29-year-old driver, still in his racing boots, gave chase on foot with the help of a passerby. Thanks to his determination, the robbers were apprehended, and the watch was swiftly returned to its rightful owner.

Carlos Sainz pictured with Italian police after assisting in the arrest. Image: Scuderia Ferrari Press Office

He took to social media to release a statement after the episode: “As many of you already know, yesterday we experienced an unfortunate incident in Milan. The most important thing is that we are all OK and this will only remain as an unpleasant anecdote.

“Many thanks to all the people who helped us yesterday, to the Milan police for their quick intervention and thanks for all your messages.”

Carlos Sainz pictured with his RM 67-02 before it was stolen in Italy
Carlos Sainz's RM 67-02. Image: Richard Mille

Charles Leclerc hopped into his Ferrari for a car chase

Four individuals were arrested on the charge of stealing Leclerc’s unique Richard Mille 67-02 timepiece in April 2022. The stolen watch, valued at €2.5m, was taken during a robbery in Tuscany.

Charles Leclerc pictured with his unique RM 67-02
RM 67-02 Charles Leclerc Prototype

Additional details about the incident have emerged, revealing that after the theft, Charles Leclerc attempted to chase the fleeing criminals in a pursuit through the streets of Viareggio. Leclerc pursued them in his Ferrari, leading to a confrontation in a parking lot where one of the criminals threatened him with a knife before escaping.

The stolen watch was later sold for a significantly lower price than its value, approximately €300,000, due to difficulties in finding a buyer for the unique timepiece.

… but Lando Norris got himself in a headlock

Lando Norris was robbed of his special Richard Mille timepiece in London, which took place outside Wembley Stadium following the Euro 2020 final between England and Italy in July 2021.

The 25-year-old perpetrator, Liam Williams, had been accused of being one of the robbers who allegedly stole Norris’ custom-fit limited edition Richard Mille, and valued at over £140,000.

Lando Norris pictured with his custom RM 67-02
An exclusive five-piece RM 67-02 was fit on a blue strap

The court heard that Norris was grabbed by one assailant while another forcibly removed the watch from his wrist. DNA evidence found on Norris’s left wrist was presented during the trial, with the prosecution contending that it matched Williams’ DNA. However, the jury’s deliberations led to a not guilty verdict for Williams after approximately two hours.

In this case, Norris didn’t fight back, per se… what could you expect from a 21-year-old in headlock? But in a confusing revelation, Williams stated in court that he had witnessed two men showing the stolen watch to his group of friends after the Euro 2020 final, unaware that it had been stolen. He explained that he had no involvement in the robbery.

Despite the acquittal, the incident highlighted concerns over the security of high-value timepieces and the targeting of celebrities for their watches, a trend that has affected several Formula 1 drivers in recent years.

While the drivers’ quick thinking and determination have led to positive outcomes so far, it is clear that a pattern is emerging, highlighting the need for heightened security measures to protect these racing stars and their valuable possessions. And leave these RMs alone!

Reference

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FEATURED FROM ARTICLE

Sold Out

Angelus

ANGELUS x REVOLUTION CHRONODATE "ANGELS' SHARE"

$23,800.00

TECH SPECS

Movement	Self-winding caliber A-500; 60 hours power reserve
Functions	Hours, minutes, small seconds, chronograph and date
Case	42.5mm; titanium; water resistant to 30m
Dial	Salmon (6N gold plated) with gené or frosted area; Super-LumiNova filled Arabic numerals
Strap	Ballistic gray rubber; titanium folding clasp

The post Stolen Watches: The F1 Drivers Who Fought Back appeared first on Revolution Watch.

5 Things NOT TO DO to Your Friends’ Watches!

Revolution — Wed, 31 May 2023 06:00:40 +0000

After some unfortunate incidents involving a watch and some scratch-inducing substances, Wei and Constant decided it was time for some essential watch-handling tips from Revolution! Come with us as we dive into a lively discussion about watch etiquette and five no-nos you should always keep in mind when it comes to your friends’ timepieces. Let’s… Continue reading 5 Things NOT TO DO to Your Friends’ Watches!

The post 5 Things NOT TO DO to Your Friends’ Watches! appeared first on Revolution Watch.

Keeper of Time Puts Watches on the Silver Screen

Felix Scholz — Mon, 25 Apr 2022 09:00:33 +0000

It’s remarkable that, up until now, there were no feature-length explorations of contemporary watchmaking. That’s all set to change with the premiere, later this week, of Keeper of Time, a movie that showcases the personalities, the work and the wonder of independent watchmaking on the large screen.

A project of passion and directorial debut by film industry veteran Michael Culyba, Keeper of Time features the story of four famous independent watchmakers; Philippe Dufour, Roger W. Smith, François-Paul Journe and Max Büsser. But beyond telling the tales of these incredible watchmakers, Keeper of Time also explores the world and culture around the watches, speaking to prominent figures like Audemars Piguet’s Head of Complications Michael Friedman, renowned collector and dealer Eric Ku and author and enthusiast Gary Shteyngart, along with many more. What makes this documentary great is that Culyba goes beyond timekeepers and explores the meaning of time itself, gaining an historical perspective of time, speaking to academics, experts and theoretical physicists to make sense of the ticking of seconds.

Michael Culyba, the director and producer of Keeper of Time

Making and finishing every component by hand, Philippe Dufour is widely considered the finest living watchmaker of our time

Inspired by the French virtuosos that preceded him, François-Paul Journe is a master innovator of watchmaking, continually pushing the possibilities of haute horology both aesthetically and technically

The exquisite 18k gold movement of F.P. Journe’s Tourbillon Souverain wristwatch

MB&F’s wristwatch, Horological Machine No. 6, imbues Maximilian Büsser’s radical avant-garde design

Or, in the words of Culyba; “Within these objects lies mankind’s unending pursuit for precision, our need to create exquisite beauty and our quest for the divine. They are timeless instruments crafted as mesmerising mechanical art that represent the very best of our finite lives.”

The film premieres on April 28, at 5:45 Eastern Time (US), both physically and through livestream. The livestream will be replayed four times on April 29, to allow various global timezones to watch. The premiere will also include a Q and A moderated by Hodinkee’s Jack Forster and including alongside the director a range of featured personalities, including Benjamin Clymer, Michael Friedman, Gary Shteyngart, Antiquarian Horologist Brittany Nicole Cox.

Find out more, and purchase tickets at keeperoftimemovie.com

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Boundless – Richard Mille & the RM 72-01 Automatic Winding Lifestyle Flyback Chronograph

Sumit Nag — Mon, 16 Aug 2021 07:00:45 +0000

The Way

There’s a scene at the end of Pirates of the Caribbean, the Curse of the Black Pearl, where Captain Jack Sparrow is standing on the Black Pearl’s bridge, after having escaped his own execution. With one hand on the ship’s wheel and eyes fixated where the sky meets the sea, he says these words, under his breath, “Now, bring me that horizon.”

And as the camera slowly pans into a wide shot, with Captain Jack mumbling the words to, “Yo Ho, Yo Ho! A pirate’s life for me,” suddenly in that moment, he appears — boundless.

Sure, the Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise or the pirate genre for that matter, has little to do with Richard Mille. But that word, boundless, might possibly be the ultimate compendium of the ideals that define Richard Mille’s work. He seems to be boundless in his perception, boundless in his conception and, boundless in his execution. This is not to say that he is devoid of reality, on the contrary, Mille is probably more than aware of the present, than any other watchmaker alive today.

The man, the myth, the legend who set the tone for contemporary watchmaking, Richard Mille (Photography by Wee Khim)

In 1999, when Richard Mille set out to create his first watch, in the freedom of his own brand, he asserted that many watchmakers of our time are simply creating timepieces that pay homage to the masters of yesteryears. No one in his mind was making watches that embodied foresight. What he wanted to do therefore was create timepieces that would stand the rigors of the twenty-first century and become treasures for far distant generations. In order to address such a self-assigned challenge, Mille formulated that he had to create watches that were precision instruments. No compromise was to be made in order to craft his timepieces, just as he intended for the wearers of his watches to make no compromise in their lives when wearing his creations.

