Wristwatch Mille produced
The first wristwatch Mille produced was the RM 001-01 tourbillon in 2001, a revolutionary looking watch made in a series of 17 pieces where the first 11 were manufactured with movement base plates of brass and number 12 being the first with a titanium base plate.
The RM 012 Platinum Tourbillon from Richard Mille recently won the Golden Hand award at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de
Mille, in town earlier in the week to launch his first boutique in Malaysia, explains why he decided to create his own brand.
“It was not because I was being egotistical but because I wanted to develop a watch for myself, a watch without compromise. I wanted to do it without having to think about marketing to the masses, I have no interest in that. I like things linked to extreme luxury, so I give no importance to cost,” says the man whose price tags for his watches are certain proof of that.
“Today in the luxury business, everything is a compromise, everyone is competitive. But with my watches there are no compromises. Innovation, complexity, technology combined with specific architecture – that is what I aim for, so everything in the watch is extremely costly.
“When I launched it (the first watch) I didn’t know what the response would be. When it comes to the high end of luxury, people want the extreme in everything so the absence of the marketing approach is on purpose, and it proved to be a success. While everything is genuine, very solid and very complex, I also like watches that you can wear, I hate watches you put in the safe, it should be worn, watches are companions for life.”
Mille, who is French, is not a trained watchmaker (a fact he has acknowledged in earlier interviews) but has long been fascinated by watch-making techniques since he was a child. He reportedly dismantled his first timepiece at the age of nine.
The RM 008 Tourbillon Split Seconds Chronograph is Richard Mille’s most complicated timepiece.
He also has a passion for fast cars and the world of Formula 1 because of the technology involved. Not surprisingly, he is often inspired by the concepts and technology involved in F1.
“I love all the mechanical aspects, I love F1 because everything is complex, sophisticated and totally based on performance.”
Despite lacking a long and distinguished history that other venerated watch brands have, Mille showed his watches were worthy of coveting and collecting when his RM 012 platinum Tourbillon was awarded the Prix de L’Aiguille d’Or (“Golden Hand”) last month, which is the top prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève ceremonies in Geneva, Switzerland. (The prestigious annual competition sees hundreds of watches being judged by a jury of internationally recognised experts, journalists and collectors and is open to all watch brands and companies.)
The RM 012, limited to 30 worldwide, is the first “tubular” Richard Mille watch, and it makes reference to architectural landmarks like the Louvre in Paris. It also offers calculations of extreme precision, great stiffness and torsial rigidity with exceptional resistance to thermal change and corrosive elements.
He certainly does tough and manly very well so it was interesting when Mille finally came out with a watch for women in 2005, the RM 007.
Ladies RM 007 ( left) and Men’s RM 005 in diamonds from Richard Mille.
“I wanted a pure mechanical watch. It’s quite complex but easy to live with, it’s automatic, quite innovative, romantic and practical. I like to mix things like romanticism or glamour with technique. Yes, it’s very expensive, but also very exclusive.”
This particular watch has a rotor that uses a new patented design for efficient bi-directional winding (in smaller, automatic winding calibre wristwatches, the rotor are small and there is the possibility of the winding being too low for optimal operation of the escapement) and has a rotor weight created with 100 gold micro-balls of 18-carat gold that absorbs shock and increases the rotor activity.
Mille says he doesn’t have a personal favourite among his watches. But when pressed, he quips the next one will be his favourite.
“Every year, I come out with one or two models, I like the rhythm of new models. My watches, old and new, all complement each other. Each has a proper technical device and personality. I like to do the unexpected. For example, this year it was all thick watches, so I found it fun to do the complex but very thin, (RM 016 extra flat automatic) just to be different.”
For his first boutique in Kuala Lumpur, Mille made it to resemble his design aesthetics as close as possible: “I like the tri-dimensional aspect, all my watches are three-dimensional, I don’t like anything flat, I like everything in volume. When I draw my models, it’s in three quarters (profile). I am very keen on all details, the architecture, the technical aspects – you can see that the shop is made like that too. It’s also a little mysterious.”
There’s certainly nothing flat about the all black boutique with its specially designed curves, finished in black ebony wood. Most of the walls and even the ceiling are wrapped in imported simulated leather from Europe for a luxurious and sporty finish. What catches the eye is a 2.8m high three-dimensional 12mm tempered glass feature.
Set in tonneau shape, each glass is handcrafted with the different parts of a Richard Mille watch, (the sapphire crystal case, dial and movement) which is sandblasted to emulate the movements of his most complicated signature timepiece, the RM 008 Tourbillon Split Seconds Chronograph that he created in 2004. This watch took five years of engineering before the new split second movements even reached the prototype stage of development. And it took eight months to assemble the first watch. Only 10 pieces are produced each year.
