The New Richard Mille RM 66 Manual Winding Flying Tourbillon
Only a few companies in the world see high-end watchmaking with similar fun and playful nature as Richard Mille. The Swiss luxury watch brand is known for making some of the most complicated and high-standard watches. Yet many designs released by the luxury powerhouse have a certain playful nature to them, even if they are serious timepieces. If Richard Mille's timepieces were of lower quality and of a price within the range of most people, they would be seen as horological novelties due to their uniqueness from other watches. However, it is rather hard to call a watch a novelty when it features extremely technical complications, avant-garde materials, and high prices. Extending this trend of releasing bold and irrelevant designs, Richard Mille has released the RM 66 Self Winding Flying Tourbillon - a watch limited to 50 pieces and dedicated to the world of rock and roll music.
Now without further ado, let us discuss this new release in detail.
RICHARD MILLE RM 66 SELF-WINDING FLYING TOURBILLON
Like most of the brands' models, the 42.7 mm X 16.15 mm case of the RM 66 has a multi-component curved tonneau design. Black Carbon TPT has been used to make the bezel and the caseback. Grade 5 titanium has been used for the middle caseband.
5N red gold inserts are set into the middle of the caseband. Glareproofed curved sapphire crystals are fitted to both sides. The case is equipped with a simple black rubber strap.
A torque-limiting winding crown is located at 3, which automatically disassociates when the tension in the mainspring barrel reaches a certain level. This helps prevent accidental overwinding, wear, and damage to the stem and mainspring.
Polished grade 5 titanium is used for the construction of the crown, which is shaped like a spider with its legs surrounding a black rubber collar and synthetic red ruby. A small skull insignia is used to finish the crown's tip.
Just like most Richard Mille timepieces, the RM 66 is open-worked. However, rather than just showcasing the movement, the whole aesthetic of the watch is based around a complex skeleton hand-crafted from 5N red gold. The index and pinky fingers of this skeleton hand are stretched out to form the well-known rock and rolls "horns" hand gesture. The hour markers are made of 5N red gold PVD-coated titanium.
Like every single skeletonized watch, the movement in the RM 66 plays a huge part in the aesthetic of the watch. However, as the rock and roll hand gesture has been made to be the prominent part of the watch, the movement has been designed to follow the hand's shape and have a maximum amount of space surrounding it. The RM 66 features Calibre RM66, a manual winding movement offering a power reserve of about 72 hours.
Final Words:
So there you have it, the new RM 66 is limited to only 50 pieces. It is just like those playful Richard Mille watches designs. This watch is a wonderful way through which Richard Mille has started the new year.