When Richard Mille had finally locked in the details of his first offering, you would imagine, his Time to Market strategy would’ve left any other corporation with multiple brain hemorrhages. He however understood fully that in creating a precision machine that would be unlike anything else on the market, he had to disregard time to ensure that what he unveiled was unquestionable in quality. As it was, the timepiece he had thought up would require more than a fair amount of time to construct, because for what he had thought up, there simply were no off the shelf parts. Everything, right down to balance spring and screws, had to be bespoke.

He simply refused to take short cuts and leave room for technical failure. So, what was the result of all this non-compromise? Well, when the RM 001 was eventually delivered to the store that was appointed to sell it, the watch lasted on their shelf for a grand total of thirty minutes.

When introduced in 2001, the RM 001 presented a technical and aesthetic approach that was earth shattering in the watchmaking industry

Every timepiece he’s inspired for his brand since the very beginning has been mandated by zero compromise and a pursuit of the extreme. Be it in the realms of finishing, of material, of the ultra-light, or the simple mindset of what a watch should be. But not just for watchmaking, this mantra seems to apply for Richard Mille for everything the brand’s ever pursued. Allow us to highlight such a non-watch instance: Richard Mille Cufflinks. How could cufflinks be made any different? Functionally they just need to hold French cuffs together and jewelers are known to make beautiful artisanal ones in precious metals, sometimes with precious stones for an extra dash of personality. Conceptually, what more could anyone bring to the table?

How about making them in grade 5 titanium and engineering a security mechanism with no less than 38 components that keep the cufflink secure no matter how long or wild your day might be. These are essentially t-bar cufflinks with one push piece on the topside that opens two prongs on the bottom of the T to secure your cuffs. To release the prongs, you have two push pieces on the ends of the top of the cufflinks, which when pressed, retract the prongs. For anyone who can appreciate technical wizardry, the patented securing mechanism is already impressive. But add to this the fact that the brand finishes and decorates these in the same way they would one of their watches or movements; the fact that these use the same spline screws, and suddenly we have a better understanding for how Richard Mille makes no compromises.

The Richard Mille Cufflinks, seen here in two varieties, both in grade 5 titanium, fully paved with diamonds on the left and lined with baguette cut diamonds on the right (©Revolution)

The Richard Mille Cufflink securing mechanism includes no less than 38 components, starting with the pusher on the top which must be pressed to secure the T-bar style cufflink into your cuffs (©Revolution)

To release the T-bar style cufflink, the pushers on the sides of its topped must be pressed to release the securing mechanism; these pushers are in fact secured in place with the same titanium spline screws that Richard Mille uses the brand's watch cases and movements (©Revolution)

When in its secured state, two prongs on the ends of the Richard Mille Cufflinks open up to hold your cuffs together (©Revolution)

When the securing mechanism is released the prongs on the ends of the Richard Mille cufflinks close together to release their hold; these prongs are as well secured in place with the same titanium spline screws that Richard Mille uses the brand's watch cases and movements (©Revolution)

While the Richard Mille Cufflinks featured in this article are of the diamond decorated variety, the brand does as well produce these in straight-up grade 5 titanium (© Revolution)

A Challenging Force

In a recent article Wei Koh, founder of The Rake & Revolution, probably has said it best, as to just how much of a force of change Richard Mille’s ethos has been in the past two decades of watchmaking. Wei writes, “But more importantly, in the world today, Richard Mille watches have transcended their status as timepieces to fulfill a different role. His watches have ascended to become the symbols of something much more: a limitless life, an uncontainable dream, passion, resilience, performance under all conditions, individualism and fearlessness. The reason his watches are the subject of innumerable songs is that owning a Richard Mille has become that emblem of success that is unattained by most but dreamed of by everyone. In other words, it has become the fabric of optimism itself.”

Read the complete article mentioned, here: Richard Mille – 20 Years On

See in this matter what has to be appreciated is that Richard Mille, through his watchmaking, has transformed to become a force of influence that has transcended past horology. Richard Mille has evolved to become a lifestyle. Which has further opened the brand to explore objects of desire outside of watchmaking, such as the afore mentioned Richard Mille Cufflinks or even the RM S05 Mechanical Fountain Pen. The question that we’d like to pose on that note is, could this influence be wielded to address a deeper, more human, conversation? And in answering our own question, believe it or not, Richard Mille already has.

RM 72-01 Automatic Winding Lifestyle Flyback Chronograph

Launched in late 2020, the RM 72-01 looks like your typical hyper dynamic Richard Mille watch that radiates futurist machine tech energy from 100 meters (©Revolution)

The RM 72-01 Lifestyle Chronograph in red gold

The RM 72-01 Lifestyle Chronograph in titanium

Two of the largest points of conversation in the watch sphere as of late has been, firstly, sustainable luxury and secondly, the supremely charged subject matter of gender. A mechanical watch is already an incredibly efficient and ethical object as it only consumes the energy given to it when you wear and wind it. And yes, much more is being addressed in the watchmaking industry with responsibly sourced materials and with brands announcing longer guarantees, to encourage buyers to keep their watches serviced and functional for several lifetimes. But how’s any watchmaker supposed to contribute to the conversation of gender? What more a brand of extremes such as Richard Mile. For this we need to speak about the recently launched RM 72-01 Automatic Winding Lifestyle Flyback Chronograph. So first, a little about the watch.

In September of 2020, Richard Mille retired the highly sought-after RM 11-03 and announced the RM 72-01 Automatic Winding Lifestyle Flyback Chronograph as the brand’s next big thing. Measuring in at 38.4 x 47.34mm, the watch was unveiled in a grade 5 titanium and an alternate full 5N red gold version, and a case profile that harkens to Mille’s earlier tonneau cases.

The dial of the watch features a completely non-traditional subdial layout for the continuous seconds and the 60-minute and 24-hour chronograph counters, all of which are color coded and labeled to visually separate time indications from that of the chronograph. For the movement, Richard Mille went the mile to create the brand’s first fully in-house movement and took the opportunity to as well address typical issues that tend to plague chronographs constructed using traditional mechanisms (horizontally coupling chronographs, particularly).

The RM 72-01 dial features a wonderful evolution of the traditional chronograph layout with separate subdials for continuous seconds, a 60-minute chrono counter and 24-hour counter, all color coded and labeled for ultimate clarity, color coding to visually separate time from chronograph information presents both a pragmatic but also powerful look (©Revolution)

Salvador Arbona, Technical Director of Movements, at Richard Mille shared with Revolution previously explaining, “Well, a chronograph is an extremely parasitical device. It consumes a great deal of power and also accentuates the variable torque in the mainspring as the power reserve starts to diminish. So if you leave your chronograph on indefinitely, the amplitude of the balance wheel and, thus, the underlying timekeeping function of the watch will become compromised. There have been solutions such as the vertical clutch that have been implemented, but this is for larger scale, more industrial applications.”

He went on to add, “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.”

The basic chronograph mechanism function of the CRMC1 movement, developed for the RM 72-01, is as follows. The seconds wheel drives an oscillating pinion that is slightly inclined when at rest. When the chronograph is activated, it moves to engage the central chronograph wheel. To further address the issue of chronographs losing power through the system where the seconds wheel drives the minute counter, the brand created a reduction gear that works directly with the barrel, driving a pinion that powers the chronograph minute counter, bypassing the remaining time-related gear train.

Read a more in-depth piece on the RM 72-01, here.

[vc_revo_custom_ad id=”middlead”]

The RM 72-01 is powered by the CRMC1 movement (Caliber Richard Mille Chronograph 1), which also happens to be Richard Mille's full in-house movement and the world's first chronograph movement with two oscillating pinions (©Revolution)

The RM 72-01’s technicalities are, no doubt, worth the boasting. But there’s another aspect that we should highlight, which is that when the watch was launched it was showcased with photography and video material directed by Benjamin Millepied where the watch was seamless seen on the wrists of a male and female subject. Why is this important? Wei Koh explains, “I believe the most successful watches in the world have reached a status so iconic that they can no longer be gender specific. For example, I have long adhered to the belief that a gold Daytona looks better on a woman than a man. Think of the short list of truly immortal watches: the Nautilus, the Royal Oak, the Day-Date — all of these watches are worn with equal aplomb by men and women alike.”

