RM 55-01
RM 55-01
AN ODE TO WEIGHTLESSNESS
AN ODE TO WEIGHTLESSNESS
At Richard Mille, there are certain models that find their sweet spot in extreme understatement, focalising all the technicity of contemporary haute horlogerie into an architecture stripped down to absolute mechanical necessity. The new RM 55-01 Manual Winding fully ascribes to this approach, projecting a resolutely airy structure where each component is perfectly situated according to its function.
Reduction to Perfection
‘Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.’ The RM 55-01 Manual Winding fully illustrates this dictum from pilot and author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
CALIBRE RMUL4
Manual winding skeletonised movement with hours, minutes and seconds.
POWER RESERVE
Around 55 hours (± 10%)
BASEPLATE AND BRIDGES MADE OF GRADE 5 TITANIUM
The calibre rests on a baseplate made of grade 5 titanium, an alloy borrowed from the aerospace industry and highly prized at Richard Mille. To enhance its aesthetics, the baseplate is microblasted, sanded and treated with a black PVD coating. The going train is affixed by three bridges also produced from grade 5 titanium sanded and treated with Titalyt®.
Nonetheless, working this material remains a constant challenge. Milling grade 5 titanium is a herculean task: its extreme hardness and the brand’s low tolerance for error take a toll on every tool. The same uncompromising standards hold for the slightly thicker satin-brushed parts that structure the movement and highlight a tension between straight lines and curves.
FREE-SPRUNG BALANCE WITH VARIABLE INERTIA
The free-sprung balance offers better reliability in the event of shocks, movement assembly or disassembly, and also guarantees better chronometric results over time. The regulator index is eliminated, and a more accurate and repeatable calibration is possible thanks to 4 small, adjustable weights located directly on the balance.
The double-barrel system helps to improve the torque stability over a longer period. This is achieved by distributing the stored energy across two winding barrels instead of one, which increases the number of rotations and reduces pressure on the teeth, bearings and pivots, resulting in better long-term performance.
MOVEMENT CHARACTERISTICS
31.25 x 29.45 mm
3.46 mm
26
Glucydur®, 4 arms, inertia moment 4.8 mg•cm², angle of lift 53º
28,800 vph (4 Hz)
elinvar by Nivarox®
INCABLOC 908.22.211.100 (transparent)
CASE
The design and execution of the watch demonstrates a complete conceptual approach to the movement, case and dial. As a result, everything has been constructed according to an extremely rigorous specifications and in complete harmony.
The bezel and caseback are machined from Quartz TPT®, an exclusive material with a unique damascene appearance. Quartz TPT® fibres are generally used for very high-performance applications due to their resistance to high temperatures, their strength and their transparency to electromagnetic waves. Fibres are aligned in layers no thicker than 45 microns and saturated in resins developed specially for Richard Mille. These layers are then stacked using an automatic positioning system that changes the orientation of the fibre between each layer by 45°.
After being heated to 120°C and subjected to a pressure of 6 bars, they are machined on a CNC machine at Richard Mille’s manufacturing facilities.
The materials’ unfinished damascene effect harmonises with the taut, clean lines of the three-part tonneau case.
The microblasted and rhodium-plated hands glide above a complex four-part flange that weaves together titanium, carbon fibre, and steel in a play of texture and relief.
VARIATIONS
RM 55-01 - White Quartz TPT®
Other features
FINISHING
• Baseplate in wet-sandblasted grade 5 titanium, grey electroplasma treated
• Bridges in hand-ground grade 5 titanium, wet-sandblasted and Titalyt® or PVD treated
• Locking sections hand polished
• Burnished pivots
• Pinions with undercuts
• Screw slot and screws bevelled and polished with rounded and polished tip
• Straight line grain finish of the upper surfaces
• microblasted lower surfaces
• Concave chamfering with a diamond tool
• Diamond-polished angles
• Circular-finished faces
• Rhodium plating (before cutting the teeth)
• Minimal corrections applied to the wheels in order to preserve geometry and performance
