Richard Mille bring some some more fun and colour to their RM 07-01 range with three new Memphis Design inspired variants made in coloured ceramic.
Last week, Richard Mille released three new variants to their RM 07-01 collection, all in coloured ceramic and inspired by the1980s Italian art and architecture movement Memphis Design. For those not familiar with this design style, according to website, The Strategist: “The movement began in 1981 in Milan with a group of designers led by Ettore Sottsass, and was a reaction to what he found as the staid, structured straight lines of mid-century-modern furniture, so he and his group disregarded “good taste” in favour of the radical, funny, and outrageous.” And these new RM 07-01 are just this.
Unmistakably Richard Mille is shape and design, the new RM 07-01 Ceramic Colours are as Richard Mille say, endless Summer fun! Coming in three colour ways – Blush Pink, Lavender and Powder Blue they are designed to contrast elegantly with other hues dotting the watches, like the contrasting colour straps on each piece.
Each coloured case is made from Tetragonal Zirconia Polycrystal, which according to Richard Mille is a biocompatible ceramic constituted of over 95% zirconia (ZrO2). Its properties include remarkable corrosion resistance, a hardness providing scratch resistance (1,400 Vickers) and toughness superior to that of sapphire, but permits an excellent surface finish for a stunning matt effect.
The three-part case is water resistant to 50 metres ensured by 2 Nitrile O-ring seals. The case is assembled with 12 grade 5 titanium spline screws and abrasion resistant washers in 316L stainless steel. Richard Mille have ensured that these whilst not massively water resistant at 50m, a hard wearing watch worthy of being out and about during summer.
Richard Mille have gone all in on the Memphis Design style with the dial, with massive pops of colour and quirky asymmetrical shapes within the skeletonised dial. With the baseplate made of grade 5 titanium with an electroplasma treatment as well as the bridges, also in grade 5 titanium, microblasted and electroplasma treated.
The movement inside the RM 07-01 is also part art, and part science with Richard Mille incorporating a variable-geometry rotor to give the RM 07-01 it’s 50hrs of power reserve. Without going into too much detail, this makes it possible to effectively adapt rewinding of the mainspring to the user’s activity level. The setting can be modified by adjusting two weights that can be adjusted and fixed in place by spline screws. The inertia of the movement is increased when the two weights are closer to each other, allowing the barrel rewind more quickly. If the weights are positioned at the extremities of the rotor, the inertia is decreased and the barrel winds more slowly.
Honestly, it’s a neat idea that really allows you to adjust the piece based on what you want to use it for, making it more tailored for you as the wearer. On top of this, the oscillating rotor is comprised of 5N red gold, used in the heavy and outer edges and is bi-directional to ensure efficient winding.
Final Thoughts
For those that can afford the RM 07-01, it’s a great summer watch, perfect for the warmer weather and for those that want to have something fun on their wrist. Whilst the mechanics, construction and engineering in these pieces are as serious as they come, their appearance is anything but. It’s a nice contradiction of sorts.
The Memphis Design style may not be to everyone’s taste, and you may need to be a certain type of person to pull it off. But if you’re willing to take a step out of the box and be a little bold with your choice of watch, then the RM 07-01 Coloured Ceramic may just be the piece that takes you there. And let’s face it, if you’re happy to spend approximately AUD $324,000 for one, then you may want people to notice it on your wrist!
Richard Mille RM 07-01
Specification
- Case: 45.66mm x 31.40mm , 11.8mm thick
- Case Material: Tetragonal Zirconia Polycrystal (Biocompatible Coloured Ceramic)
- Dial: Grade 5 titanium with an electroplasma treatment, Memphis Design elements, rubber appliques and diamond set indices
- Crystal: Sapphire Crystal
- Water Resistance: 50M / 5ATM
- Movement: CRMA2 Skeletonised automatic-winding movement with hours and minutes. Pivoting on 25 jewels and beating at 28,800 vph
- Power Reserve: 50 hours
- Strap: Calfskin in multiple colour variants with Velcro fastener