Richard Mille's launch campaign for the RM 72-01 featured the watch seamlessly on both a man and woman

The RM 72-01 Lifestyle Chronograph on the wrist in red gold

The RM 72-01 Lifestyle Chronograph on the wrist in titanium

By launching the watch with such visuals, Richard Mille has delivered the message that here is a watch that is intentionally unbiased towards a particular gender. Recognizing that the brand does have watches that are primarily directed towards women, the RM 72-01 exemplifies how the watch industry can create timepieces without an explicit bias. Rather, watches can be designed to simply amplifies a person’s life and character, regardless of who or what gender this individual identifies with.

Now the reason why Richard Mille is able to contribute to such a sensitive present social dialog without having anyone bat an eyelid, goes back to the earlier words of Wei Koh’s. That Richard Mille, as a result of the ethos of the man who started it all and the brand that it’s developed into, has transcended to become an entity that encompasses a message and desire of, “a limitless life, an uncontainable dream, passion, resilience, performance under all conditions, individualism and fearlessness.” The RM 72-01 is boundless in this regard. And, therein, for all these reasons, both horological and cultural, that it’s easy to say, that the RM 72-01 is already poised to become the next Richard Mille — no scratch that — horological icon.

The post Boundless – Richard Mille & the RM 72-01 Automatic Winding Lifestyle Flyback Chronograph appeared first on Revolution Watch.

Richard Mille – 20 Years On

Wei Koh — Thu, 08 Jul 2021 09:00:14 +0000

For two decades, I have told anyone that would listen that the watch world would one day be divided into the era before Richard Mille and the era after. Now upon the 20th anniversary of his brand, I believe that truth is self-evident in a René Descartes irrefutable evidence of God’s existence kind of way.

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.

When introduced in 2001, the RM 001 presented a technical and aesthetic approach that was earth shattering in the watchmaking industry

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But more importantly, in the world today, Richard Mille watches have transcended their status as timepieces to fulfill a different role. His watches have ascended to become the symbols of something much more: a limitless life, an uncontainable dream, passion, resilience, performance under all conditions, individualism and fearlessness. The reason his watches are the subject of innumerable songs is that owning a Richard Mille has become that emblem of success that is unattained by most but dreamed of by everyone. In other words, it has become the fabric of optimism itself.

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.”

Ten years ago, I wrote a story called “Richard Mille — The Billionaire’s Masonic Handshake” that I attributed to the pseudonym Declan Quinn. The rationale was so I could create the narrative device of the character Declan, who by borrowing my Richard Mille watch, gained access to a bold new world where all sorts of crazy, over-the-top incidents happen based on my own experiences. I called this the “Richard Mille Effect.” These included being bought dinner in one of Ginza’s most exclusive sushi restaurants by strangers wearing Richard Mille as well as being invited by a Richard Mille-wearing Chinese billionaire to a private concert performed by Usher and to accompany her to Bordeaux to go vineyard shopping. These are all true stories. But at the time, I thought that many people might not believe that simply by wearing a Richard Mille, you could be admitted into the world’s most elite and fun-loving members’ club. Ten years later, something has changed, and that is the public’s awareness of Richard Mille. A decade ago, it had been the ultimate clandestine, super stealth, double secret membership badge of the ultra high net worth community. Today, it is anything but clandestine. (Caveat emptor: Though I own a Richard Mille watch, from a financial perspective, I have more in common with the lab technician expressing their dogs’ anal glands than I have with anyone in this community.)

Read “Richard Mille — The Billionaire’s Masonic Handshake, here.

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Today, Richard Mille is at the height of its cultural awareness. Watch the Netflix series Formula 1: Drive to Survive, and you’ll see that every driver, team principal and team owner proudly displays a Richard Mille on his wrist, whether his team is associated with Mille or not. As of this year, Richard Mille is the single most namechecked brand in rap music, with Gunna’s video for “Richard Millie Plain” copping 14 million views on YouTube. At the same time, Richard Mille has become the most worn and coveted watch for elite athletes in the heat of competition in a range of disciplines, including track and field, tennis, golf, skiing, biathlon, F1, rally driving — you name it. I am certain that the gold medaling ping pong players at this summer’s Olympic Games stay up at night dreaming of Richard Mille ambassadorship.

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.

PARIS - MAY 31: Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates a point during the men's singles fourth round match between Rafael Nadal of Spain and Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil at the French Open on day nine of the French Open at Roland Garros on May 31, 2010 in Paris, France. On his wrist is the RM 027 created for him. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

The 20-gram Richard Mille RM 027

Today, Richard Mille is the watch for every billionaire of significance with the slightest soupçon of swag, including Jay-Z, Pharrell (who has his own RM special edition), Kevin Hart and Ed Sheeran. Indeed, during the 2019 NAACP awards, Jay-Z caused social media to explode when he wore his pièce unique blue sapphire RM 056 with a retail price of US2.5 million dollars. As for that watch’s market value today, just trying doubling that figure. Indeed, while Richard Mille is everywhere in terms of contemporary culture, he is not abundantly found, hence demand massively outstrips the supply of his watches. As a result, practically every single Richard Mille commands a secondary market premium that is the equivalent of a charming bucolic house in the British countryside. Let me be clear: The house is the equivalent of the premium only, not the watch itself.

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.

Rapper entrepreneur, Jay-Z with the piéce unique blue sapphire RM 056 on this wrist, also known as the "Blueprint" (Image: Shutterstock)

The piéce unique blue sapphire RM 056 on this wrist, also known as the "Blueprint"

Pharrell Williams with the Richard Mille RM 52-05 Tourbillon Pharrell Williams on his wrist (Image: Robert Jaso)

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.

Early sketches of the RM 001.

Secondly, all of the extraordinary unique forms served to radically improve shock resistance in watches. In the early days, Mille would take off his RM 001 and throw it on the floor to demonstrate how incredibly shock resistant it was. And while much has been made of the cost of Richard Mille’s watches, each time he reached a juncture where he could make his engineering more extreme, resulting in greater cost, he always took that path. He laughed when he said in an earlier interview, “I have always said, if I were my own head of finance, I would have fired me.” But the result were watches truly without compromise and represented the most radical examples of anti-shock technology in mechanical watchmaking: watches with movements that are based on elastomers or even suspended from cables; watches with movements made from carbon or titanium that have strong shock dampening properties. Perhaps most of all, he recognized that the lighter the watch was, the more resistant to shock it would be.

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.

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Mille was also the first to place his watches on the wrists of elite athletes in the heat of competition, such as Nadal, golfer Bubba Watson and almost every F1 driver on the grid today. Because of his focus on ergonomics and lightness, which he was able to achieve by introducing materials like carbon and quartz TPT, athletes could perform at their very maximum effort without any hindrance from their watch. Mille had the courage to demonstrate that the most complicated high watchmaking could also withstand all forms of sports including tennis, track and field, biathlon, F1, golf and much more.

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.

Bubba Watson cliched the green jacket first in 2012 and a second time in 2014, here on his wrist is the Richard Mille Tourbillon RM 038 Bubba Watson (Image: richardmille.com)

Haas F1 Racing team member Romain Grosjean

Kimi Räikkönen of Alfa Romeo Racing wears the RM 50-04 Tourbillon Split-Seconds Chronograph Kimi Räikkönen

Mick Schumacher for Richard Mille, wearing the RM 016 Automatic Extra Flat (Image: richardmille.com)

Norwegian biathlete, Johannes Thingnes Bø

Jamaica's Yohan Blake competes in the Men's 100m heats at the 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships at the Khalifa International stadium in Doha on September 27, 2019. (Photo by Jewel SAMAD / AFP) (Photo credit should read JEWEL SAMAD/AFP via Getty Images)

Rio , Brazil - 14 August 2016; Wayde van Niekerk of South Africa celebrates winning the Men's 400m final with a world record time of 43.03 seconds at the Olympic Stadium during the 2016 Rio Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo By Brendan Moran/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Qatari high jumper, Mutaz Essa Barshim effortlessly flying over the high jump bar with the RM 67-02 Automatic Mutaz Essa Barshim – High Jump on his wrist

Richard Mille with words of encouragement for Mark Cavendish, just before stage 5 of the Tour de France 2016 kicked off (Image: Bill Springer)

A closeup of the RM 011 on Cavendish’s wrist during his Tour de France 2016 competition

Mark Cavendish sprinting to his fourth stage win at stage 14 of the Tour de France 2016, his RM 011 Felipe Massa in carbon TPT, personally loaned to him by Richard Mille, on his wrist

Three riders at the 2021 Tour de France, who are wearing RM 67-02s on their wrists and showcasing some world-class riding

