Richard Mille has taken inspiration from The Smiley, drawn by Franklin Loufrani just over 50 years ago. It serves as the embodiment of positivity, joy and sharing and has played a major role at the heart of pop culture across several creative generations
Around the Smiley’s radiant face, an array of miniature sculptures takes possession of the RM 88 Automatic Tourbillon Smiley’s movement.
Skeletonised automatic winding tourbillon movement with hours, minutes and function indicator.
Microblasted grade 5 titanium with PVD treatment lends great rigidity to the baseplate and the bridges, as well as the precise surface flatness, essential for perfect functioning of the gear train.
Limited edition of 50 pieces
The bezel and caseback are in ATZ white ceramic. This is made from tubes of aluminium oxide powder injected at a pressure of nearly 2,000 bars. This high-pressure injection increases rigidity by 20 to 30% and reduces the material’s porosity to an absolute minimum. ATZ is known for its high scratch resistance (1,400 Vickers) and unchanging colour. Next to diamond, it is one of the hardest materials in the world. Long and difficult machining using diamond tools is required to create a perfect example of this complex, curved bezels and satin finish. The caseband is made of 18K 5N red gold.
The tripartite case is water resistant to 50 metres, ensured by 2 Nitrile O-ring seals. The case is assembled with 12 grade 5 titanium spline screws and abrasion-resistant washers in 316 L stainless steel.
Incredible design detail as demonstrated by the green PVD-coated leaves, the microblasted and polished surface of the pineapple, the microblasted spines of the cactus in yellow gold, polished one by one to remove the PVD coating, and the sun, in microblasted gold with polished rays. In keeping with watchmaking tradition, all finishing operations on the RM 88 Smiley are carried out by hand.