To be honest, I used to be somewhat dismissive of the concept of “smiley watch” – I always thought it was a trendy toy and could not be considered elegant. Until last month, I saw Richard Mille’s RM88 Smiley in person for the first time in the private salon of a collector friend. At that moment, I completely changed my mind: It turns out that “happiness” can be so luxurious, so exquisite, it can even make people hold their breath.
At first glance, this watch seems to have reduced the entire fairy tale world to your wrist. In the center is the iconic golden smiling face, surrounded by pink flamingos, prickly cactus, rainbows, pineapples, small suns and small flowers… Each element is less than the size of a fingernail, but it is vividly displayed – the flamingo’s feathers are layered, the cactus’ thorns are frosted and shiny, and even the seven-color transition of the rainbow is as natural as real. Later I learned that these were all micro-carved by masters and then “painted” bit by bit using PVD, sandblasting and other processes. The total weight is less than 1 gram, but it took hundreds of man-hours.
What’s even more amazing is its structure. The top and bottom of the watch case are made of pure white ATZ ceramic, which is close to diamond in hardness and feels cool and moist to the touch. A circle of 18K red gold in the middle is like a gentle embrace, giving the entire watch a futuristic feel without losing warmth. The detail that impresses me the most is the small smiling face relief on the crown – every time I wind it, I feel like I am interacting with it.
My friend specifically asked me to look at the movement through a magnifying glass. RM88 uses Richard Mille’s self-developed CRMT7 automatic tourbillon. The hollow design makes the gears and balance wheel dance like a mechanical ballet. What’s even rarer is that it has two bottom plates: one is responsible for running time, and the other is dedicated to supporting those smiling faces and flamingos. This kind of design that separates “function” and “decoration” is extremely rare in the watchmaking world. It not only ensures accuracy, but also allows the artistic elements to not be affected by the vibration of the movement at all.
Of course, the price of this watch is also sobering: the official price is nearly 10 million, the secondary market has been sold to nearly 20 million, and only 50 are made in the world. A senior collector at the scene said: “It is not meant to be worn, it is meant to be handed down from generation to generation.” But even if you can’t afford it, just standing in front of it will make your mood inexplicably better – that kind of pure, imaginative happiness that many cold and complex function watches cannot give.
As I left the salon, I looked back at it again. The sun shone through the glass cabinet on that golden smiling face, the rainbow reflected slightly, and the flamingo seemed to be flapping its wings in the next second. At that moment, I suddenly understood: Richard Mille has never just made a timekeeping tool, but solidified human beings’ yearning for beauty and happiness between steel and gold.
Maybe we can’t afford RM88, but at least we can remember: the real luxury is not the price tag, but the intention that makes people smile.