French cyclist, Julian Alaphilippe at the finish line as he secures Stage 1 at the Tudor de France 2021 (Image: cyclist.co.uk)

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UAE cyclist, Tadej Pogačar w,inner of Tour de France 2020, leading out in front in yellow at Tour de France 2021 (Image: Getty)

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British cyclist, Mark Cavendish, who finished outside the time limit in his previous participation in 2018, crashed out in 2017, at the Tour de France 2021 with three stage victories to date and 33 career stage wins, swiftly chasing down Eddy Merckx's record of 34 (Image: eurosport.com)(

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Britain’s Mark Cavendish, wearing the best sprinter’s green, celebrates with France’s Julian Alaphilippe after winning the sixth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 160.6 kilometers (99.8 miles) with start in Tours and finish in Chateauroux, France, Thursday, July 1, 2021. (David Stockman, Pool Photo via AP

Last but not least, Mille created the ultimate community symbol. For the world of the ultra elite, wearing a Richard Mille is the equivalent of a membership badge. However, the Mille community, as financially blessed as it may be, is also one filled with warmth, friendliness and good cheer. My theory is that Mille’s community take their cues from the man himself. Richard, despite the elite universe he’s created, is remarkably down to earth. This is a man who, upon my meeting him at his castle in Normandy, took my photographers and myself to his kitchen and cooked us spaghetti aglio olio, which we then ate in his garden. Despite all his success, he has never lost his human touch and this I respect immensely.

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.

His timepieces may be incredibly complex, but Richard Mille is a man who appreciates simple things, like cooking spaghetti aglio olio for guests, as he sings Italian opera (Photo by Thomas Lavelle for Revolution)

The RM 006, revealed in 2005, was the first wristwatch ever to have its baseplate made of carbon nanofiber (Image: antiquorum.com)

The carbon nanofiber baseplate of the RM 006

The 29 grams RM 009 Tourbillon Felipe Massa (Image: sothebys.com)

The nothingness that is the RM 009's skeletonized movement

Visible through a sapphire-crystal caseback, the caliber RM 009 boasts an aluminium-lithium movement baseplate, a first in watchmaking history

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 Richard Mille RM 035 Rafael Nadal, also known as the "Baby Nadal" (2011)

From 2010 to 2020, Richard Mille pioneered the approach to transforming the mechanical watch into the ultimate sports performance tool, resulting in what I consider to be the single most game-changing timepiece in recent years, the RM 67-02 launched in 2017. If the first decade of Mille watches had changed our perception of what a luxury material was with the introduction of titanium, carbon fiber, ceramic and quartz TPT, the second decade saw an even more radical transformation of the traditional watch, which with the RM 67-02, has transcended its category to become the ultimate hyper luxury hardcore sports watch. So light and so effortless is it to wear that I would even hesitate to call it a sports watch. To me, the RM 67-02 is almost a sports band or sports bracelet that just so happens to also tell the time with one of the most stunningly designed and technically innovative watch heads attached to it. To completely understand the RM 67-02, you need to first try one on. Immediately you will feel as if you have nothing more than a thin, almost weightless sweatband on your wrist, until you look down and see its blazing multi-hued quartz TPT and aggressive carbon TPT livery glowing on your wrist.

2017 – The Richard Mille RM 67-02 Automatic Mutaz Essa Barshim – High Jump

Qatar's Mutaz Essa Barshim competes in the Men's High Jump final at the 2019 IAAF Athletics World Championships at the Khalifa International stadium in Doha on October 4, 2019, with the with the RM 67-02 Automatic Mutaz Essa Barshim – High Jump on his wrist (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP) (Photo by KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP via Getty Images)

2017 – The Richard MIlle RM 67-02 Automatic Wayde Van Niekerk - Sprint

2018 – Richard Mille RM 67-02 Alexander Zverev Edition Watch

2018 - The Richard MIlle RM 67-02 Alexis Pinturault

2018 – The Richard Mille RM-67-02-Fernando Alonso

2018 – The Richard MIlle RM 67-02-Sébastien Ogier

Let’s look at some of the significant design elements expressed by the introduction of this model in 2017. To start off, it was one of the first RM watches to revisit classic dimensions at 38.7mm wide and 7.8mm in height. Its length is 47.52mm but because it has no lugs, it wears not much bigger than an Apple watch. It is sometimes forgotten that, when introduced, the RM 67-02 was the world’s lightest automatic wristwatch at 32 grams. That is crazy light, weighing no more than seven sheets of A4 paper. The movement of the RM 67-02 is an absolutely stunning work of art. Caliber CRMA7 features a fully skeletonized baseplate and bridges in grade 5 titanium but with a variable inertia rotor consisting of carbon fiber arms and a white gold mass. Because of how light the arms are relative to the weight at the perimeter, this rotor winds super efficiently. The carbon arms also help in dissipating violent shocks to the rotor assembly, such is their dampening effect. The movement beats at 4Hz and offers 50 hours of power reserve with a free sprung balance wheel. Because the dial is integrated into the baseplate of the watch, you can see all the inner mechanical elements, including the escapement wheel at seven o’clock, the balance wheel just to the left of six o’clock, and the skeletonized barrel at 12 o’clock, which also allows you to gauge the state of wind of the mainspring inside. While this aesthetic has become popular today, it should not be forgotten that Richard Mille was the first to create watches with this modern expression of skeletonization, in particular with the RM 009, which featured a movement composed entirely of box-sectioned aluminum-lithium bridges.

At 38.7mm wide and 7.8mm in height, the RM 67-02 is one of the first from Richard Mille to revisit classic dimensions

The RM 67-02 is 47.52mm in length, but because it has no lugs and therefore wears no bigger than an Apple Watch and weight all of 32grams

The RM 67-02's dial is integrated into the baseplate of the watch, you can see all the inner mechanical elements, including the escapement wheel at seven o’clock, the balance wheel just to the left of six o’clock, and the skeletonized barrel at 12 o’clock, which also allows you to gauge the state of wind of the mainspring inside

Inside of the RM 67-02 is the Caliber CRMA7, which features a fully skeletonized baseplate and bridges in grade 5 titanium but with a variable inertia rotor consisting of carbon fiber arms and a white gold mass

The case of the watch is the Mille V3 case with the aggressive protruding architectural extensions around the splined screws on the top plate and the back case, which we first saw in the much-coveted RM 11-03. The top plate and back case are made in either quartz TPT or carbon TPT with the midcase in carbon fiber. The RM 67-02 comes exclusively on the elastic strap from the RM 27-03 Rafael Nadal, which is essentially an elastic sports loop that is incredibly comfortable to wear.

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.”

Santa Laura’s collection of the 32 gram RM 67-02 Automatic Winding Extra Flat watches in three flavours (©Revolution)

Says Nick Foulkes, “The RM 67-02 is a fascinating watch in that it is almost not a watch, as it is so light and immensely wearable. I had initially thought of its character as a modern lightweight version of a watch that was as much bracelet as watch, such as the [Rolex] King Midas, until my sons pointed out that it is more akin to the ultimate decorative music festival backstage bracelet — just one that happens to tell the time and costs over USD 120,000 if you are lucky enough to get allocated one. Though, rest assured, it should get you backstage to pretty much anything; it will get you backstage to the whole world.”

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 thickness of the RM 67-02 is a mind-blowing 7.8mm

One of the key statistics that must be discussed about the RM 67-02 relates to its thickness, which is 7.8mm. This is wonderfully thin for a sports watch and is actually thinner than something like a Patek Philippe ref. 5711 or Audemars Piguet ref. 15202. But the important thing here is that it is the result of Mille’s focus on ultra thin watches that dates back to 2007 with the RM 16. A full seven years before Bvlgari launched the now-famous Octo Finissimo, Mille had already demonstrated that ultra thin watches with amazing design and true strength of character were a significant part of the future. Mille, who is always tapped into the zeitgeist, had foreseen the interest in extra thin watches long before the rest of the market arrived at this conclusion.

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.

