When the collaboration between Rafael Nadal and Richard Mille became official, back in 2010, it was a game changer in the luxury watch industry for more than one reason.
For one, it was the point at which it became clear that Richard Mille wasn’t going anywhere.
Before that some people thought it was impossible for a new brand to march into the rarefied space of watches that cost as much as small houses and start doing things entirely its own way.
It also made people reevaluate the technology. Prior to 2010 a tourbillon was a very fancy piece of kit that needed to be treated with the due level of care and respect.
The first RM 27 Rafael Nadal showed that a tourbillon can be a perfectly acceptable sports watch. Not one for everyone, granted, but a sports watch nonetheless.
It didn’t hurt, of course, that after debuting the watch on court, Nadal went on to win three back-to-back Grand Slams for the first time.
RM 27-05 Flying Tourbillon Rafael Nadal
The latest version of the Rafa watch has taken Richard Mille’s tourbillon tech to the next level.
The new watch, the RM 27-05 Flying Tourbillon Rafael Nadal, employs a new proprietary composite called Carbon TPT B.4.
Over 4,000 hours of work went into designing the new movement and case.
Without the strap, the watch weighs just 11.5g and can withstand forces of 14,000 g – two records for a manual-winding tourbillon.
The manually wound movement has a power reserve of 55 hours and the flying tourbillon oscillates at 3 Hz. The bridges are also made of grade 5 titanium and Carbon TPT for lightness.
“What truly binds us is the human side – the strength of our friendship with Rafa. After all the time we’ve spent together, we’re looking forward to continuing our exchanges for many years to come,” says Alexandre Mille, RM’s commercial director.
“The RM 27-05 is a testament to both this long friendship and our shared enjoyment. And, looking to the future, the techniques used to develop the RM 27-05 will undoubtedly benefit all our future creations.”
The RM 27-05 Flying Tourbillon Rafael Nadal will be available to the public in a limited edition of 80 pieces. £POA richardmille.com
Check out the centering of “Swiss Made” @ 6 …????
Sorry.. symmetry matters.