The Richard Mille booth was more than ever a visual treat at the 2015 SIHH (Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie).
Behind the uniform exterior of the elegant SIHH booth facade, the visitor to Richard Mille was greeted not only by graphically and mechanically interesting wristwatches, but also exceptionally decorative stand personnel.
Inside the booth, springtime seemed to be in the air as the stand personnel’s organic clothing matched the decor celebrating the new RM 19-02 Tourbillon Fleur.
The RM19-02 Tourbillon Fleur represents the highlight of Richard Mille’s 2015 SIHH offerings. This not-just-for-women mechanical bouquet does something extraordinary as it mimics nature: the exquisitely painted magnolia envelops a flying tourbillon. Every five minutes it opens to reveal the mechanical delicacy, and as it does, it rises above the movement by about one millimeter. This motion echoes the natural upward arch of the flower, which in nature increases its chance of pollination. The “flower” stays open for five minutes, then closes. It does this ad infinitum. The flower can also be opened or closed on demand using a pusher on the case band.
A visual eye-catcher, the Tourbillon Diamond Twister RM 51-02’s name plays on the fact that it is a tourbillon (which is French for “whirlwind”). The high-jewelry spiral formed on the front of the watch by 14 rays emanating from the tourbillon takes the spotlight. But if you look closely, you’ll see a base plate crafted in onyx doing its best not to get lost amid the brilliance of the flawless stones and the constant motion of the manually wound tourbillon.
The 2015 edition of the SIHH brought with it yet another execution of the RM011 called Black Night in a carbon fiber case. Limited to just 100 pieces and available only in Europe and the Middle East, it celebrates Richard Mille’s friendship with Felipe Massa.
As you may have noticed, Richard Mille’s timepieces generally come on straps. Acquiescing to clients’ requests, the brand has, however, begun to introduce bracelets, with the first appearing in 2014 for the RM 07-01 and RM 037 models. At the 2015 SIHH, Richard Mille presented the new open-link bracelet for these models. Notable is the fact that each link is handmade and -finished, not to mention hand-set with diamonds for the jeweled versions.
Quick Facts RM 19-02 Tourbillon Fleur
Case: 18-karat white gold, 45.4 x 38.3 x 12.55 mm, torque-limiting crown
Movement: hand-wound Caliber RM19-02 with 60-second flying tourbillon enclosed in Magnolia automaton, 36 hours power reserve, free-sprung balance with variable inertia
Functions: hours, minutes; automaton that opens and closes the Magnolia
Limitation: 30 pieces
Price: 985,500 Swiss francs including applicable taxes / $970,000 without diamonds and $1,090,000 with diamonds
Quick Facts RM 51-02 Tourbillon Diamond Twister
Case: 18-karat white gold, 47.95 x 39.7 x 12.60 mm, torque-limiting crown
Movement: hand-wound Caliber RM51-02 with 60-second flying tourbillon enclosed in Magnolia automaton, 48 hours power reserve, free-sprung balance with variable inertia and black onyx base plate
Functions: hours, minutes
Limitation: 30 pieces
Price: 587,000 Swiss francs including applicable taxes
For more detailed information, please visit www.richardmille.com. You may also enjoy our further SIHH 2015 coverage including:
SIHH 2015 Photo Essay: Greubel Forsey
Give Me Five! Tourbillons From SIHH 2015
BOOM! Montblanc’s Explorer-Inspired Heritage Chronométrie Collection
SIHH 2015 Photo Essay Sunday: De Bethune, Urwerk, Laurent Ferrier, Revelation, Christophe Claret, Speake-Marin
SIHH 2015 Photo Essay Monday: Ralph Lauren, Richard Mille, And Montblanc
Celebrating 25 Years Of SIHH
Trackbacks & Pingbacks
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[…] Watches From SIHH 2015SIHH 2015 Photo Essay: Greubel ForseySIHH 2015 Photo Essay: Jaeger-LeCoultreSIHH 2015 Photo Essay: Richard MilleGive Me Five! Skeleton Watches From SIHH 2015Give Me Five! Tourbillons From SIHH […]
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[…] The Richard Mille RM 19-02 Tourbillon Fleur is a very complicated mechanism featuring a magnolia flower opening every five minutes, or on demand via a push button at 9 o’clock. The magnolia slowly opens and “blooms” for ten seconds while the flying tourbillon underneath rises to meet the sunshine. The flower stays open for ten seconds before taking another ten to close, all to begin again five minutes later. It really highlights the cycles of nature, albeit on a much more compressed scale (see SIHH 2015 Photo Essay: Richard Mille). […]
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[…] * Richard Mille: I’ll declare right now that I liked the RM 19-02 Tourbillon Fleur with its retracting petals and brilliant colors. Apparently, however, I was the only one in our group so inclined, and two of our number pronounced it the worst watch of SIHH 2015 (too big, too gaudy). (For more information on this watch, see SIHH 2015 Photo Essay: Richard Mille.) […]
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[…] If you missed it, you might also like SIHH 2015 Photo Essay: Richard Mille. […]
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[…] fair launch is aimed at the female wrist. We saw Richard Mille do this at the 2015 SIHH with the RM 19-02 Tourbillon Fleur, and now Jaquet Droz surprises us at Baselworld with the Lady 8 […]
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[…] in red aventurine – both among the best mechanical watches for women I have ever seen. See SIHH 2015 Photo Essay: Richard Mille and SIHH 2015 Photo Essay: […]
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[…] may also enjoy our further SIHH 2015 coverage including: SIHH 2015 Photo Essay: Richard Mille SIHH 2015 Photo Essay: Greubel Forsey Give Me Five! Tourbillons From SIHH 2015 BOOM! Montblanc’s […]
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What Richard Mille has accomplished over the last years is mind blowing. Technically the watches are on top of the game and in terms of brand DNA, it is great to see so much personality, creativity and boldness. I hope this brand will continue to grow (and hopefully I will be one day wealthy enough to afford one of these marvelous timepieces)!