THE MOST DESIRABLE RM-33 IN TITANIUM

* * * ONE OF Richard Mille’s FINEST MASTERPIECES – AVAILABLE HERE * * *

Richard Mille joins the thin watch craze in 2011 with their 6.30mm thick “Extra Flat Automatic” RM 033 watch. For the complexity of a Richard Mille watch case 6.30mm thick is pretty darn good. The brand makes sure to maintain as much of the signature look as possible in the design of the case – and they also made it round. For the RM 033 (RM033), Richard Mille makes the hour numerals bolder, but kept the interesting ellipses shape in the center of the dial. This is about as formal and “elegant” as Richard Mille watch comes these days.

The case diameter at 45.70mm the best thin watches are wide watches. The case is light and done in titanium with typical Richard Mille “spline” screws. It was an impressive task to retain the iconic Richard Mille case architecture while trying to flatten it. Even the sides of the case have that nice inset look I have come to appreciate the the finely cut titanium on Richard Mille timepieces.

The movement in the watch is the RM033 automatic with a solid platinum micro-rotor. Having a micro-rotor is pretty much a necessity for all thin watches, and platinum is used for the weight, not just for weird bragging rights. While the watch doesn’t have a dedicated power reserve indicator, the movement is skeletonized, which includes the mainspring barrel.  If you take off the watch, you can see the spring in the barrel and get a gauge on how tightly wound it is. Richard Mille says the movement has a power reserve of 42 hours. The movement itself is just 2.60mm thick – which is quite impressive given all the styling that went into it. The movement is made primarily of titanium with some steel.