Richard Mille

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RM052 ‘Skull’ tourbillon

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I am the first to admit that I did not like this one with the initial computer generated renderings. Sure we had seen skulls on watches before (Corum Bubble watch anyone?) and in my opinion, this was just another version of that. But then that’s not the whole story. What Richard has done is take a version that was just a tilt at looking different; a Pirates of the Caribbean ‘bit part’ and turned it into the main feature. The difference between Richard’s watch and others is significant.





As the sharp eyed will notice, the movement is the skull. The skull is no mere appendage to the watch, but it is the actual movement. The bridge for the tourbillon is the mouth with the teeth. The main springs are behind the eye sockets. The skull has a curvature and the finishing on the edges is nicely bevelled. The high end is still in this haute horologerie; so despite this being an ‘art’ or ‘fashion’ piece, this is the Damien Hirst end of the use of skulls, rather than the Captain Jack Sparrow end.





As mentioned, I was not that enthusiastic when I saw the drawings in the latter part of last year. However, I have to say that seeing the watch for myself, the RM052 is an act of genius. Not my taste, and not the kind of watch I would wear, but it will definitely be for some (probably the younger crowd). While this is the initial limited edition, there will be others with other metals. What has been suggested is that the skull itself could be customised so that a small precious stone (diamond perhaps) could be set into the teeth cavities. As I said, the watch is haute horologerie and can be customised to requests. It is where haute horologerie blends into cutting edge contemporary art.





As before, this is a limited edition of 21 pieces, which includes 15 pieces in titanium and 6 unique set pieces in red or white gold.