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Just as there are very few brands capable of successfully combining High Jewelry with hightech Fine Watchmaking, only a fortunate few will wear the Tourbillon RM 51-02 Diamant Twister. One cannot reduce the supreme sophistication of this Richard Mille limited edition to its 270 diamonds spiraling across the gold dial and titanium bridges, nor to the over 300 operations required to create the typical Richard Mille three-part case, whose rounded shape is accentuated by black sapphires on this model. Welcome to the micromechanical world of cutting, stamping, milling, polishing and satin-brushed, taken to extremes on this classic Richard Mille curving design that is extremely comfortable to wear but very complex to achieve.

Tourbillon RM 51-02 Diamond Twister © Richard Mille

This pursuit of the exceptional is reflected in the black onyx mainplate visible through the back, which Richard Mille describes as “a stone that embodies balance and inspiration”. It is equally apparent in the manual finishing lavished on the movement, while fans of performance will appreciate the tourbillon, the variable inertia balance wheel, the balance wheel with progressive recoil – as well as the dynamometric crown set with precious stones that can be wound so as to display the maximum power reserve on a rotating disk between 10 and 11 o’clock. With Richard Mille, diamonds are not only forever, but also resolutely avant-garde.

Tourbillon RM 51-02 Diamant Twister
Case : steel entirely set with white diamonds and black saspphires, gemset dynamometric crown, 12 spline screws in grade 5 titanium, sapphire back, water-resistant to 50m
Size : 47.95 x 39.70mm
Movement : mechanical manual-winding (Caliber RM51-02, 48h power reserve) shock-absorbing device, nickel-free Chronifer barrel arbor, PVD coating apart from the black onyx mainplate, manual finishing
Functions : hours, minutes, tourbillon, powerreserve display between 10 and 11 o’clock
Despite its slim case, the RM033 has excellent volume to it. Even the “spline screws” that hold the bezel, case-band and case-back together force the case-band to have protruding tunnels to the screws to go through, while anyplace else on the case’s side, lots of substance was removed. This negative distance actually adds quantity to the RM033 — with bare eyes, or perhaps looking through a large magnification loupe or rectangular lens in smaller parts of the instance, there is just so much to look at and appreciate.The five-prong skate screws of this bezel sit inside their little valleys, surrounded by exceptionally accurately machined, beveled and polished curves — all eight of these. Four only hold the bezel, but one in every lug appears to fix the lugs to the case-band and case-back. The latter is one solid piece that includes the curve to maneuver underneath the lugs, that’s the conventional and extremely ergonomic curved case profile that Richard Mille has on all its watches, however thin.The crown is enormous and intricately crafted out of unusual materials: the black bit is ceramic and the detailing is at a material that matches the case — here it’s an 18k white gold spike. The ceramic even has alternating finishing which is something I have not seen performed on such a small piece. Again, the price sure is stupendous, but I am yet to see a Richard Mille that did not possess the widest array of such enormous pain in the neck features. This crown has to be so ridiculously hard to source and get right that matters like this will hardly ever be present on even mid-five figure watches — it simply won’t be, because performers at the majority of other luxury brands do not even dare consider things like this, and especially not with these regularity.While functionality-wise the crown is so solid as it should be, with double O-rings and a totally over-engineered clickyness for this, it took me a great time to get used to its looks — it just leaves the entire watch more feminine in my own eyes at least, though I’m sure it wouldn’t stand this out much when the watch was on a black strap (more on the strap at a bit).
Dial : openworked white gold set with 270 diamonds
Strap : alligator leather with gold pin buckle

