Richard Mille’s RM 7501 floating tourbillon watch is eye-catching as soon as it appears. It actually uses sapphire crystal as the bottom plate of the movement. This is the first attempt in the watch industry! This is not only a breakthrough in design, but also a technical challenge. Want to know how this watch achieves the perfect balance between beauty and performance? Come and see with me!
The innovative design of the Richard Mille RM 7501 floating tourbillon watch
Richard Mille’s new RM 7501 floating tourbillon watch uses sapphire crystal as the first movement structure, which is a disruptive innovation in the history of watch design.
As Richard Mille’s first watch equipped with a sapphire crystal movement base plate, RM 7501 not only subverts tradition in design, but also has a completely new movement structure.
The lack of a balance spring brings the watch’s shock resistance to a new level, and the reliability of the movement assembly is also greatly improved.
The adjustable weights allow the inertia of the oscillating weight to be directly adjusted to achieve the best winding effect.
Watch appearance and production process
Placing the floating tourbillon at 6 o’clock, combined with the design of the topless bridge, greatly improves visibility and also makes the floating tourbillon look lighter.
Such an exquisite design naturally requires complex craftsmanship.
Richard Mille said that the processing of sapphire crystal is extremely difficult, so the entire processing process takes more than 1,000 hours.
Just pre-forming the case took 430 hours; polishing and polishing took a full 350 hours.
It can be seen that it is not an easy task to make a piece of sapphire crystal into a qualified movement bottom plate.
Materials and technical challenges for high-end watches
The launch of the RM 7501 watch marks another innovation and challenge for Richard Mille in the field of high-end watches.
In this watch, except for the movement bottom plate and bridge plate, which are made of sapphire crystal, all other movement components are made of conventional materials.
However, in order to improve the corrosion resistance of the watch, the base plate and bridge plate are made of a combination of grade 5 titanium alloy and 5N gold, and have been treated with a gray PVD process.
This design not only improves the aesthetics of the watch, but also greatly enhances the corrosion resistance and hardness of grade 5 titanium alloy and 5N gold.
The waterproof depth of the watch reaches 30 meters. In order to ensure the waterproof performance, Richard Mille installed two nitrile rubber O-rings inside the case and fixed the case together through 24 grade five titanium alloy spline screws.
Such a tedious process is not only to improve the waterproof ability of the watch, but also to ensure the stability of the movement of the sapphire crystal base plate.
Limited editions and market positioning
The RM 7501 watch is available in three versions, two of which are a combination of transparent and colored sapphire crystals limited to 10 pieces, and one is a fully transparent sapphire crystal limited to 15 pieces.
Among them, the fully transparent sapphire crystal base plate is the most difficult and the one with the least limited quantity.
The reason why Richard Mille applied sapphire crystal to the movement base plate was not only to enhance the beauty of the watch, but also to demonstrate its superb technology and exquisite craftsmanship.
After all, as an important part of the movement, the stability and durability of the movement bottom plate directly affect the use effect and life of the watch.
The RM 7501 equipped with tourbillon technology fully demonstrates the advantages of precision timekeeping in watches.
Richard Mille’s design and manufacturing process of this watch shows his pursuit of exquisite craftsmanship and strict control of quality.
Conclusion
The launch of the RM 7501 watch is really a revolution in the field of high-end watches. Richard Mille’s well-intentioned design and craftsmanship make people feel the charm of the watch. If you are also interested in this kind of watch that combines innovation and tradition, please share your views in the comment area, or give this article a like so that more people can discuss this amazing work!