By Jovan Krstevski
The RM 50–03 was the product of the partnership between Richard Mille and McLaren F1 made last year. This year, the same collaboration gives us the RM 11–03 McLaren Automatic Flyback Chronograph.
There will only be 500 pieces of the watch to be made globally and comes with a price tag of Swiss Francs 180,000 exclusive of taxes. Initially, the new watch is available only to the McLaren Ultimate Series clients so here is to hope it will be available to anyone capable of shooting that price point.
It is worth noting that this collaboration highlights many elements in both fields, and to see them on a watch is simply incredible. After all, the RM 11–03 McLaren has been in development since last year and it unifies mutual interest in design and innovative materials. The use of new materials and excellent craftsmanship simply spells good tidings for the watch. The design is unique inherent of a watch and of the incredible world of auto sports and to say that I have seen it all is simply absurd as the unique design of the watch simply blows me away.
The exceptional watch features a supercar DNA but at the same time signature RM touches are everywhere. The dial is skeletonized but the legibility is superb.
To understand the significant challenges for the watch, here are Namura’s words, “The idea was to take on a real technical challenge, and come up with something other than a mere dial with an inscription, for example. I find the 720S designed by Rob Melville mesmerizing beautiful, and we wanted to give the RM 11–03 McLaren curves that were similarly both aesthetic and functional.” Looks like it is very self-explanatory.
A carbon TPT interlaced with Orange Quartz TPT makes up the 49.94 mm case of the RM 11–03 McLaren. This material is tough yet light-weight and the color is taken right from the famed McLaren model. The case enhances the performance of the RM 11–03 making it ready right on the get-go.
I also like the titanium pushers akin to the headlights of the McLaren 720S and the titanium inserts echoes the air-intake of the McLaren car. The watch also gets a complex grade 5 titanium crown in a shape of a wheel. A McLaren Speedmark logo appears on the rubber strap which is developed only for this model.
Powering the RM 11–03 is an automatic RMAC3 calibre beating at 4Hz and can be viewed through the exhibition caseback. It is equipped with a flyback chronograph with a quick restart of the stopwatch function. It’s also equipped with two barrels mounted in parallel and a balance wheel with variable inertia. 55 hours of power reserve is available and interestingly, the barrel winding is protected by a variable geometry rotor that adjusts to the wearer’s lifestyle, sort of mechanical smarts.
Finally, the lucky McLaren customers can match their edition number to the caseback of their RM 11–03 McLaren watches. For more info, visit Richard Mille online.