The RM 67-01 was Richard 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; the watch itself is thereafter, 7.75mm high

In many ways, the RM 67-01 is also the forebear to watches such as Mille’s new RM 72-01 Lifestyle Chronograph in that it is sleeker and more wearable, and perhaps most importantly, from a cultural perspective, genuinely gender-neutral. This is another demonstration of Mille’s foresight in a world where people no longer identify with traditional gender roles or gendered watches. After all, a Daytona is as much a women’s watch as it is a men’s watch. Mille wanted his watches to similarly appeal to everyone, regardless of gender and based purely on the strength of their character. Looking at the RM 67-01, you can already see that this watch represents the first dynamic shift toward this concept as far as his tonneau-shaped watches are concerned. But, in fact, Mille already had three other ultra-thin models that heralded the return to slimmer, more wearable timepieces, beginning in reverse chronological order with the RM 033.

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.

When it was first released in 2011, the RM 033 was surprising and unexpected because its 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

The underside of the RM 033 showing the 2.6mm-thick RMXP1 micro-rotor movement inside

In 2015, Mille launched the RM 33-01, a souped-up version of its predecessor with a case dimension of 45.7mm in diameter and 9.2mm in height, with sharper, more angular lugs and with the dial now featuring enlarged Mille Arabic markers. It also featured a date as well as a small seconds subdial, whereas the original RM 033 was more of a dandy-esque time-only watch. Then in 2019, we saw the launch of the phenomenal RM 33-02 which measured 41.7mm in width and 8.8mm in thickness. To me, this was Mille’s recognition that there was a segment of his audience that genuinely wanted smaller, slimmer and more wearable timepieces. This watch received the full Mille effect, meaning a carbon TPT top plate and caseback with a red gold midcase. Like the original RM 033, it was a time-only watch. It is important to note that all three of these watches are effortless to wear and genuinely gender-neutral. Even though 45.7mm might sound large, bear in mind that all of Mille’s watch cases have been created with a focus on the ultimate ergonomic comfort, and so the size is far more adaptable than that number may indicate.

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.

The Richard Mille RM 016 is a watch with a 38mm wide and 49.8mm long curved rectangular case that is a scant 8.25mm thick

The Richard Mille RM 17-01 Tourbillon was fresh take on the RM 017, highlighting its very elegant and technic calibre through sleek, elegant lines achieved by the characteristic tonneau-shaped case

To demonstrate that his high complications could also be the subject of ultra thin experimentation, Richard Mille introduced us to the RM 017 Tourbillon in 2010. While the case is ostensibly the ergonomic, curved rectangle of the RM 016, here we have a spectacular skeletonized tourbillon movement that is just 4.65mm thick, resulting in a watch that measures 49.8mm by 38mm but is a svelte 8.7mm in height. In today’s context, there are thinner tourbillons and even automatic tourbillons, but in 2010, which was again far before the renaissance of ultra thin watches, this was a pioneering and iconoclastic timepiece. Also, it should be said that this is one of my favorite Richard Mille movements, which despite being slender, demonstrates all of Mille’s signature ultra skeletonized leitmotifs with incredible beauty. So much so that even though it is anything but ultra slim, I have to give a shoutout here to Richard Mille’s RM 17-01, which is this same movement placed inside a regular sized carbon TPT tonneau case with rose gold highlights in a micro-edition of 10 watches. It was also made in white and black ceramic versions, which were released last year. I have no idea why these watches suddenly appeared in 2020. Perhaps someone opened a drawer at the RM headquarters and discovered a few remaining movements, but all I know is that this is one of my all-time favorite Richard Milles. Thanks to the carbon TPT and the minimalistic movement, this beauty that measures 48.15mm by 40.1mm by 13.8mm is also, as the Neapolitans would say about their tailoring, “as light as the winds over Vesuvius.”

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.

2003 – The Richard Mille RM 004 Split Seconds Chronograph (Images: christies.com)

2005 – Richard Mille RM 008 Tourbillon Split Seconds Chronograph (Images: christies.com)

2007 – RM 011 Automatic Flyback Chronograph Felipe Massa (Image: sothebys.com)

The impressive thing about the RM 72-01 was that even though it was smaller in dimension, it packed a huge visual punch. Indeed, it bristled with all the Mille iconography we know and love — the tonneau shape, the splined screws traversing the case from front to back, the massive rubber-coated pushers recessed into huge shrouds that look like F1 air induction ducts, and a massive oversized rubber-coated crown. The dial featured a wonderful evolution of the traditional chronograph layout with separate subdials for continuous seconds, a 60-minute chrono counter and 24-hour counter, all color coded and labeled for ultimate clarity. One design flourish we see increasingly used in recent Mille watches is color coding to visually separate time from chronograph information, which is both pragmatic but also powerful looking. This is dialed up to the next level on the new RM 65-01 Automatic Split Seconds Chronograph. The point is that until you put it on the wrist, the RM 72-01 looks like your typical hyper dynamic Mille watch that radiates futurist machine tech energy from 100 meters. But the amazing thing is when you put it on a man’s wrist, it doesn’t lose an iota of this power despite its slightly reduced proportions; on a woman’s wrist, it simply looks magnificent.

Launched in late 2020, the RM 72-01 looks like your typical hyper dynamic Richard Mille watch that radiates futurist machine tech energy from 100 meters (©Revolution)

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The RM 72-01 Lifestyle Chronograph in red gold

The RM 72-01 Lifestyle Chronograph in titanium

Richard Mille's launch campaign for the RM 72-01 featured the watch seamlessly on both a man and woman

Beating inside the fantastic RM 72-01 is a watch movement that is one of the coolest chronograph calibers around. The man Mille has tapped as his technical director, Salvador Arbona, wanted to approach the CRMC1 movement (Caliber Richard Mille Chronograph 1) by solving some of the issues that traditionally plagued the chronograph. This is how a chronograph normally functions. You know that a watch works with a barrel containing a wound spring that is basically the watch’s gas tank, which, through reduction gearing, ends up feeding power every fraction of a second through an escapement to an oscillator. The wheel just before the escape wheel is the fourth, or seconds, wheel. As its name implies, it makes a full rotation once a minute and therefore provides the reading for the seconds.

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.

Salvador Arbona, Technical Director – Movement, at Richard Mille

The component in question, the oscillating pinion; the calibre CRMC1 is he first chronograph in the world with two oscillating pinions incorporated

Says Salvador Arbona, who is overseeing the advancement of the brand’s in-house movement program, “Well, a chronograph is an extremely parasitical device. It consumes a great deal of power and also accentuates the variable torque in the mainspring as the power reserve starts to diminish. So if you leave your chronograph on indefinitely, the amplitude of the balance wheel and, thus, the underlying timekeeping function of the watch will become compromised. There have been solutions such as the vertical clutch that have been implemented, but this is for larger scale, more industrial applications.”

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.”

The calibre CRMC1 splits the torque between the chronograph’s various counters. The seconds and minute wheels of the movement (A) thereby permanently interlock with the lower teeth of the two oscillating pinions (B). When the rockers are moved, their upper teeth (C), which link to the chronograph’s seconds and minute wheels (D), engage or disengage depending on whether the chronograph is activated or stopped (E)

The calibre CRMC1 is he first chronograph in the world with two oscillating pinions incorporated

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

Says Richard Mille, “I love split seconds chronographs because they are the most technical complication. But they are notoriously tough to perfect. With the 65-01, I wanted to create a split seconds chronograph that was a true sports watch that can be used whether in the cockpit of a car when endurance racing or riding a bicycle. I wanted to create a split seconds chronograph that, from the perspective of performance with a 10Hz oscillating speed allowing for the division of time to 1/10th of a second, had reliability that was second to none. In order to do that, I knew I had to start from the ground up and create an all-new movement.”

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.

Vaucher's VMF 6710 is the only other automatic column wheel-activated, vertical clutch chronograph movement that beats at 5Hz or 36,000 vibrations per hour (Image: vauchermanufacture.ch)

Seeing is believing, the RMAC4, although based off the VMF 6710, looks nothing like it and 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; the RMAC4 also has every bridge made out of grade 5 titanium before it is fully skeletonized (©Revolution)

The case of the RM 65-01 is massive and powerful. It is effectively the same size at the RM 011, measuring 50mm in length, 44.5mm in width and 16.1mm in height. I know the watches are essentially the same size because the rubber strap it uses is marked RM 11-03, meaning the straps are interchangeable for these two models. Upon introduction, the RM 65-01 features a case made from carbon TPT. Again, while today many brands are manufacturing watches from carbon fiber, in particular carbon that has an irregularly layered, Damascus-steel-like pattern, Mille was the first to claim this territory as his in 2013 with the North Thin Ply Technology (NTPT) versions of his RM 011.

