Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
How far can a watchmaker push the boundaries of aesthetics and performance?
In 2010, Swiss luxury watch company Richard Mille set out to achieve improbable levels of lightness without compromising performance with the RM 027 Tourbillon.
“Richard Mille has always wanted sportsmen and women to be able to wear a watch while playing their sport,” said Salvador Arbona, technical director for movements at Richard Mille, recalling his team’s excitement when they first heard that the future creation was destined for Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal, more popularly known as Rafa.
“Immediately, there was a torrent of questions: ‘Will a tourbillon caliber be able to withstand his ultra-powerful shots and long matches? How can we make it more robust? How can we prevent the watch rubbing with his two-handed backhand?’” Arbona recalled.
“We were moving into the field of ultra sportswear with a very high-level, high-performance player. It changed everything.”
Fourteen years later, their quest has culminated in the RM 27-05 Flying Tourbillon Rafael Nadal, a record-setting watch that embodies both mind-boggling technical expertise and unmatched luxury.
Limited to just 80 pieces worldwide, this collector’s edition has set two records for a manual winding tourbillon watch: the ability to withstand a g-force of 14,000 and a weight of just 11.5 grams, excluding its strap.
To put this into perspective, most shock-resistant watches are typically designed to withstand a g-force of up to 1,000 or more.
Enduring partnership
The story of the RM 27-05 project began much earlier than its launch in 2019, and dates back to a meeting that grew into a genuine friendship between athlete and watchmaker.
The legendary Spanish tennis champion vividly recalls one day in 2008 when Richard Mille contacted him to discuss a potential partnership.
“As someone who had never worn anything on my wrists, it seemed almost impossible for me to consider. Between managing nerves and requiring total concentration during a game, any small distraction can be critical. I didn't want to pursue it any further,” Nadal recalled.
But when he told a friend about it, the friend replied: “If you're going to explore this opportunity with anyone, it should be with Richard Mille.”
It was then Nadal’s turn to contact Richard, but the athlete had a very specific condition.
“My main condition for wearing a watch during competition was its lightness, I didn't want to feel it on my wrist,” he said.
By 2010, the first prototype was ready.
“Richard came to visit me in Mallorca and, as a joke, he presented me with a very heavy platinum watch. Seeing my worried reaction, he quickly revealed the real prototype: the RM 027, a surprisingly light watch with a spectacular design. I was immediately won over,” Nadal said.
Since then, Rafa has won victory after victory with Richard Mille watches on his wrist.
Read also: Changing beauty trends: Healthy, natural and local
Pushing boundaries
The continuing quest to make each successive model increasingly light and comfortable forged a close relationship between the two.
“We had to make some adjustments to the watch, including fixing how the band rubbed against my skin and making sure sweat didn't compromise its performance,” Nadal said.
Since the watch was so light, Nadal once forgot he was wearing the first prototype during training and afterward dove straight into the pool.
“For every problem, the Richard Mille team found a solution. They were always willing to improve the design until the watch was perfect: light and comfortable,” he said.
From not wanting to wear a watch previously, Nadal now says his Richard Mille watches have become an essential part of his equipment, to the point he feels strange if he’s not wearing one.
“When I won my first US Open in 2010, I fell to the ground to celebrate my victory and unfortunately, scratched the watch casing. I was really worried about Richard's reaction. However, when I showed it to him, he immediately said, 'I'll keep it for myself!' He quickly took it off my wrist and kept it as a souvenir,” Nadal recounted.
4,000 man-hours
How exactly did Richard Mille achieve the RM 27-05’s record lightness without compromising on performance?
The watch’s movement, based on the ultra-thin RMUP-01 caliber, has a power reserve of 55 hours and incorporates a flying tourbillon that oscillates at a frequency of 3 hertz.
Some 4,000 hours of work went into designing this caliber and the case, with designers rethinking the watchmaking process at every stage of development.
The RM 27-05 has no screws holding the movement to the case, as the entire mechanism rests inside the monobloc back, or caseband unit, which is then topped by the flange and bezel. The whole assembly presses down on the caliber to hold it firmly in place.
“Thanks to a base fitted with ball bearings, the tourbillon retains its performance while making it possible to do away with a bridge,” explained Arbona.
“Making the barrel fly likewise fit with our need for lightness. Its extreme thinness, 0.72 millimeters thick, helped us to develop an extra-flat caliber with volume. The barrel was thus pressed into service of this singular aesthetic, a masterpiece of traditional craftsmanship.”
Read also: Making space for aesthetics, functionality and personality
Innovative materials
A new, stronger carbon composite, developed over the course of five years with Richard Mille’s Swiss partner North Thin Ply Technology, gives the RM 27-05 a major advantage.
Called Carbon TPT® B.4, new composite is 4 percent denser, the fiber 15 percent stiffer and the resin 30 percent stronger, which makes weight-saving possible without losing stiffness.
For optimum strength, the composite is woven in stacks using a specific 70-degree orientation between layers. The material guarantees the watch's powerful architecture the best ratios, weight, performance and rigidity.
The Richard Mille team conducted multiple simulations and analyses and subjected the materials to numerous impact tests to confirm the relevance of each technical option over the course of the prototypes, giving the RM 27-05 its extraordinary endurance at accelerations in excess of 14,000 g.
“All the research into materials contributed to this record resistance and lightness. Credit for this achievement is also due to our use of a crystal made of PMMA, a polymer with an anti-scratch treatment,” said technical director of casings Julien Boillat, adding that sapphire was too heavy for the challenge.
Thanks to these innovations, every gram removed to complete the RM 27-05 Flying Tourbillon Rafael Nadal adds value to the watch, and the weight of time has taken on a new dimension.
"What truly binds us is the human side, the strength of our friendship with Rafa. After all the time we've spent together, we're looking forward to continuing our exchanges for many years to come,” said commercial director Alexandre Mille.
“The RM 27-05 is a testament to both this long friendship and our shared enjoyment. And, looking to the future, the techniques used to develop the RM 27-05 will undoubtedly benefit all our future creations.”
Read also: Empowered youth: Turning privilege to purpose
This article is part of The Weekender, a biweekly tabloid that appears in the Saturday edition of The Jakarta Post. Offering a variety of feature articles on lifestyle and culture, it aims to enriching your reading experience. Subscribe here to access The Jakarta Post's Saturday edition and all Premium content
