ED209
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A visit to the new Richard Mille Boutique Las Vegas
Over a month ago, Richard Mille opened it's second U.S. boutique at the Shops At Crystals on the Las Vegas Strip. So during a recent weekend trip to Las Vegas I had stayed at the Aria Resort and Casino that is part of City Center and connected to Crystals. And during a busy afternoon I made a visit to the new Richard Mille Boutique to check out the space and see their watch collection.
The boutique is located on the 2nd floor across from the Mastro's Treeshouse and in between the Tiffany and Louis Vuitton boutiques. I'm very familiar with Crystals and as I walked closer to the boutique I remembered the location as it now replaces the former De Grisigono Watch Boutique. The RM boutique is set up very similar to the old boutique with a open space but more glass sculptures and cases in the middle. At the front of the boutique is a 7 foot sculpture of RM movement.
I was surprised to see quite a few of the RM Divers models including the RM028 and RM032. And not just the standard divers collection, but many limited editions. The RM028 on display in the front window was the Les Voiles de St Barth and made in a special edition of 100 pieces. I haven't really seen the RM028 up close before, and found that it definitely had a huge wrist presence due to the 47mm diameter bezel, but it was wearable due to the lightness from the titanium case. The yellow colored accents on the dial, rotating bezel markers, crown and strap were very striking and looks great. I know a certain TimeOut Moderator who would love this yellow themed RM!
The RM032 Automatic Chronograph Divers watch was massive with the 50mm bezel but I like the movement more than the RM028. Just like the yellow, the red was visually striking. It has a new lock down guard to lock the crown in place. The lock also is able to lock down the pushers to ensure the 300 meter water resistance. The skeletonized dial on the RM032 is more difficult to read with the two subdials for sub seconds and running indicator. I thought that the RM032 was just a flyback chronograph movement but learned from the boutique staff that it also has a month indicator between the 4 and 5 o'clock position.
Other watches on display was a dedicated glass case with the RM59-01 Tourbillon Yohan Blake. The RM 59-01 was introduced at this years SIHH and named in honor of the Olympic medal winner Yohan Blake. It is limited to 50 pieces and features a case made of translucent composite injected with carbon nanotubes. The case has a yellowish green color which to me looked like algae or mold. The shape of the case is asymmetrical which to me (along with the colors) made this a strange looking watch. In another back corner of the boutique was a dedicated space for the RM055 Bubba Watson and a RM038 which is one of my favorite watches in the store. I got to handle these watches briefly but did not have a chance to take closeup pictures.
On display was a piece unique RM 52-01 Tourbillon Skull nano-ceramic watch. The composite nano-ceramic called TZP is used on the bezel and caseback and is finished with a microblasted finish with polished edges. The The RM52-01 has a manual winding tourbillon with a PVD treated titanium baseplate. The skull is crafted in 5N red gold. What makes the Las Vegas Boutique watch different is the precious stones set into the skull dial. Also along the sides of the cases, 4 perpendicular bars on the RM case is also set with a pave of diamonds. I got to handle this RM 52-01 for a few moments (sorry I didn't take any pics because I was enjoying seeing this unique piece) and although it's a beautifully crafted, it's not one of the watches I would choose if I won big in Vegas. I'd prefer the RM 038 Bubba Watson because the bridges and movement are more interesting to me. I also don't associated the skull motif to Vegas, I was expecting something with a casino theme.
Overall the boutique feels spacious for a small space, but more impressive were the large number of watches that the RM Las Vegas Boutique had. And best of all the boutique staff were friendly and very knowledgeable about watches. It was definitely a good visit to see some unique pieces and I'm hoping to visit again in the near future to spend some more time looking at other RM watches.
Regards,
ED-209
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A visit to the new Richard Mille Boutique Las Vegas
Over a month ago, Richard Mille opened it's second U.S. boutique at the Shops At Crystals on the Las Vegas Strip. So during a recent weekend trip to Las Vegas I had stayed at the Aria Resort and Casino that is part of City Center and connected to Crystals...
Thanks
Thanks RobCH, I was surprised at how many LE's they had in stock. Regards, ED-209
