Richard Mille, for watch lovers, is undoubtedly one of the most controversial names in the schedule.
When it comes to him, no saying is more realistic than the classic: “You either love him or you hate him”.
Born in 1951 in Draguignan, in 1999 he would get into the world of watchmaking and two years later it will churn out its first creation: RM 001.
He is the classic rebellious son of watchmaking, he took an object and completely transformed it, just as he reinvented the way of marketing it.
His creative flair is second, perhaps, only to his ability to market its product, especially thanks to an incredible amount of partnerships and collaboration with sport stars.
He has created magnificent pieces with the most incredible teams and sportsmen of our time: just think of the RM 27-04 Rafael Nadal, or RM 50-03 McLaren F1, or the very latest RM 35-03; these are only three examples but the list is really long.
Today I will few minutes of your time to tell you about his vision of the Polo. This time, alongside him will be the Argentine champion Pablo Mac Donough.
The Richard Mille RM 53-01 and the polo
If we think of a watch created for the needs of Polo, we cannot help but imagine Jaeger-LeCoultre with the Reverso, the latter had proved to be perfect in any situation a Polo player might find himself during a match.
Polo certainly ranks among the most dangerous sports, Mac Donough himself has repeatedly told of having broken an incalculable number of bones.
There is talk of eight players with a club, on a horse, who have the purpose of sending a wooden ball inside two poles.
It is up to you to imagine the bumps and falls that can happen.
Starting from this premise, Richard Mille, collaborating with the Argentine champion, had to create a timepiece suitable for these situations, obviously maintaining his unmistakable style.
Together with Pablo Mac Donough, probably one of Polo’s most relevant players, he imagined, tested and made a simple idea, tangible.
Mac Donough seems not to have limited himself to simply acting as an image and tester, but has actively contributed with ideas for the birth of the Richard Mille RM 53-01 Mac Donough seems not to have limited himself to simply acting as an image and tester, but has actively contributed with ideas for the birth of the Richard Mille Pablo Mac Donough RM 53-01.
So let’s find out what makes this watch truly outstanding
A mix of resistance and style
RM 53-01 has been equipped with a particular glass born from the collaboration with the Stettler company, which taking a cue from the automotive windshield have created a particular laminated glass.
Two layers of sapphire crystal were overlapped and separated by a layer of polyvinyl. This particular process gives the watch the same safety typical of rear windows: in the event of a collision the glass can crack but it will never fall apart.
Another particular feature of this wonderful laminated glass is its unusual UV ray treatment, patented by Richard Mille, which protects the movement from atmospheric agents.
For the case, our watchmaker rebel used TPT Carbon. About 600 layers of carbon filaments make up this timepiece. This particular process is a tradition for the maison, which use it in many of its timepieces because it is virtually indestructible and resistant to micro-fractures.
At the end, each piece is therefore unique in the composition of the carbon filaments on the case.
The suspension of the tourbillon
Now that we have an idea of the great constructive attention resulting from the need to churn out a case that can withstand the worst impacts, let’s get deeper and see what Richard Mille has prepared for the lucky ones that can have this piece.
As seen in other creations, a manual winding movement equipped with a tourbillon was chosen. Considering the aim of this watch, it could be considered a questionable decision, perhaps. Let’s not be fooled, Richard Mille has designed and created a shockproof cage.
The tourbillon is suspended between two 0.27 mm steel cables; they in turn are anchored by four tensioners and are engaged on ten pulleys.
The result of this amazing engineering work is the perfect collimation between balance and resistance.
The resulting skeletonized effect is honestly stunning.
Conclusions
Technically, this watch is a mix of engineering, art and innovation.
Impressive materials and construction techniques were used.
We find TPT Carbon, Grade 5 Titanium in the mechanism, stratified sapphire crystal and an obsessive care in the finishing of the components.
This set of factors, arguably in addition to marketing policy, is probably responsible for the limited edition of 30 copies.
As we said at the beginning “you either love him or hate him”.
However, it is an indisputable fact that this man has completely transformed the concept of research and innovation of materials. Who knows how he will surprise us in the future!
To learn more, check out the official Richard Mille website.
Author: Andrea Parodi
Translated by: Vittorino Loreto
