Richard Mille Caliber RMUL2 with its highly skeletonised grade 5 titanium movement is treated with PVD and Titalyt to provide maximum performance, This magnificent masterpiece features green flying bridges which are woven into the front of the movement and are anodized and painted by hand, Movement features Rotor with Variable Geometry, Double Barrel System featuring Free Strung Balance with Variable Inertia, Black Rubber Strap, Skeleton Back, 50.23mm x 42.70mm x 15.84mm

Every once in a while, some watch manufacture will make a modest innovation, but real evolution in the world of mechanical watches happens infrequently. So, you really have to admire Richard Mille. He comes from an automotive background, and applied his innovative spirit to watches, and almost overnight his eponymous brand has become an elite and exciting manufacture.

Basically, Richard Mille scrapped old ideas about how to put a watch together. He uses new materials in the caliber, and rearranges the positions of the components. He makes movement plates out of carbon fiber, uses ceramics and titanium components to reduce friction… he has basically rethought case and caliber design and construction.

This Yohan Blake “The Beast 2” special production skeleton features a Monochrome TZP Black Ceramic with 50.23mm by 42.70mm by 15.84mm dimensions. The case is TZP black ceramic was chosen for the RM 61-01 Yohan Blake’s bezel and caseback. This low-density material (6g/cm3) is highly scratch-resistant and has a low thermal conductivity coefficient. Constituted of 95% yttrium-stabilised zirconium, TZP has a pronounced grain that provides the perfect finish. A long and difficult machining and grinding process using diamond tools is necessary to create the complex forms of the bezel and caseback, which are given a final matt surface finish. Its drawn-out shape between 2 and 5 o’clock stops the torque-limiting crown from rubbing against the sprinter’s wrist.

The caseband is in NTPT carbon, a material composed of multiple layers of parallel filaments obtained by dividing carbon fibers. These layers, with a maximum thickness of 30 microns, are impregnated with resin, then woven on a special machine that modifies the direction of the weft by 45° between layers. Heated to 120°C at a pressure of 6 bars, the NTPT is then ready for machining. When compared to composite materials, whose exceptional physical properties are already well known, NTPT® carbon improves breaking strains by 25% and the occurrence of micro-cracks by 200%. The RM 61-01 case is water resistant to 50 meters. It is assembled with of 20 spline screws in grade 5 titanium and abrasion-resistant washers in 316L stainless steel.

Not surprisingly, the movement is a marvel of technology. The rotor features “variable geometry” which actually adjusts to the wearer’s movements. The parts of the rotor and winding system actual adjust themselves so that slow leisurely arm movements increase the efficiency of the winding and rapid, imactful movements slow down the winding efficiency. Movement is made of grade 5 titanium and all parts are hand finished. The power is stored in a double barrel system to improve and optimize the torque stability over an longer period of time, which not only results in better timekeeping but also improved long-term stamina of the movement parts.

One thing is for sure, no watch is more intelligently thought out and executed than a Richard Mille watch. The good looks are just a bonus!