RM 55-01

Manual Winding

Manual winding skeletonised movement with hours, minutes and seconds.

Around 55 hours (± 10%).

The calibre rests on a baseplate made of grade 5 titanium, an alloy borrowed from the aerospace industry and highly prized at Richard Mille. To enhance its aesthetics, the baseplate is microblasted, sanded and treated with a black PVD coating. The going train is affixed by three bridges also produced from grade 5 titanium sanded and treated with Titalyt®.

Nonetheless, working this material remains a constant challenge. Milling grade 5 titanium is a herculean task: its extreme hardness and the brand’s low tolerance for error take a toll on every tool. The same uncompromising standards hold for the slightly thicker satin-brushed parts that structure the movement and highlight a tension between straight lines and curves.

The free-sprung balance offers better reliability in the event of shocks, movement assembly or disassembly, and also guarantees better chronometric results over time. The regulator index is eliminated, and a more accurate and repeatable calibration is possible thanks to 4 small, adjustable weights located directly on the balance.

The double-barrel system helps to improve the torque stability over a longer period. This is achieved by distributing the stored energy across two winding barrels instead of one, which increases the number of rotations and reduces pressure on the teeth, bearings and pivots, resulting in better long-term performance.

Movement dimensions: 31.25 x 29.45 mm

Thickness: 3.46 mm

Number of jewels: 26

Barrel arbour: AP 20 steel

Balance: Glucydur®, 4 arms, inertia moment 4.8 mg•cm2, angle of lift 53º

Frequency: 28,800 vph (4 Hz)

Balance spring: elinvar by Nivarox®

Index assembly: Triovis N° 2

Shock protection: Incabloc 908.22.211.100 (transparent)

Escapement wheel jewels: Rubifix (transparent)

Two-position stem: Manual winding, hand setting

These materials are exclusive materials to the brand in watchmaking with a unique appearance. Their remarkable damascene surface displays extremely regular yet totally unique striations, as they are composed of multiple layers of parallel filaments obtained by dividing carbon fibres or silica threads.

Quartz TPT® fibres are generally used for very high-performance applications due to their resistance to high temperatures, their strength and their transparency to electromagnetic waves. Fibres are aligned in layers no thicker than 45 microns and saturated in resins developed specially for Richard Mille. These layers are then stacked using an automatic positioning system that changes the orientation of the fibre between each layer by 45°.

• • Baseplate in wet-sandblasted grade 5 titanium, grey electroplasma treated

• • Bridges in hand-ground grade 5 titanium, wet-sandblasted and Titalyt® or PVD treated

• • Locking sections hand polished

• • Burnished pivots

• • Pinions with undercuts

• • Screw slot and screws bevelled and polished with rounded and polished tip

• • Straight line grain finish of the upper surface

• • Lower surfaces microblasted

• • Circular-grained, diamond-cut angles and rhodium-plated wheels bevelled (before cutting the teeth)

• • Minimum correction applied to the wheels to preserve geometry and performance

This permits better control of the torque applied to the screws during assembly. These screws are therefore unaffected by physical manipulation during assembly or disassembly and age well.

Upper flange: In grade 5 titanium; index points filled with approved luminous material.

Lower flanges: In polyamid and 316L stainless steel.

Bezel side

In sapphire (1800 Vickers) with anti-glare treatment (2 sides). Thickness: 1.00 mm minimum.

Caseback

In sapphire (1,800 Vickers) with anti-glare coating (2 sides). Thickness: 1.55 mm at the centre; outer edges 2.29 mm.