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RICHARD MILLE TOURBILLON SPLIT SECONDS COMPETITION CHRONOGRAPH

RM 050 FELIPE MASSA

The newly designed manual winding tourbillon movement caliber RMCC1 with hours, minutes, chronograph, split seconds, power reserve, torque indicator and function indicator represents a new step at Richard Mille Watches.

The flagship RM 008 Tourbillon split seconds model has for some 8 years been a landmark in the world of watchmaking as the first new split seconds chronograph development of the 21st century. Now, the split seconds Competition Chronograph RM 050 Felipe Massa represents a new movement development that takes all the best characteristics of the original RM 008 but with new advancements, bringing it to an unequaled level of performance.

This new caliber launched in the RM 050 is not a simple exercise of merely reviewing the existing RM008 movement. The engineers at Richard Mille began by researching every possible manner to lower the movement weight by 20%, the equivalent of 10 grams, making the total movement weight a mere 9.5 grams.

The baseplate and bridges are created from grade 5 titanium, an alloy composed of 90% titanium, 6% aluminum and 4% vanadium. Often used in the aeronautic, aerospace and automobile industries, it offers great resistance to corrosion combined with high rigidity. Its light weight/high strength ratio when used in the baseplate of the RM 050 make it an ideal choice as the foundation for perfect functionality of the going train. Further development of the caliber with its skeletonized baseplate and bridges as well as innovative movement designs meant the creation of more than 400 new parts for the caliber. A fast rotating winding barrel, balance with variable inertia, function indicator, torque indicator and split seconds mechanism with improved performance are only a small selection of what this extraordinary movement has to offer. In parallel to these aspects, the Richard Mille engineers have optimized the movement to the maximum, notably the precision and calculations of the long-term timekeeping aspects. The result is a beast of a watch at the cutting edge of what is possible.

A movement created at this level requires a fitting enclosure, and the case of the watch has also received the full attention of the engineers. It is composed of polymer composite injected with carbon nanotubes. Carbon nanotubes are extremely resistant to stress (200 times more than steel) and very light. These nanotubes have the ability to absorb violent shocks significantly higher than that of carbon fibers due to their structure and unique geometry and their higher surface/volume equilibrium.

The new split seconds Competition Chronograph RM 050 Felipe Massa represents the ultimate in split seconds timing for the 21st century and beyond.

Limited edition of 10 pieces in carbon nanotubes.

Press Release