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.

The case of the RM 65-01 is 50mm in length, 44.5mm in width and 16.1mm in height

The top left pusher on the RM 65-01 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 (©Revolution)

The point to this 8,000-plus-word article on Richard Mille is to demonstrate that the spirit of rebellious, crazily innovative energy is still full bore at the brand. It’s just that the world has caught up, embraced and is now obsessed with Richard Mille to such a massive extent that Mille has become much more than a watch brand. It has become the ultimate symbol of success, optimism and fearlessness.

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 21^st 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.

(L-R) Bryan Tan, Executive Director, Richard Mille Asia Pte Ltd with his father, Dave Tan, CEO of Richard Mille Asia Pte Ltd

John Simonian, owner and CEO of Westime

(L-R) Sauber Motorsport AG CEO Frederic Vasseur, Dave Tan of Richard Mille Asia, Kimi Raikkonen, Dave Tan's son, Bryan Tan and Taiwanese singer Jimmy Lin at the Richard Mille - RM 50-04 Kimi Raikkonen Launch on September 18, 2019 in Singapore (Image: Getty Images)

(L-R) Greg with his father, John Simonian

What is nice to see is the transfer of leadership at Richard Mille from one generation to the next. Richard now has four of his children working at the brand. Alexandre Mille who is commercial director; Dimitri Mille who is brand identity and digital coordinator; Guillaume Mille who is audiovisual coordinator; and Amanda Mille who oversees everything related to brand and partnership relationships. Richard’s partner Dominique Guenat now has his daughter Cécile working as the director of creation and development. In the United States, Richard’s partner is the legendary John Simonian, whose son Greg works side by side with him as president of Westime. Says John Simonian, “It’s been an amazing 20-year journey with Richard—a truly life-changing experience that is based on passion and friendship. Meeting Richard two decades ago was a turning point in my career, which now clocks in at 47 years! Richard’s vision is for the next generation to come into the company and ensure the continuity of what we have all built together.”

Commercial Director at Richard Mille, Alexandre Mille

Amanda Mille, Clientele Marketing Director at Richard Mille

Cécile Guenat, Director of Creation and Development at Richard Mille’s

Dominique Guenat, Richard Mille co-founder and co-president

Keita Kawasaki, CEO of Richard Mille Japan

Says Greg Simonian, “Richard Mille has been the most game-changing brand of the last 20 years. But we are only now beginning to understand the true reach of its huge cultural impact. Here, in the United States, it has become the ultimate community symbol for a very special type of elite client. They don’t want to wear anything else. Because wearing a Richard Mille for them is an expression of being part of a family.”

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.

richardmille.com

The post Richard Mille – 20 Years On appeared first on Revolution Watch.

The Amazing People Who Made MB&F’s Legacy Machines, Amazing

Wei Koh — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 11:00:22 +0000

It’s been a decade since Max Büsser introduced us to his Legacy Machine watches that not only revealed a whole new dimension to his brand MB&F, but have also been universally lauded by even the most discriminating watch collectors. To be fair, by 2011, Büsser had indelibly inked his place in the canon of watchmaking’s greatest leaders. While the world today has reignited its passion for independent watchmaking, it was Büsser who was most critical in bringing attention to them.

By now the legend of Büsser has become popular horological folklore. Finding himself a young CEO at the helm of Harry Winston amid a crazed resurgence in complicated watchmaking, but with zero in-house acumen of his own, he tapped his friends like François-Paul Journe, Vianney Halter, Felix Baumgartner and Martin Frei, offering them the chance of a lifetime — carte blanche to create the wildest, most innovative watches the world had ever seen. This project he christened “Opus” and, suddenly, thanks to the support of equally dynamic partners such as Michael Tay of The Hour Glass, the world suddenly realized the extraordinary beauty and singular creativity of independent watchmaking.

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Büsser’s next move was to create his own brand with the same creative ethos of collaboration that made Opus a success. Aptly named Maximilian Büsser & Friends, the brand’s initial focus was on Horological Machines, “time-telling kinetic art forms,“ as I put it when I first saw them, that gleaned their iconography from manga and science fiction. To me, what has always separated Max’s watches from those of other modernist creators is his attention to detail, refinement in finish and genuine originality of thought. Shortly after he created HM4 in 2010, a watch that looked like two rocket ships sitting on your wrist, the question on everyone’s mind given the burgeoning shift in taste to vintage and classical watchmaking, was if Büsser’s hedonistically futuristic vision would still be relevant in the ensuing decade.

Clearly, Büsser had in some way already recognized this and astutely understood that a more classic Max Büsser watch would gain him an entirely new audience. So in the first year of the second decade of the third millennium, Büsser unveiled the Legacy Machines that he would have created if he had lived in the time of Ferdinand Berthoud and Antide Janvier. These were watches that heralded a level of finish that could only be described as sublime, that demonstrated emphatically that incredible creativity could coexist with classic values. They were watches that showed that MB&F was not a mono product brand and that Max Büsser’s imagination was limitless.

Says Michael Tay, “While we were all big fans of the Horological Machines, Max’s Legacy Machines caught us all off guard. But that’s the thing about Max — he is one of the smartest people I know and is tapped into the horological zeitgeist in a way that few others are. This is what has always defined him as a trailblazer; he is aware of where the world is heading and what people want even before we are able to express it ourselves. The Legacy Machines demonstrate a depth of knowledge for classic watchmaking that was incredibly impressive. They are, to me, some of the most beautiful and collectable watches created in the last decade.”

Speaking to Max on the 10-year anniversary of the Legacy Machine and the celebratory launch of the LMX, I became aware of the deeply human story that underlies this decade of watchmaking brilliance. So much so that I wanted to tell the story of these amazing watches in Max’s own words — not in terms of the technical details behind each timepiece, but of his relationship with the human beings that helped him create them or that inspired him. Here are some of the incredible stories that made the Legacy Machine project such a success. Albeit abridged here in written form, you should watch the following two part video interview with Max for the complete depth of these stories.

The MB&F Legacy Machines' Timeline

Editor’s Note: The remaining article is reproduced here as the stories that were narrated by Max Büsser

The Legacy Machine no.1: Jean-François Mojon & Kari Voutilainen

Max Büsser (center) with Kari Voutilainen (L) and Jean-François Mojon (R), who ultimately made the Legacy Machine 1 a reality

Circa 2007: Max with one of his closest friends and superbly talented watch designer, Eric Giroud who was instrumental in the design of a multitude of MB&F's timepieces including the LM1 (©MB&F)

The Legacy Machine happened, as with a lot of things in my life, by accident. I have always had a fetish for balance wheels. You can already see that in the Horological Machines, in particular with HM4, which has a window through which you can see the oscillator. But I was dreaming of a huge balance on the dial that was seemingly disconnected from everything else. So I started working on a design with my friend Eric Giroud. But the problem was that every design we made kept bringing us back to a shape with several columns connected to each other. This would have been fine, except for the fact that Vianney Halter had created a unique piece called the “Hidden Mickey” for a project with the leather brand Goldpfeil.

No matter what we did, we couldn’t move away from that iconography and finally I said, “Alright, let’s just design a round case with the balance wheel in the center.” As soon as I said that, Eric, who is my best friend and was best man at my wedding, looked at me, cursed and he stormed out of the room. Another member of my team spoke up and said, “Max, we didn’t start MB&F to make round watches.”

The Legacy Machine No. 1, launched in 2011 was made possible by the contributions of industry greats such as Eric Giroud, Jean-François Mojon and Kari Voutilainen (©Revolution)

We had just completed HM4 and the feeling was that we were these mavericks in the watch world. They felt I was becoming too conventional. But I asked myself, “What if I had been born one century earlier? What would be the watch that I would create, invoking all the codes of classic watchmaking, marine chronometers, incredible finish?” I became quite fascinated with this idea. Soon, I had the design for the dial but I needed a movement. That’s how I ended up with Jean-François Mojon.

I met Jean-François through my friend Denis Giguet, who created a brand called Manufacture Contemporaine du Temps (MCT). I really liked Jean-François, and I was impressed with his ability to deliver both innovation and reliability. I brought my design to him, and he loved the idea. But he said, “If we really want to get this movement right in terms of the type of finish with the correct historical codes, then we should get Kari Voutilainen involved. He has restored so many of the original pieces.” Jean-François and Kari had previously collaborated on the detent escapement watch for Urban Jurgensen and were very good friends, and Jean-François had been blown away by Kari’s knowledge of classic watchmaking from the 18th and 19th centuries.