30-Piece limited series

The micro-rotor serves to rewind automatic movements, but stands out from traditional rotors in terms of its size, it shape and its position. The customary oscillating weight is a flat half-disk topping the movement. The micro-rotor is a small, thick half-disk fully integrated into the movement. It was invented almost concomitantly in 1957 by Buren and Piaget, and subsequently popularized by Universal Genève, which had patented its own in 1954. It represented a quest for technical performance, and of course for greater slimness. These two objectives have remained in place and are now even more strongly present. Of the three original firms involved, only Piaget continued using the micro-rotor, which proved a determining factor in the second race for horological slenderness undertaken in the 2000s. One should also mention a fourth actor that came to play an indispensable role in the field : Patek Philippe. In 1997, in the midst of the quartz crisis, the brand developed an ultra-thin self-winding movement, named Caliber 240 in accordance with its thickness. To achieve this, the brand had recruited the creator of the Universal caliber, thereby vividly proving the importance of experience in conceiving these distinctive movements.

Calibre 240 © Patek Philippe

New lease on life

In the 2000s, the pursuit of perfection and diversification was an integral part of the grand watchmaking revival. To stand out from the crowd, several brands opted for the micro-rotor despite its inherent disadvantages. Given its lower inertia than a large-size rotor, it winds barrels less efficiently. By way of example, the newly introduced Montblanc micro-rotor requires 11 hours on a Cyclotest machine stimulating daily wear to be fully wound, as against eight hours for a standard automatic model. To compensate for this fact, the micro-rotor is made from extremely heavy materials : tungsten in cheaper versions, and 22K gold or even platinum for prestigious interpretations. It thereby achieves standard and even comfortable power reserves. Such is the case of several Roger Dubuis movements, of the Vaucher Caliber 5401 used by Hermès, Richard Mille and Parmigiani, and also of Caliber 1.98 by Chopard, which has a 65-hour power reserve.

Expansion

In 2002, Girard-Perregaux had developed a variation of its Tourbillon with Three Gold Bridges featuring a micro-rotor concealed beneath the barrel, which meant it went almost unnoticed. Based on the Peseux 7001 caliber, MCT has created its own movement that it still uses to this day. Then came the turn of Laurent Ferrier. This technically elegant and distinctive solution is still in vogue, since no less than three brands have opted for this solution in 2017 : Romain Gauthier, Peter Speake-Marin and Bell&Ross (via its movement producer MHC). But the big names are still in search of the most favorable technology/ergonomics/slenderness ratio for the micro-rotor. Panerai and Bulgari have adopted this solution and their technical choices are representative of the current trend. The micro-rotor is definitely more efficient when it is heavy, and even more so if it is broad, meaning as part of wide movements. Calibers have definitely grown, from Patek Philippe’s 240 movement measuring 27.5mm to the 36.6mm BVL138 by Bulgari. The concept is also becoming increasingly flexible and adaptable to movements ranging from the simplest to the most elaborate, as showcased in the Grande Complication de Cartier.

Paul’s position

The micro-rotor is a great way of saving height in a movement for an ultra-thin watch or for freeing up space to show off a wonderful open-worked movement. But as I discovered earlier this year while researching an article for WorldTempus, micro-rotor movements do not come cheap. Only a handful of brands offer micro-rotor watches below 10,000 Swiss francs, making them a watch for the connoisseur. – Paul O’Neil, WorldTempus editor-in-chief
It should go without saying, Richard Mille Watches Cost Replica is smart enough to know that the recognizable design and stratospheric price tag has to be accompanied by cutting edge technological innovation — therefore the RM011, once you see, or even better, wear one, you’ll understand was created from the get-go to maintain its own little microcosm, securely guarded away in the competition. Having met the man a few times, a couple of weeks ago at last I might chat with him a little more — perhaps not much about watches but instead branding, ambassadors, partnerships, automobiles, even athletics (in relation to some of the future plans). What came out to me once again was this immense energy radiating from him and kind of magnetically transferring into his audience — he flew in the same night from Taipei into Nürburg (not exactly a transfer hub) and yet bright and early he was already around, catching up with his colleagues and guests of the event. I’m virtually useless, let alone presentable after an intercontinental flight, so I could love his tireless energy and intense enthusiasm for all the subject even more.