Richard Mille

Theodore Diehl
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Of course it is irritating, but...

Hi Eric,
You are perfectly right to have doubts and it is good to be outspoken. Nobody is perfect, even a brand ;-) !
And I fully comprehend that the price/quality experience relates to these issues.
However, I would like to answer your comments with my own real life experiences- and I am telling you the absolute truth below:

-My very first Swiss wristwatch was a steel GP manual wind I bought on my birthday in Boston 1976. It still keeps perfect time and looks wonderful...

-My very first expensive wristwatch was a Blancpain Flyback- I just loved this watch's styling, was under the Blancpain sales pitch influence and at that time had to save up for it. After about 1 month, the crown broke off, just like that. It cost me a fortune to ship it back, and was very upsetting. I was expecting the ultimate Swiss experience for my cash and got this instead!

-This was followed by 3 different Pateks in the course of a few years. All three of them broke and had to be repaired in Switzerland, gone for weeks and weeks on end. Two of these had oiling issues (the watches had been 'baked' too long under the dealer's spotlights, so the oil suffered). The third was a mechanical problem.

-My RM 003-V2 kept perfect time, and never had any issues whatsoever. It was as stable as could be, even being worn regularly.

The result of all this?
I have a steel PP Nautilus on order, and I still carry a warm heart for PP; I also hear of problems with GP, yet I have had none; my RM was OK, others have difficulties...Go figure..

Three more points before I stop- please bear with me !
1. The RM brand, despite all of its fame, is a very young, very small brand. Just because it is famous, does not mean it can't learn from its mistakes. If PP and others with 100+ years experience still have difficulties, it only proves that even a simple mechanical watch is quite a wonder of a machine, and very difficult to get exactly right.

2. I was directly involved in following up several of the problem situations you present above about RM, and although people are quick to complain, the issues brought up here were dealt with in an efficient manner, and the results were not posted. Sure, they shouldn't have happened. But the strength is in the correction of the issue, in my view. RM is working hard to streamline and develop a comprehensive support for any and all customers who have difficulties...But it takes time and won't happen overnight.

In any case, your remarks are important, and I can assure you they are read and listened to. There is ALWAYS room for improvement.

However, I opt for the racing driver position: If Kimi makes a mess on the track, I still like his style and believe he's a good driver. It is also the reason that I am buying yet anther PP after having 3 break down. Sometimes the love we have for our watches is exactly like love...There are always bumps in the road, but we do our best to keep the spirit and essence to smooth things out.

Of course I'm biased, as I work for the RM brand. Nonetheless, what I am saying here is from me as a person and a fellow collector like yourself.

Just my 2 (long!) cents for whatever it is worth!

Theodore Diehl