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Let it be Light! Manufacturing the Richard Mille RM010.
Feb 21, 2007,20:59 PM
Introduced last year in Geneva, and with design cues from its illustrious predecessor the RM009 Felipe Massa with its skeletonized aluminum lithium movement structure, the RM010 is the next in line within the Richard Mille collection to further extend the use of skeletonization. This time, the movement, dubbed 005-S, is an updated form of the one found in the RM005. As before, Vaucher, a specialist high quality movement manufacturer was tasked with job of producing the new movement and heavily modifying one of their base calibre’s – to the point where all new base plates are machined and the only remnants of the original calibre lie in the gear train and the escapement.
A great deal of attention (perhaps rightly so) is lavished on the higher complication Richard Mille pieces. Admittedly, the higher end pieces are stunning watches and their design and execution invites interest as watch Purists. However, I wanted to show that the owners of the more basic Richard Mille watches still have a watch that has been given the same attention to design and detail in their manufacture as their lauded siblings. In the same way as every component of the RM002 is thought through, the same applies to the RM005 and the RM010. As such, this is not simply taking a base calibre and PVD coating it. This is re-thinking the movement and its construction so that the end product is far removed from the original ebauche that it is using merely the going train drawings as a starting point for further development, rather than an actual caliber en zich.
Vaucher, formerly part of the Parmigiani Fleurier, was split off into a separate entity, and now manufactures high quality movements for a host of high end watch firms, whilst still keeping closely involved with Parmigiani. The base movements for the RM005 and RM010 are a highly modified form of the Vaucher 4000 automatic calibre. The same calibre finds its way into a number of high end watches. However, the greatest modifications are for the Richard Mille watches.
In total, Vaucher manufactures about 5000 movements a year in a variety of forms (base automatic, perpetual calendar, tourbillon) for a long list of clients. Consequently, the number of movements that are produced for Richard Mille in any one year is on the low side (a high three-figure number). I was lucky enough to visit Vaucher at a time when both the RM010 and the RM005 movements were under construction. So what started out as a look at the RM010 construction turned into a comparison of the movements, a detailed look at both movements and how they differ, and how they are manufactured.