As the Paris Olympics gets underway, many of us are closely following our favourite athletes. One aspect to observe is their performance, as peak excellence is crucial for achieving success, alongside the countless hours dedicated to training.
In a parallel manner, every Richard Mille timepiece that emerges from the manufacture embodies performance and must undergo rigorous testing before it reaches the wrists of discerning collectors.
Part of Richard Mille’s DNA is rooted in excellence, perfection and innovation — qualities that resonate with athletes. The brand has cultivated a strong connection with various sports, including tennis, motor racing, and golf, reflecting its commitment to high performance. This dedication extends beyond manufacturing; Richard Mille actively partners with elite athletes from different fields. These sports icons, known for their pursuit of perfection, exemplify the durability and functionality of Richard Mille’s timepieces in the most rigorous conditions, whether on the field, track, course or court.
Richard Mille’s partnerships span multiple athletic disciplines. From the extreme sport of Formula 1 racing to the precision required in track and field events with high jumpers like Mutaz Barshim and Yuliya Levchenko, as well as the explosive sprints of Wayde van Niekerk and Yohan Blake, Richard Mille watches are designed to meet the diverse demands of the various sports.
Today, the Richard Mille watch collection has expanded to encompass more than 80 models, all crafted with the same unwavering dedication and uncompromising principles that guided Richard’s initial venture.
Creating a watch that endures requires a combination of advanced technology and science to identify the right materials. Richard Mille uses Carbon TPT and Quartz TPT, composite materials produced by North Thin Ply Technology (NTPT), a leader in ultra-lightweight pre-preg materials. Pre-preg is made from “pre-impregnated” fibres embedded in a partially cured polymer matrix, such as epoxy or phenolic resin.
The collaboration between Richard Mille and NTPT earned the prestigious JEC Innovation Award at JEC World 2016 for the development of Quartz TPT and a graphene-injected version of Carbon TPT, created in partnership with the National Graphene Institute at The University of Manchester. To strengthen their relationship, Richard Mille participated in establishing a dedicated facility that includes a cleanroom for producing pre-impregnated sheets and an autoclave for curing the materials.
Additionally, a complementary laboratory for analysis supports accelerated R&D efforts, allowing both companies to develop quartz-fibre materials with the highest purity and explore the full potential of these advanced technologies.
As an homage to the current Olympic Games, let’s first take a look at two outstanding timepieces: the RM 07-04 and the RM 67-02, both crafted from pioneering materials designed for peak performance.
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The RM 07-04 Automatic Sport
The watchmakers at Richard Mille draw inspiration from their brand partners, who are high-level athletes. One example is the RM 07-04 Automatic Sport, which was developed with insights from these inspiring and influential sports figures.
It took three years to complete the design, guaranteeing optimal performance. The journey may be long, as watchmakers face numerous challenges along the way. Some of these include developing a new, compact, skeletonised in-house automatic movement that ensures high shock resistance and allows for seamless integration of the exterior with its visible inner workings. The result is a dazzling array of colourful timepieces that will catch the eye and serve as great conversation starters.
Weighing only 36g (the weight of a small apple), including its Velcro strap, the RM 07-04 Automatic Sport collection offers athletes the freedom to perform at their best in their disciplines. This collection of six watches reflects versatility and continuity in the growing world of women’s watches at Richard Mille.
The timepiece is powered by the CRMA8 Calibre, a new in-house automatic movement featuring hours, minutes, and a function selector. Here’s the technical background: The assembly, baseplate and bridges are made of grade 5 titanium, enhanced by a black PVD treatment. The movement underwent rigorous tests to confirm its resistance to 5,000 g’s of acceleration — a major achievement for the most compact of all the calibres developed by Richard Mille.
Hand finishing includes polished angles, milled sections, micro-blasted sinks, and satin-finished surfaces, all of which enhance the elegance of its uncompromising mechanics and improve the watch’s overall appearance. The calibre’s compactness further highlights the production’s quality, rendering the assembly process considerably more complex for the watchmaker, for whom there is no margin for error.
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The function selector complication, emblematic of the brand, prevents stress on the winding stem. Combined with a Quartz TPT pusher at 4 o’clock, a simple press allows the user to choose among the neutral (N), winding (W), or time-setting (H) positions. Its kinematics are also perfectly visible because its assembly is inverted compared to the brand’s other selectors.
The hand at 5 o’clock indicates the chosen function on a flange made of grade-five titanium. This finely crafted part, along with the movement, contributes to the architectural aesthetics of the timepiece, bringing balance to the overall design and enhancing the synergy between movement and decoration. Depending on the version, the case is crafted from either Quartz or Carbon TPT.
