Two New Tourbillons For Richard Mille

Two New Tourbillons For Richard Mille

Adrienne Faurote
By Adrienne Faurote May 27, 2021

In the high-tech world of Richard Mille, beauty and innovation go hand in hand. This is proven once more by two new tourbillons, RM 74-01 and RM 74-02, which combine a manufacture automatic tourbillon movement with a luscious tonneau-shaped case made of innovative materials.

Lilas Le Quellec 74-01 V1 HorizontalPhoto Credit: Image by Lilas Le Quellec for Richard Mille

The new RM 74-01 can best be described as ultra-light elegance. This starts with the movement, for which Richard Mille used grade 5 titanium to craft the baseplate and bridges. The oscillating weight, which can be adjusted to the owner’s activity level, is crafted from white gold, with a weight segment made from platinum for increased winding efficiency. The smooth looks of the case is achieved by utilizing grey cermet. This material, exclusively used in watchmaking by Richard Mille, combines the lightweight of titanium with the hardness of ceramic. While challenging to make, it not only impresses with its qualities but also by its looks as the material has a stunning grey color.

Lilas Le Quellec 74-02 V2 VerticalPhoto Credit: Image by Lilas Le Quellec for Richard Mille

Compared to the RM 74-01, is the RM 74-02 much more extrovert. This watch can be seen as an ode to gold. The bezel and caseback are made from Gold Carbon TPT. This material, proprietary to Richard Mille, consists out of no less than 600 layers of carbon filament, each less than 30 microns thick. They are placed on top of each other, turning each layer at a 45-degree angle compared to the one below to achieve optimum strength. By adding pure gold leaf in between, the most precious version of Carbon TPT comes to life, and also the most difficult one, as it was quite a challenge to have the gold fuse with the carbon in such a way that ensured the strength of the material. To continue its ode to gold are also the baseplate and bridges made from this precious metal. This gives the RM 74-02 a unique and precious appearance that gives gold center stage in Richard Mille‘s high-tech world.