The quartet of watches are the brand’s interpretation of the night sky through the use of highly complicated gem-setting techniques.
Since the brand’s founding in 2001, Richard Mille has been at the forefront of creating some of the most avant-garde watches in the world. Many of its watch complications even have a cult following and have appeared on the wrists of numerous celebrities and watch enthusiasts. In more recent years, the brand has ventured into the ladies’ watch segment and this culminated in the debut of the RM 07-01 collection.
Combining the brand’s signature approach to watchmaking with advanced techniques and innovative gem-setting methods, Richard Mille is proud to announce the launch of the RM 07-01 Intergalactic collection. The latest lineup builds on the brand’s tradition but does not let it hinder from reaching for the sky and beyond. Comprising the collection are four models: Dark Night, Starry Night, Bright Night and Misty Night.
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“It all started with the vision of an explosion of stars taking place in the black darkness,” explains Cécile Guenat, Creative and Development Director. “We wanted to rethink our approach to gem-setting as a way of bringing the elements together in an intense way.” Each expression is an interpretation of the night sky according to Richard Mille and the number of diamonds used is anywhere between 51 to 251 depending on the models.
The stars of the night take the form of scintillating diamonds set into the black Carbon TPT component and are secured by 5N red gold prongs scattered throughout the watch’s surface. Both elements, representing light and dark, intertwine in perfect harmony. Setting the precious gemstones into Carbon TPT was no easy feat as the material itself is much harder than the traditional way of setting diamonds into gold. The latter is malleable, allowing the metal to be shaped easily into prongs needed to secure the diamonds. In comparison, Carbon TPT’s structural integrity is more rigid and gem setters have to use a diamond bit milling tool first before employing polished 5N red gold prongs which are inserted by hand.
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“Using prongs as decorative elements is an aesthetic approach that progressively highlights this explosion of light,” adds Cécile Guenat about the use of prongs in the new models. The result typifies Richard Mille’s expert craftsmanship in working with Carbon TPT, which is a trademark material that constitutes many of the brand’s models.
While the different models are aesthetically varied, connecting the RM 07-01 Intergalactic is the in-house CRMA2 calibre, a skeletonised automatic movement in grade 5 titanium with hours, minutes and a variable-geometry rotor. The watches have a power reserve of about 50 hours.
This story first appeared on Luxuo. Click here to catch up with our October 2022 issue!
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