After having received a few weeks ago, the award for the RM 019 in the Ladies Watch category, at the Grand Prix de l’Horlogerie –Asia Edition, Richard Mille is extremely pleased to have received last Saturday at the Grand Prix de l’Horlogerie de Genève, the “Sports Watch” prize with the tourbillon RM 025 diver’s watch.
The ninth edition of the “Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève” at the Grand Théâtre of Geneva was another triumph for Richard Mille Watches, with his RM 025 Tourbillon Chronograph Diver’s watch being awarded in the category “Sports Watches”.
In total ten prizes in various watch categories were awarded in the presence of the City authorities and the State of Geneva, comprising important leaders, owners and managers in Swiss watchmaking, representatives of more than hundred and fifty brands and numerous journalists.
This year’s 2009 edition marked the close of a period marked by multiple uncertainties in the world of watchmaking. Among those introducing the event was the debonair Laurent Picciotto, owner of Chronopassion in Paris, who described the winner of the sports watch category as “a new direction” for its creator.
Indeed, the RM 025 Tourbillon Chronograph Diver’s watch by Richard Mille marks the brand’s first round watch, a timepiece for diving that features both a chronograph and a tourbillon waterproof to 300 meters. It is unlike any other Richard Mille creation in terms not only of its exterior appearance but also its ability to deal with one of the harshest environments on Earth in total comfort.
Visually breaking with the iconic Richard Mille case shape, a change born directly from technical necessity for a water resistance of 30 atmospheres (300 meters), the unique tripartite case design uses torque screws that can be individually and precisely tensioned with high accuracy around the exterior circumference of the case, thereby guaranteeing a waterproof closure of evenly distributed pressure along the case edge, essential for a long term seal. This is complemented by the integration of the lugs into the case’s ergonomically curved case design with torque screw system, as well as the screwed crown construction and a new design of watertight pushers. Setting this off is the special strap of Kalrez®perfluoroelastomer, a material with virtually universal chemical resistance, able to withstand more than 1,800 chemicals including solvents, amines and plasmas as well as possessing exceptional temperature and elastic recovery characteristics.
The bezel is also unlike any other. It is constructed of three layers, connected with 24 screws, turning unidirectionally following ISO 6425 norms in order to avoid timing miscalculations. In addition, the entire bezel system is screwed to the watchcase making it absolutely stable as well as impossible to inadvertently dislocate or loosen. This unique use of screws allows for perfect adjustment since the bezel is not tensioned into position. For clearer visibility under murky conditions, starting at 12 o’clock, the five-minute markers of the first quarter are highlighted red.
All this attention to detail is just the icing on the cake however; within ticks the caliber RM 025, a carbon nanofiber tourbillon chronograph based upon the famed caliber RM 008, one of the major and uniquely new chronograph designs of the 21st century. The RM caliber 025 unites 2 extremes: the complication of a tourbillon with the notorious complexities of a chronograph movement.
The engineering of this new timepiece took more than five years of development since the designers began with a blank piece of paper, leaving all preconceived notions behind. This led to a number of new impulses, such as creating and manufacturing a number of parts such as the column wheel and levers in titanium in order to reduce inertia and lower energy consumption circa 50%. This greatly reduces friction on the spindle and eliminates the jumps and shocks of the chronograph hand during stopping and starting, adding to the watch’s precision. The production and assembly of the RM 025 Tourbillon Diver’s watch takes many months, with only a select number of watchmakers able to cope with its complex assembly and testing. For this reason, it is only possible to produce a highly limited number of these watches per year.
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