The brand’s material expertise is shown in the use of Thin Ply Technology to produce cases in Quartz TPT as well as ceramic with Carbon TPT
If you want a single watch model that is emblematic of Richard Mille, the RM30-01 is a solid choice. The attributes that mark Richard Mille out as a one-off among Swiss luxury watchmakers are all present and correct here. There’s the remorseless commitment to technical innovation, crystallised in the emblematic declutchable rotor system that, like many of the iconic manufacture’s most groundbreaking signatures, takes its cues from the high-performance world of motorsport.
Crafting an exquisite Richard Mille timepiece. Photo: Handout
And there’s the ceaseless search for ever more spectacular aesthetics, powered by Richard Mille’s many adventures at the leading edge of materials science. The latest iteration of this journey into a future of more lightweight, more durable, more beautiful timepieces takes the form of two new versions of the RM30-01 – one in black ceramic and the other in dark-blue Quartz TPT.
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Richard Mille RM30-01 in black ceramic. Photo: Handout
The RM30-01 is also available in red gold, titanium and white ceramic versions, but the two new iterations are the first to feature cases made of coloured TPT (Thin Ply Technology) materials – one entirely made of dark-blue Quartz TPT, while the other combines its ceramic with Carbon TPT. The advanced TPT materials, trademark features of Richard Mille watches, are made by slicing carbon and quartz into incredibly thin filaments, just 30 microns and 45 microns thick, respectively. These filaments are then stacked on top of each other at specific angles – resulting in unsurpassed toughness and lightness, plus a dramatic grain-like pattern that is unique to each timepiece.
Richard Mille RM30-01 in dark-blue Quartz TPT – one of the first RM30-01 models to have a coloured TPT case. Photo: Handout
“Both beautifully enhanced with the same finishes, the taut lines and complex geometry of these watches’ cases make them among the most difficult to develop and produce in the entire watchmaking industry,” says Julien Boillat, Richard Mille’s casing technical director. “The RM 30-01 thus inherits the artistic and technical options that have been developed with such rigour by Richard Mille.”
Richard Mille RM30-01 in red gold. Photo: Handout
Equally appealing are the watches’ declutchable rotors, which allow them to be wound with perfect control, always supplying the ideal amount of torque to the movement. The technical and aesthetic marvels extend to the dramatically angular openworked dial, displaying the diamond-shaped movement within. That dial is also graced by features including an oversized date display at 4 o’clock; a clutch engagement indicator at 11 o’clock; and a function selector at 3 o’clock that can be activated by pressing a pusher at 2 o’clock, toggling seamlessly among three modes: W for winding, D for setting the date and H for setting the hands.
