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Richard Mille RM 66 Flying Tourbillon

The new Richard Mille RM 66 Flying Tourbillon is an expressive and groundbreaking watch of immense technical and aesthetic proportions.

The new RM 66 Flying Tourbillon is undoubtedly one of the most luxurious watches in the Richard Mille collection, and looking at the watches they have launched over the past two years, it says it all. In the design, the hand-made "horn" symbol is clearly visible. It is a symbol of a generation and a synonym for a mentality. Those who challenge the limits, in addition to having the budget to match, will also be in this product See your own reflection.

Skeleton hand to support movement
Limited to 50 pieces, this edition is inspired by the world of rock music and features a flying tourbillon clearly visible at 12 o'clock, leaving only traces of the 5N red gold skeleton hands it appears to hold. Use your fingers to move. While attention is clearly focused on this eye-catching element, the set is visually overwhelming due to the combination of surfaces, glosses and finishes, the different layers, depths and contrast between the gold and carbon of the case. Confidence. Compare that with the technical luxury of the interior.

With a similar aesthetic to the tourbillon skull, the hands are also hollowed out, reflecting Richard Mille's irregular visual style, providing a subversive tone of the 1960s and rock music, a spirit of change and breaking predetermined.

The little and index fingers are extended, part of the phalanges visible from the back, and they hold the movement bridge conceived by Creative and Development Director Cécile Guenat. The parts that make up this hand are hand-polished and finished by Geneva engraver Olivier Vaucher. A lengthy and detailed deburring and polishing process enhanced the contours of the bones and highlighted the delicate joints through micro-sandblasting.

Manual winding tourbillon movement
The RM 66’s hand-wound movement architecture features a fast-winding barrel at 6 o’clock that provides a 72-hour power reserve, and a tourbillon at 12 o’clock, a first for Richard Mille. To guarantee the greatest possible transparency, the movement is made of grade 5 titanium, whose lines coincide with those of the hands, and is as skeletonized as possible through a complex mechanical solution rarely implemented, namely a flying tourbillon with variable inertia, Its frame is fixed at only one end of the shaft, eliminating the top bridge and visually emphasizing the ethereal quality of the movement. However, it’s a risky bet considering the brand’s shock resistance tests are among the most rigorous in the watchmaking industry. This atypical arrangement, with the movement turned 180° upside down, provides the tourbillon with a privileged position whose rotation is always noticeable.

Paying homage to the world of rock and roll, every detail of the RM 66 Flying Tourbillon required exceptional technical ingenuity from the famous company’s team, which took 1,500 hours of research and development and nine months of work to develop the case. For example, the hour markers are shaped like guitar picks, extending from a titanium lanceolate arch. Although the task is challenging when working with titanium, these parts must first be polished to achieve a perfect finish. Each scale is then fixed to the bezel with titanium screws. It goes without saying that polishing the beveled edges of the latter before applying the black plating is also an extremely delicate operation.

The extreme attention to detail is further demonstrated by the spider-shaped crown in grade 5 titanium, whose gothic-style section contains a ruby and its round black rubber seal. The assembly of this mechanism was quite a challenge. The engraving of this piece is a new tribute to the tourbillon skeleton. The torque-limiting crown means it automatically disconnects when the barrel tension reaches optimal, eliminating any risk of overload. “We spent over 200 hours on this piece from development to completion, with an additional 12 hours required to machine and finish each crown of the 50-piece watch.” In addition to polished titanium than gold or steel An additional difficulty, besides being much more difficult, lies in the gripping during this process, which requires special fixing of the workpiece from the inside. Making a wreath takes a large part of the skill and the entire manufacturing time.

The spectacular case housing this stunning mechanism, measuring 42.70 x 49.94 mm and 16.15 mm thick, provides the technical contrast of carbon fiber and the luster of gold to the three-part modular architecture of Richard Mille’s most complex timepiece. The case is made of titanium and is equipped with satin-finished and chamfered polished pillars. A 5N red gold plate with a "Paris hobnail" pattern is embedded between the pillars. It is machined and polished, and then hand-polished. Restores the belt's characteristic sharp edge. punk. Both sides of the case are made of sapphire crystal of equal thickness and treated with anti-reflective treatment. The rest of the finishes, which we won't go into detail, are of the highest quality, with most of the layout and finishes being done by hand.

The Richard Mille RM 66 Flying Tourbillon is a stunning, dynamic timepiece that captivates from detail to detail with its unbridled spirit and true expression of the brand.
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