Allen
1851
No doubts here...
I personally believe after talking to many watchmakers that the CLASSICAL rattrapante movement is second only to the minute repeater complication in difficulty to make and adjust. The tourbillon looks simple compared with it. Patek has priced their ref 5959 rattrapante at a price higher than their simple minute repeater since they have less trained watchmakers that are able to work on this complication. Try to find an independent watchmaker who has made a rattrapante from scratch. Most use Venus or Valjoux ebauches. Compare that with all the independently designed tourbillons.
The 7750 based rattrapantes have lowered the entry price to own a split-second chrono drastically, but they are no where close to being as beautiful as the classical dual column wheel rattrapante.
Regarding the RM004v2...
There has been some very harsh criticism regarding the reliability of the RM004v2 and I can't defend or contradict either positions. The truth is that the RM004 is a work in process that will keep getting upgrades down the line. This is, in my eyes, part ...
Greetings Dario - great to see you here. As one of the first owners of the RM004-V2
I truly appreciate your comments and weighing in. Glad to see you are still enjoying the watch. Did others come along after, or did the RM004 really become THE watch and the hunt for others cease? Cheers Andrew H
Hi Andrew!
Well, I am afraid the RM004v2 has made me withdraw a "little" from the watch market for a while. Right now it still is my "grail" watch. Even after all this time... 99% of my wrist time can be divided between my UR-103.05 and my RoyalOak "Jumbo". All the ...
Strange how that happens - at some point a watch comes
along and subdues the 'itch'. I keep in the loop these days with research. Hoping to bring some material out soon. Thanks Dario - keep well. Cheers! Andrew H
Great to hear your experience, Dario.
Thanks for sharing them. I'm glad that you're enjoying the RM004. It really is a thoroughbred that has it's quirks but once it's tuned properly, it really performs. When I visited Renaud and Papi a few years ago (this was before they shipped the V2s), the...
Interesting...
Take a look at what I wrote this morning. kronosclub.blogspot.com (please delete if this infringes any forum rules...)
I struggle to see the point...
..of the rattrapante then to be honest. OK maybe just be cause its complicated makes it a challenge to produce, but It doesnt add anything to most people does it?...you cannot see it when you look at the watch particularly, and I doubt many people use it ...
Great comments in your article, Dario.
I remember someone saying that there were only 3 V1s made due to the difficulty of adjusting them to work consistently. While talking to Fabrice Deschanel of R&P, he mentioned that the reason they modified the V1 to V2 is to improve on the reliability. Th...
Thanks Allen!
Im am glad you are still with your v1, despite you thinking it was a bit too heavy. I will have you know that although "theoretically" the v2 is improved over the v1, your v1 is even more complex and has more parts than a v2. From behind the v1s are even ...
No doubts here...
I personally believe after talking to many watchmakers that the CLASSICAL rattrapante movement is second only to the minute repeater complication in difficulty to make and adjust. The tourbillon looks simple compared with it. Patek has priced their ref 59...
Here are some pictures of the RM004 being assembled:
Just look at the length of the rattrapante axle. It runs through the entire movement and It's almost as long as the thickness of the whole watch! This rattrapante axle runs inside of the hollow chronograph seconds axle/tube. Any tiny bit of misalignment o...
I stand corrected then....
I understand the complication of the Rattrapante a little more now through these replies thankyou. Indeed the back of the RM004 is beautiful, and obviously when you know your way around the technical aspects of such a watch then you can admire it more for...
what is ultimately important
I think that few people will disagree that something as innovative as Richard Mille's complicated watches (including RM004, RM008, and all the tourbillons) will have problems that come up from time to time. But, what is ultimately important is customer se...
Thanks Dario...
and pretty much to the rest of the guys. Makes me realize that missing out on the RM 004 V2 ti when it was being offered to me before as probably the closest thing to THE oversight of my watch life. Oh well. One can always still dream. Thanks again for th...
what makes you think you missed an opportunity?
If you want one new, they are still being sold by ADs, and given the state of the economy, you ought to be able to get one at a substantial discount. And, if you want to buy one in mint condition from another collector, you'll notice that they are being o...