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Back to Base-ics with Richard Mille! (repost)
If there is one thing that separates Richard Mille from the other watch brands out there it is his constant search and research into new materials and integrating them into haute horologie. It is not only the new materials side of watch, but how Richard integrates that new material into the design of the piece. His ideas often fly in the face of what might be termed ‘accepted wisdom’ in the industry only to find a year or two later that other watch firms have followed suit.
Last time I was wandering around the workbenches at Richard Mille I was struck how just three different watches had different material base plates, different looks, and different cases. While the Richard Mille aesthetic is still clear in each of the cases, the lateral struts, the curvature on the case, the polished edges and the brushed surfaces. But the look and the feel of the watch in each instance is distinct.
RM019: A different twist on the bejeweled watch where the diamonds are contained within and around the movement. Because of the three dimensional aspect of the RM movement design the thread of diamonds twists and loops around the movement parts; in a sense it loops around the movement and traces the transfer of power from the main spring barrels, through the drive train, to the tourbillon escapement. But one of the more hidden aspects of the RM019 is the onyx baseplate. While there are other watch firms out there that do use semi-precious stones for a baseplate, it is rare that any other firm shows the same skill in machining and milling the stone into a shape that can be used in the baseplate. For the RM019, the trick is to machine and polish the baseplate to the exact dimensions required. As the picture shows, the RM019 baseplate is machined to the point where the stone is thin enough to see the Richard Mille name on the reverse side.
RM020: A pocket watch for the highest tech brand out there certainly raised eyebrows when it was introduced. Another example of Richard’s thinking away from the main stream. The watch was innovative and yet unmistakably Richard Mille. The story is that he had the idea for the chain and watch coupling method came from his garden hose! One movement, pull up and disconnect; push down and connected. The watch itself is sleek and fits into the pocket without hindrance. About the size of a small mobile phone, the watch is the antithesis of everything that is development in electronic goods; or indeed, movement development in the last 80 years. Yet as the years progress, and my eye sight becomes a little more long sighted with each year that comes and goes, the value to having a watch that I can see without difficulty is plus. But more than that, I admire the workmanship and the tactile feel of the watch in the hand. There is something counter-culture about having a pocket watch in an age when you have the same size device in your other pocket that tells the time, is a phone, web browser, and goodness knows what else. 
But the difference between the electronic device and the RM020 pocket watch is that the latter has been crafted by an individual. Now one of a number Richard Mille watches with the carbon fibre baseplate. On the top and the underside of the baseplate, the movement is assembled in its constituent parts. It seems unusual now, but since the RM006 Richard Mille watches have been fitted with the carbon fibre baseplate. At the time, the RM006 was revolutionary. I had the chance to ask Giulio Papi about the development of the carbon fibre baseplate and he told me that in the end there was only one company in the US that could actually manufacture the baseplate that could withstand the testing. Testing was using an ultrasonic device that would simulate hundreds of years of corrosion. With the exception of one company, all the others turned to mush! 
RM021: I first saw the computer rendered pictures of this watch over a year ago and I have to say that it left me unimpressed. And then I saw the watch at SIHH last year and I was very impressed. Using a metal alloy that was pure rocket science, the subject of NASA research into an alloy that would allow lighter turbine and aircraft wings, with less corrosive problems, it seemed a strange choice for a base plate. Until you see the watch, the unusual bridges for the main spring and for the tourbillon (that are slanted metal that catch light in different ways) and the base plate itself gives the watch details that at first appearance are missed. This is not a decorative feature but an integral part of the plate itself. The orthorhombic titanium aluminide has unique properties, one of which is the ability to act as a metal that can be soldered like any other metal. Hence, around the edge of the orthorhombic titanium aluminide is titanium that can be used to mount the movement parts and then the movement into the case.
A unique range in baseplates that no other watch firm can match. Richard’s constant search for the unusual, to break with the accepted or the status quo has seen a decade of innovation and this year, at SIHH, I am sure there will be exceptions against the rule! It is Richard’s way.
Here is looking forward to SIHH.
Andrew H
Back to Base-ics with Richard Mille! (repost)
