7 star timepieces from the Richard Mille women's collection
Having made a mark in haute horology since emerging on the scene in 2001, Richard Mille continues to power ahead driven by a singular vision founded upon technical innovation and unique artistry.
He exemplifies a contemporary breed of independent watchmakers whose revolutionary vision has propelled him to the highest echelons of luxury watchmaking in less than two decades and where his creations are now widely coveted by collectors, aficionados and high-end buyers.
Breakthroughs And Game-Changing Materials
Though many of its groundbreaking models are dedicated men’s references inspired by Formula I cars, aerospace, aviation and racing yachts, the ladies’ collections are not exempt from the watchmaker’s unparalleled quest of utilising avant-garde, high- tech materials.
Ceramic was chosen as the material to kick-start its women’s watchmaking journey. Experimentation by engineers led to a family of resistant, coloured ceramics made of ATZ or TZP, in a plethora of hues that includes pink, white, brown and black. This exceptional and highly technical grade of ceramic allows brushing and polishing to achieve an exceptional matte finish. However, what sets it apart is a remarkable level of scratch resistance and colour stability that help to elevate this toughened, precious material into one with the resilience to withstanding the everyday crunch.
Another material that has transitioned from the men’s collections into the women’s is Carbon TPT®. Richard Mille has brought its Carbon TPT® expression to another level by perfecting the technique of setting gems into the substance.
Calibres, Movements & Complications
Gravitating inherently towards the beauty and high shine of gems and gem-set timepieces, women are now increasingly drawn towards complexity in the art of haute horology. Richard Mille has addressed women’s newfound intrigue for complicated, mechanical timepieces by releasing a ladies’ model from the outset of the brand’s development and by introducing its first female ambassador in 2010—Michelle Yeoh, before declaring 2014 as the designated year of women for the brand where an extended collection for women was rolled out.
“Women demand choice, and I do my best to provide them this in every way imaginable. To my eyes, we now have the best women’s collection on earth...and we cannot easily match the demand,”
– Richard Mille
High-end jewellery tourbillons; technical automatic watches with date, function indicators and specific gold straps; cases that come in ceramics of different colors, titanium, even pink sapphire; and others in different styles and materials form the diverse array offered by Richard Mille to satisfy the modern cohort of multifaceted women who are equally enthralled by the exterior and interior of timepieces.
“I enjoy the fact that our ladies’ watches are very technical in spirit on the inside, regardless of how many diamonds or the beautiful lines they may possess,” says Richard Mille, and adds, “And that is not only our idea of the perfect ladies’ watch, it is also our idea of the perfect lady...”
Ambassadors & Friends Of The Family
Who then is the epitome of the Richard Mille woman? Movie star Michelle Yeoh leads the troop with her creative flair and unique ideal of femininity having collaborated to realise several Richard Mille watches. Along with golfers Diana Luna and Cristie Kerr, the Richard Mille family recently welcomed Australian-born actress Margot Robbie into its fold of women partners. From appearing on Australia’s longest-running TV series Neighbours to her Hollywood breakout role on The Wolf of Wall Street, Margot is not only an actress but also helms her own film production company.
For Richard Mille, Margot is emblematic of the brand’s contemporary spirit, and their collaboration stands to benefit Youngcare, a foundation for young Australians with high-care needs.
And here are the 7 stars from Richard Mille Women's Collection:
RM 71-01 AUTOMATIC TOURBILLON TALISMAN
Taking three years from concept to its release in mid-2018, this outstanding bejewelled, amulet-like Richard Mille model features a case endowed with infinite possibilities for setting and engraving that accentuates the skeleton movement. A masterclass melding jewellery with the case births forth a mesmerising aesthetic of technicity and visual dialogue among the movement, dial and case in each of the ten variations.
The exceptional design boasting a scintillating alchemy between Tribal arts and Art Deco is complemented by cutting-edge technical prowess with the brand’s very first in-house automatic tourbillon movement, the CRMT1, the House’s eighth in-house calibre that checks the list of the watchmaker’s criteria in performance, reliability and breathtaking finishes.
Embodying the very essence of a Richard Mille creation at its height, the RM 71-01 radiates with grace and beauty at every turn as it captures the passage of time for the woman whose wrist it adorns as her personal talisman. With that, Richard Mille is set to continue to revolutionise 21st century watchmaking through its dynamic and forward-looking vision, enriching traditions with its exemplary and innovative approach.