RM 67-02 Automatic Winding
Weighing just 32g, this watch is the ideal choice for athletes, as its lightweight, slim profile and ergonomic design make it a perfect companion for any sport.
The definition of the bezels and the case, featuring four extensions, serves as a hallmark of the brand’s sports watches while also enhancing the overall design. The RM 67-02 is even lighter than the RM 07-04, a feat achieved through the use of TPT composite materials, grade-five titanium, and the elastic wristband, which is the lightest strap ever created by the brand.
Special materials used by Richard Mille extend to the case, which is crafted from Quartz TPT and Carbon TPT. These materials, known for their remarkable damask appearance, are composed of layers of parallel filaments obtained by separating silica and carbon threads.
As mentioned in the RM 07-04, quartz fibres are used in layers that are heated to 120°C and subjected to 6 bars of pressure. The materials are then machined using CNC technology at Richard Mille’s manufacturing facility. Carbon TPT is produced through a similar process, using carbon threads instead.
The complete case construction is water-resistant up to 30m, thanks to two Nitrile O-ring seals and assembly with 12 spline screws made from grade-five titanium and 316L stainless steel washers.
Grade-five titanium treated with a black DLC finish provides stability to the baseplate and ensures surface flatness, which is needed when it comes to the optimal functioning of the gear train. The bridges are also crafted from grade-five titanium, featuring a grey DLC treatment.
The watch relies on a rotor made of Carbon TPT and white gold, combined with the OneWay winding system featuring ceramic ball bearings, allowing the barrel to be efficiently wound while maintaining the compact dimensions of an extra-flat, skeletonised movement. Its tight, taut lines sharply emphasise the sporty essence of this timepiece.
With satin-finished, bevelled hands and sharp lines, the CRMA7 calibre exudes a sense of power and strength. The dial, echoing the movement’s design, is machined from a sheet of titanium only four-tenths of a millimetre thick.
Thin, lightweight, colourful, elegant and athletic, the RM 67-02 is designed to adapt to various sporting disciplines. This adaptability is why several of the brand’s partners have developed RM 67-02 models in the colours of their respective countries, testing the capabilities of this automatic calibre across diverse settings.
Masters of their disciplines
Richard Mille stands by partners through challenges that fuel a shared pursuit of excellence:
- Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal, better known as Rafa, the undisputed King of Clay, has forged a reputation as the most powerful and audacious competitor in tennis. In 2010, he won three of the four major Grand Slam tournaments. The 2017 season proved to be one of the player’s finest, with two Grand Slam victories and the top spot in the ATP world rankings.
Today, Rafa has more Roland Garros wins than any other player in the history of tennis. Who could possibly forget the emotional 2020 final against Novak Djokovic, where, despite the unusual context of the pandemic, Nadal successfully retained the trophy he had lifted so many times before? He achieved this feat once again in 2022, clinching his 14th Roland Garros title.
The partnership between the watch brand and the tennis player has given rise to a whole collection of diverse watches, from the first RM 027 to the latest automatic model unveiled in 2024: the RM 27-05 Flying Tourbillon.
- Jessica von Bredow-Werndl
Jessica’s deep love for her horses is the cornerstone of her talent. Born in 1986, Jessica began competing in dressage in the late 1990s. She qualified for the Warendorf Federal Championships in Germany in 1998 and 1999. During the 2013–14 season, she earned third place at the Neumünster (Germany) leg of the World Cup and the German National Championships. She then finished in first place at the Gothenburg (Sweden) stage of the World Cup.
In 2015, she added a third-place finish at the World Cup qualifiers in Amsterdam to her achievements before taking third at the final in Las Vegas. She also scored a second win in Gothenburg. Jessica managed to defend her third-place finish at the World Cup finals in both 2016 and 2018 and has continued to enjoy a string of successes ever since. She triumphed at the 2023 European Dressage Championships with a historic score.
Jessica joined Richard Mille in 2016 and wears the RM 07-01 Carbon TPT, just like many of the brand’s female partners.
- Mutaz Essa Barshim
Mutaz means “proud” in Arabic. And Qatar has every reason to be proud of its native son, Mutaz Essa Barshim, who is now acknowledged as one of today’s greatest athletes — the crown prince of the high jump.
In 2014, he won the indoor world championship title at Sopot in Poland, besting his own performance the following September during the Van Damme Memorial at the Roi Baudouin de Bruxelles stadium in Belgium. Mutaz claimed the spotlight with the year’s best performance, setting a new record for Asia. Clearing 2.43m, his jump brought him almost on par with the legendary Javier Sotomayor, the Cuban who set the world record for the high jump at 2.45m in 1993.
It was during the Rio 2016 Olympics that Mutaz met Richard Mille, who had been following the competition closely. This was the moment when the RM 67-02 was conceived.