Icon of the Legacy Machines, here on the LM1 is an oversized 14mm balance wheel with four traditional regulating screws flies above the movement and the independently set dials (©Revolution)

So we made an appointment with Kari and drove over to Môtiers to meet him. For those of you who have never visited Kari, he really is a one-man show, and because he has an amazing following, he is always busy fulfilling orders. That day, he was in his atelier doing everything himself. Kari really liked the idea of the huge balance wheel, beating at a decidedly old school 18,000 vibrations per hour. He looked at the configuration of the dial, and it was clear he could already visualize the movement for it — the shape and array of the bridges and the type of finishing, complete with references from Berthoud to Janvier.

I was really excited and so, of course, I asked him to collaborate with us on this project. He shook his head saying, “No, I’m sorry I just don’t have the time. I’ve got all my watches to finish.” But he kept looking at the image of the dial and at some point, he had designed the whole movement on a piece of paper. At which point I said, “Kari, I think you’ve already done a lot of the work.” He laughed and finally agreed to help out. That was how Kari Voutilainen ended up collaborating with myself and Jean-François on the LM1.

One of my fondest memories: When the watch was finished, we set up shop in what used to be called the Palace at Basel watch fair, which is ironic as it was essentially a tent to the side of Messeplatz. I remember Kari was also set up in the Palace and, being the nice person he is, he stopped by to take a look at the Legacy Machine 1 and proposed that we should trade.

I was, of course, beyond flattered that one of horology’s greatest artisans and masters of watch finishing wanted one of my watches. With my Horological Machines, people would look at them more from the perspective of art or sculpture for the wrist even though they are finished to the very highest level. But with my Legacy Machine, everyone gets their loupes out and start poring over every bevel of the movement. Maybe it is the effect of a round watch, but that’s the thing. I am excited when they do this because I know they will discover finishing at the very highest level imaginable — something that I attribute to Kari. I love the story of the Legacy Machine 1, and I love the relationship it created between Jean-François, Kari and myself.

Legacy Machine no.2: Philippe Dufour

In 1996, Dufour introduced his iconic Duality, the world’s first wristwatch incorporating a double escapement. Featuring two independent balance wheels compensated with a central differential gear, the mechanism improves accuracy while also countering the effects of gravity. He initially planned to produce 25 examples, however only nine were made including the present watch with the extraordinary number ‘00’ - the very first Duality made by the master himself; this exact piece sold with Phillips in 2017 for USD 915,000 (Image: phillips.com)

Caseback of the Duality showcasing the double escapement escapement on the watch's movement (Image: phillips.com)

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One of my favorite timepieces was always Philippe Dufour’s Duality. I love the story of him being inspired by a pocket watch created by the famous Albert Gustave Piguet, who would go on to become the technical director of Lemania in the late 1930s and who created the famous 2310 chronograph amongst others. It is a clear demonstration of his genius that Dufour created a pocket watch with two oscillators and with their results averaged by a differential mechanism for his watch school graduation project.

Since the defining theme of my Legacy Machines is the balance wheel taking center stage on the dial, I thought, why not have a watch with two balance wheels with their results averaged through a differential? I was always curious about why Dufour only made eight watches for Duality. It seems funny in the context of Duality trading for nearly a million dollars at auction today. One day, I had the opportunity to speak to him about this and he replied, “At the time nobody understood the watch and no one else wanted one. I made eight and there was no demand for a ninth.”

The planetary differential used for the LM2 presents a great advantage in that he two balances beat at their natural rate, with the differential supplying the average of the two completely independent frequencies; this results in a summed rate with fewer variations (©Revolution)

He was, of course, being quite humble. He also confided that these watches were an absolute nightmare to regulate correctly. Basically, you have to set one balance so that it runs slightly slower and the other one so that it runs slightly faster, so that they compensate for each other in the event of shocks or positional variations. Anyway, I went ahead with this project as sort of an homage to the Duality. Interestingly, one of the challenges in designing the movement was to place the balance wheels far enough from each other so that they would not enter into resonance. In the end, Jean-François Mojon and I learned that regulating these watches really is no joke, but it was definitely something fun.

Legacy Machine Perpetual: Stephen McDonnell

The LM Perpetual is a 21st century take on a the time honored Perpetual Calendar complication, but with several improvements to eliminate the drawbacks of conventional perpetual calendars; the 581-component, fully integrated and purpose-built movement of Legacy Machine Perpetual has been designed for user-friendly and trouble-free use: thanks to an innovative “mechanical processor”, no more skipping dates or jamming gears, and the adjuster pushers automatically deactivate when the calendar changes, so no problems there either (©Revolution)

When I started MB&F, I had a contract with a company called Swiss Time Technology (STT), a complication and movement specialist that was going to make all the components and assemble the movements for my first watch. But one day, I received notice that STT had been sold and that I needed to see them regarding my movements. Amazingly, Peter Speake-Marin was with me. He was helping me on my first watch, but normally he would not attend meetings with suppliers. Somehow through divine providence, he was with me that day.

The people at STT greeted us and explained that they simply didn’t have enough capacity to work on my movements. They wanted me to take the unassembled parts and leave. I think you know that I am not a “groveler,” but this was the one instance in my life where I truly groveled. My entire life savings was in those parts; without anyone to assemble them, they were meaningless. I kept saying, “Please don’t do this. It will destroy my brand before it’s even started.” They kept politely but firmly declining. Suddenly I felt Peter’s hand on my arm. He looked at me and said in English, “We will sort it out.” Then he guided me out of the room.

Moments later, we were in my car with these trays of watch components. Peter was furiously dialing every watchmaker he knew that might be able to assemble the movements. But they kept turning him down. To each person he simply but very directly said, “You owe me,” and then he would hang up the phone. I cannot express how grateful I am to Peter Speake-Marin. If it were not for him, the story would have ended there. And yes, I am acutely aware I also “owe him big time.”

The 14mm balance wheel of the Legacy Machine Perpetual, and its indication dials hover above the movement, offering a perfect view into the 581 components of the movement conceived by Stephen McDonnell (©Revolution)

The next day, Peter, Laurent Besse, who was working on the project from the start, and I were standing around the table with four watchmakers who had been crazy enough to answer Peter’s call. One of them said, “Wait, you want us to assemble these movements. But there are no plans. There are also components that are missing.” Again, Peter said, “We will sort it out.” They sighed collectively, and each took with them some kits to work on. One of these guys was Stephen McDonnell who was teaching at WOSTEP, which is Switzerland’s most famous watch school. But he had never had any formal training; he was a pure autodidact. Very quickly, he became the watchmaker in charge of the entire project. He would teach during the day and at night, he would work on my movements. If a part were missing or if he thought it could be made better, he would manufacture these components in his home workshop. I was really impressed with him. To say he was a huge part of making my first watch a reality is an understatement. We soon became friends, and I learned that he had been a theology student at Oxford University. I loved that he had a kind of introspection and sensitivity that to me are the mark of someone truly brilliant.

Cut to several years later. I had launched the Legacy Machines and, to my surprise, they had opened up a whole new client base and started a new adventure in my life. I was catching up with Peter Speake-Marin and we were reminiscing about the start of MB&F with the humor of people who had avoided a potential disaster. The subject turned to Stephen, and Peter said, “Well, it’s a real shame what happened to Stephen.” Stephen had signed a contract to create a movement for an individual who had pulled out.

Theology graduate from the Oxford University and watchmaker, Stephen McDonnell who was instrumental to MB&F's launch of the HM1 and eventually the person who conceived the LM Perpetual from the ground up (©MB&F)

A few days later, I got in touch with Stephen, who explained the situation to me. Beyond the financial implications, I knew how brilliant he was, and it was a shame that his movement would never see the light of day. I asked him what else he had been working on, and he explained he was thinking about a perpetual calendar. He asked if this was something I could be interested in and I immediately said, “No.”