Representing the ultimate symbiosis between haute horology and avant-garde, cutting-edge materials, the RM 07-01 is made for the 21st-century woman seeking modernity, elegance, femininity and functionality in her everyday life.
Powering the timepiece is CRMA2, a highly skeletonised automatic movement of the in-house designed calibre developed specifically for the RM 07-01 with grade 5 titanium baseplate and bridges, and a rotor in 5N 18K red gold with variable geometry that syncs with the wearer’s activity level.
Imbuing the watch with sensual curves is its tonneau-shaped case design and gemstone-set dial. Available with the tripartite case in a choice of white ATZ ceramic, or warm brown TZP ceramic, both with a red gold caseband, in addition to versions in full 18-carat red or white gold.
Making a crossover from the men’s collection, Carbon TPT® not only takes on a new feminine front for the RM 07-01 but lends itself to be used for gem-setting.
Carbon TPT® is the domain of Richard Mille, infusing its timepieces with a powerful deep, matte appearance that provides an eye-catching contrast against the brilliance of diamonds.
The process of gem-setting Carbon TPT® necessitates overcoming its hardness and resistance by using special CNC machines for milling, being equipped with diamond tools to perform the mitraillage involved in pavé setting.
The result is striking, offering a stunning contrast of the Carbon TPT®’s matte-looking sculptural strength and the diamond’s playful sparkle.
The unprecedented combination of diamonds and black ceramic in a timepiece comes as a natural progression for Richard Mille after setting gems in Carbon TPT®.
Catering to women equally fascinated by technicity and beauty, the exclusive RM 07-01 In Gem-Set Black Ceramic undergoes an arduous process of milling and micro-shot peening to create a perfectly matte finish afforded by the fine grain TZP ceramic, which also boasts extreme hardness and scratch resistance.
The complex silhouettes of the bezel and case bottom have been hand-finished. Perfectly polished red gold prongs holding the diamonds are embedded in settings of 0.25 mm in diameter created by mitraillage performed directly on the velvety black ceramic.
After establishing the RM 010 as a House icon, Richard Mille launched the RM 67-01 Automatic Extra Flat as its next iconic proposition.
To get around the dual challenges of creating a thin automatic, the watchmaker set out to endow the movement design with a sense of visual depth through the extreme use of skeletonisation, and sculpting each numeral out of solid metal to be filled with Luminova.
The in-house automatic movement CRMA6 measuring only 3.6 mm thick echoes modern architecture in its construct, and involute profiles — more commonly found in car transmissions and other efficient motors — are used for the entire going train instead of the standard cycloidal-shaped teeth in watchmaking, giving superior chronometric results.
Like the RM 037, the extra flat form of the case makes RM 67-01 the sleekest among Richard Mille’s tonneau-shaped timepieces.
Introduced in 2014 for Richard Mille’s “Year of the Woman’, the feminine interpretation of the original unisex RM 037 is elegance personified but not without the watchmaker’s exclusive technical detailing.
The calibre CRMA1 impresses for its technicity and visual contrasts created by satinated, chamfered, blasted, brushed and polished surfaces. Its crown system is a work of art that protects the movement from external stresses.
Meanwhile, the tonneau-shaped case has been created in an extra flat form taking more than 215 separate machining hours, and it is available in options of an 18-carat red gold caseband graced by scratch-resistant ceramic bezels in white ATZ or black TZP, or full 18-carat red or white gold.
Like the RM 07-01, the RM 37 also has a gem-set NTPT Carbon iteration where hand-polished red or white gold prongs are inserted around the 0.25 mm bearings to clasp up to 250 diamonds for a full-set model.
RICHARD MILLE RM 016
Making its debut in 2007, the rectangular shape, a departure from the more prolific tonneau-shaped cases at Richard Mille, is bold, impressive and distinct in appearance and character.
Like all the other timepieces by the watchmaker, the RM 016 bears the same wrist-fitting curvature and taper. The attention to detail of its tripartite case design requires more than 18 days of machine adjustment, and 400 hours of pre-production technical research and drawing, involving 202 separate machining operations.
It is powered by the calibre RM 005-S, a skeletonised automatic winding movement with hours, minutes, date and adjustable rotor geometry, with around 55-hour power reserve.
To find out more, visit www.richardmille.com
