By Jovan Krstevski
When Richard Mille is mentioned I usually pay close attention to the shape of the watch and, of course, I would not be surprised at all if the watch is half or fully skeletonized. Such are the things that are evoked automatically when Richard Mille comes to mind so for the SIHH 2016 I am still quite stunned by the new RM 67–01 Automatic Extra Flat. Note the last two words from the title, they simply make a lot of sense for a watch of this calibre. I am literally drooling for one of this baby but all biases, I will certainly give a fair introduction to this technical masterpiece.
When I searched for the specs of the watch something really caught my attention, and no it is not the classic tonneau shaped case but its thickness at a mere 7.75 mm. That is astounding considering the technology encased inside the RM 67–01. However, if you know Richard Mille by heart, you will not be surprised by this achievement at all since these guys are at it for a long time allowing them to master their technology.
I can just imagine how valuable these watches are considering their building process, many hours of rigorous processes involving machining of several components just for one RM 67–01 to be strapped on our wrists. Furthermore, the 38.7 mm x 47.52 mm Grade 5 titanium case together with the anti-glare treated front and back sapphire crystals shines perfectly when mated with classic RM signatures. The case also exhibits RM’s stunning 3 assembly parts namely the bezel, caseband and caseback. Do not go about looking for the lugs since it is perfectly hidden making the case design simply astounding although the crown simply yells mechanical mastery at its best.
So to speak, there is no dial except the skeletonized plate on top of the metal applied indices and hands with beveled and pointy tips. RM used solid metal on top of titanium rails that is connected directly to the movement on its beautifully crafted Arabic numerals. There is also the functional crown indicator at the 2 o’clock which simply tells you if you are at H for hand-setting, D for date and W for winding. The zero numeral at 5 is quite confusing, but it is where the date is displayed on black skeletonized discs against a white background.
That brings us to the final part of this article which is the RM 67–01’s in-house movement. This is where the excitement is since to achieved a really thin form factor, the team completely redesigned a new movement using the same technologies of course. You can see the tonneau-shaped movement through the front and rear crystals. The baseplate is made of sandblasted grade 5 titanium finished by hand with grey electro plasma treated coat. The central rotor is made of solid platinum along with free sprung balance wheel with variable inertia and specific teeth profile assembled with spline titanium screws. The movement also features fast rotating barrel for better torque delivery. Its 50 hours of power reserve is remarkable considering its powerful complications. Rumor has it that the price point for the RM 67–01 is close to 100.000 Euros.
For more info, please visit richardmille.com
JOVAN KRSTEVSKI – FOUNDER, PROPRIETOR & EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Watch collector, aficionado and an Event profile in the Swedish nightlife. He launched Watchgeek back in 2011, which is now known as WristReview and is one of the most widely read watch blogs on the Web. He quotes ’WristReview is a site to help people find, explore, discover and enjoy wristwatches.’ His passion jump started in his early teens when he was given his first mid-range wristwatch which was an Omega Seamaster. Since then he has always been in love with wristwatches! Besides WristReview, he also writes for a number of publications. Read his articles here