From my experience, this complication is what I like to call a boomerang. It goes out to the client and then, for various reasons — because they are fragile and often because the client doesn’t read the instructions and operates the correctors in the wrong sequence or during a date changeover — the watch ends up coming back to you over and over again. “Yes, that’s because the design of the perpetual calendar is fundamentally flawed,” Stephen said. He explained that all perpetual calendars were calibrated to have 31 days in each month and then the movement compels a jump forward on days that have less than this, which is six times a year. For him, that is where the problem starts. Instead, he wanted to have each month at 28 days, then add three additional days in the months where applicable.

Basically, his idea was to create the world’s most foolproof perpetual calendar. It would be a mechanism that could be advanced with all indications synchronized, but each indicator could also be adjusted individually using pushers. And finally, it would use a system of clutches correctors, which would simply be blocked or disengaged when the movement could be potentially damaged. This means you could hand the watch to anyone, and they would be able to adjust it without fear of damaging it.

I asked if he had already designed this movement and he replied he had not, but that he could see it in his mind. I thought about it and decided that I owed him a debt of gratitude. I would fund his project for one year; if we make progress, then great, and if not, then no harm done. But each time we met, I became more excited by the project. In the end, it took three and a half years to create the LM Perpetual, but that is how the project got started.

Max Büsser accepting the Calendar Watch Prize at GPHG 2016 for the LM Perpetual; in the background we see Philippe Dufour looking on, who had presented Max with the prize not moments ago, and who was instrumental in the realization of the LM2 (©MB&F)

People tell me they really love the design of the LM Perpetual but the irony is, this is the one watch where I had nothing to do with the design. It was all Stephen. People also ask me why I decided to launch an EVO version of this watch with a zirconium case and a rubber strap, and I reply that I made this watch for myself. I live in Dubai, so my wife and my daughters and I are frequently by the beach or swimming pool. I got tired of people asking me what I did and not being able to show them the watch on my wrist because everything I made was on a leather strap. That’s why the LM Perpetual EVO has a screw-down crown and is water resistant, so that I can show people what I do by the swimming pool.

Legacy Machine Thunderdome: Eric Coudray & Kari Voutilainen

The LM Thunderdome is the result of a collaboration between MB&F and, Eric Coudray – a legendary innovator from the Vallée de Joux known for his unorthodox, jaw-dropping complications – and Kari Voutilainen, a famed perfectionist and acclaimed pillar of traditional craft based in Môtiers (©Revolution)

I first met Eric Coudray when I was working at Jaeger-LeCoultre. He was already a mythical figure with shoulder length hair and a beard; this was well before hipsters made this look commonplace and it was definitely original in the context of the Vallée de Joux. Eric worked out of his own mad scientist-like workshop at the manufacture in Le Sentier. He is such an amazing innovator — his most famous creation is, of course, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Gyrotourbillon, one of the first multi-axis tourbillons created. When I heard he had left Jaeger-LeCoultre, I immediately rang him up. But he had just signed with Cabestan, and he had to work exclusively with them. So I remained vigilant and, many years later, when I saw him at one of the watch fairs, I found out that he had set up his own workshop. I immediately leaped on the chance to work with him. He asked what I had in mind and I told him that I was happy to let him take the lead — just as long as it was truly crazy and ambitious.

Living legend, Eric Coudray who is perhaps best know as the man who us the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Gyrotourbillon 1, in 2004 (©Tec Group J.Saillard)

The LM Thunderdome features the world’s fastest triple-axis regulating mechanism with 3 axes revolving in record-breaking 8 seconds, 12 seconds and 20 seconds. It also features a unique combination of Potter escapement, hemispherical balance and helical hairspring (©Revolution)

He came up with the idea of a triple-axis tourbillon, but with each axis rotating at speeds far faster than any other watch before. The first axis completes a full rotation every eight seconds; the second one every 12 seconds; and the third, every 20 seconds. The effect is hypnotic and dizzying. I loved the tourbillon, but because this occupied so much of the space on the watch, we had a hard time integrating the time indications. We had it recessed on a disc, but it wasn’t really visible. It was one of those times where I wasn’t happy with the design, but we needed to finish the watch and so I let it go. We were developing the FlyingT concurrently, and I really loved the inclined indicator using our conical gear train which is placed at seven o’clock. I had initially conceptualized this so that a woman wearing the watch could keep the time to herself. But I realized that this would also be the perfect time display for the Thunderdome. The problem was Eric had already finished the prototype for the watch with the other display. I remember going to meet him and hoping he wouldn’t be too upset. This is the kind of guy he is. He looked at me and explained the amount of work it would take to integrate this display and the conical gear train. Then he sighed and laughed, and just went off and got it done without a single complaint.

Legacy Machine 101 MB&F × H. Moser: Edouard Meylan

The LM101 MB&F x H. Moser, a collaboration between the two brands takes on H. Moser’s “back to basics” approach embodied in its Concept watch series with the MB&F logo omitted from the dial; the floating time and power reserve subdials have been removed, thanks to hands placed directly on the main dial, allowing to fully express the fumé dials borrowed from H. Moser & Cie; the watch is topped with a domed sapphire crystal, the cases for the LM101 MB&F x H. Mose were made of steel, which is unusual for MB&F (©Revolution)

I have so much respect for what Edouard and Bertrand Meylan were able to do with Moser. They took over a brand that had great technical assets but was primarily functional classic watchmaking. And they were able to make that brand cool, something that the younger generation identified with and loved, while still retaining its classic appeal.

I remember talking to Edouard at Dubai Watch Week. I loved what he had been doing with the fumé dials and the minimalist charm of the Concept watches, and I asked him if he would like to collaborate together on a watch. e aHeThe first thing he said was, “You should use our double hairspring.”

Max Büsser founder of MB&F and Edouard Meylan, CEO of H. Moser & Cie., both found their individual independent brands 15 years ago; long time friends and now finally collaborators

This is why I love Edouard because that was exactly what I wanted. Since the beginning of the Legacy Machines, we had been using the Precision Engineering hairsprings but never in the double hairspring format where the spirals are mounted in opposing directions to aid in concentric breathing, no matter the position of the watch. I had already conceptualized an LM101 with no subdials or indications just like Moser’s Concept watches, fume dials and my signature balance wheel, but now with the double hairsprings. I was delighted. But then Edouard paused and smiled. He said, “OK, but what are you going to do for us? You have a Moser-themed MB&F; we should have an MB&F-themed Moser.” So he decided to do an Endeavor Tourbillon, but using the cylindric hairspring from our LM Thunderdome, which was incidentally created by Precision Engineering, our domed sapphire and the angled subdial we used in both the LM Thunderdome as well as the FlyingT, but this time in sapphire.

The LM101 here with no subdials or brand indications just like Moser’s Concept watches, fume dials and MB&F's signature balance wheel, but now with the double hairsprings of H. Moser's (©Revolution)

Read about the LMX, created to mark the 10th Anniversary of MB&F’s Legacy Machine family of timepieces.

MB&F and The Hour Glass present “10 Years of Legacy Machines – A Retrospective Exhibition”

MB&F and The Hour Glass present “10 Years of Legacy Machines – a Retrospective Exhibition” at L’Atelier by The Hour Glass from 25 March to 15 April 2021

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Legacy Machine collection, MB&F and long-standing retail partner The Hour Glass proudly present “10 Years of Legacy Machines, a Retrospective Exhibition”, taking place in Singapore from March 25th to April 15th. Launched in 2011, MB&F’s first Legacy Machine marked a significant evolution of the Geneva-based horological lab, inaugurating a more classic collection alongside its very unconventional Horological Machines.

Watch enthusiasts will be welcomed at L’Atelier by The Hour Glass , the boutique dedicated to independent watchmaking located in the heart of Orchard Road. Visitors will discover the first-ever retrospective collection of Legacy Machines, from the original Legacy Machine No1 created in 2011 to the new LMX, which will be released officially on the eve of the exhibition. No less than 23 different Legacy Machine models will be on display, including pieces sent especially for the exhibition from MB&F headquarters in Geneva.

Exhibition Details
25 March – 15 April 2021 (Open to Public)
L’Atelier by The Hour Glass
2 Orchard Turn #03-06 ION Orchard, 238801

More information: thehourglass.com

The post The Amazing People Who Made MB&F’s Legacy Machines, Amazing appeared first on Revolution Watch.

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Legacy Machine 101 MB&F × H. Moser: Edouard Meylan

MB&F and The Hour Glass present “10 Years of Legacy Machines – A Retrospective Exhibition”