The first ultra-flat Richard Mille Tonneau watch — RM 67-01

The immediate predecessor of RM 67-02 was RM 67-01, which was first launched in 2016. I met Ted Fang, the owner of this model at the Richard Mille event in Singapore, and said, “From the moment I saw 67-01, I like it. It has all the Richard Mille design specifications I like, but it’s easy to wear Very simple and easy. When I first bought it, everyone was curious and asked me why I didn’t buy RM 11. Now everyone says it feels amazing to wear on the wrist. I think Richard knows that collectors will switch to buying thinner watches. , But he got there before most of the market. That’s Richard-always leading.”

RM 67-01 is an amazing timepiece. This is Mille’s first ultra-thin tonneau-shaped watch, equipped with a new internal automatic movement, equipped with CRMA6 platinum rotor, 3.6 mm high. Long before this, Richard Mille saw the need for more elegant dimensions while retaining the power of its design. Therefore, RM 67-01 is 7.75 mm high.

In many respects, the RM 67-01 is also the predecessor of Mille’s new RM 72-01 Lifestyle Chronograph and other watches, because it is more fashionable, more wear-resistant, and perhaps most importantly, from a cultural point of view, truly neutral. This is another example of Mille’s vision in a world where people no longer identify with traditional gender roles or gender watches. After all, Daytona is both a women’s watch and a men’s watch. Mille hopes that his watch will appeal to everyone, regardless of gender, and based purely on the strength of their personality. Looking at the RM 67-01, you can already see that in terms of his barrel-shaped watch, this watch represents the first dynamic shift to this concept. But in fact, Mille already has three other ultra-thin models that herald a slimmer return.

When it was first released in 2011, RM 033 was surprising and unexpected for two reasons. First, the 45.7mm case is round; secondly, this watch is ultra-thin, to be precise, an astonishing height of 6.3 mm, thanks to the lovely 2.6 mm thick RMXP1 micro-rotor movement inside. This movement is completely hollowed out with a bottom plate and bridge made of grade 5 titanium. The watch has radial Roman numerals. Although this watch is round, it is also ergonomically curved like all Mille designs, making it fit the wrist perfectly.

When it was first released in 2011, the RM 033 was surprising and unexpected because its 45.7 mm case was round; secondly, this watch was ultra-thin, to be precise, an astonishing 6.3 mm height, thanks to its lovely interior The 2.6 mm thick RMXP1 micro-rotor movement. The bottom of the RM 033 shows the 2.6 mm thick RMXP1 micro-rotor movement inside.

In 2015, Mille launched the RM 33-01, which is an enhanced version of its predecessor. The case size is 45.7 mm in diameter and 9.2 mm in height. The lugs are sharper and more angular. The dial now has an enlarged Mille Arabic mark. It also has a date and small seconds subdial, and the original RM 033 is more like a fancy chronograph watch. Then in 2019, we saw the launch of the amazing RM 33-02 with a width of 41.7 mm and a thickness of 8.8 mm. For me, this is Mille’s recognition that some of his audience really want smaller, thinner, more durable timepieces. This watch has a full Mille effect, which means a carbon TPT top and bottom cover and a red gold middle case. Like the original RM 033, it is also a chronograph watch. It is worth noting that these three watches are effortless to wear and are truly neutral. Although 45.7 mm may sound large, remember that all Mille cases are built with the focus on extreme ergonomic comfort, so the size adaptability is much better than the figure suggests.

What I found about Richard Mille’s RM 016 dating back to 2007 is that it is fundamentally ahead of the industry. Perhaps for this reason, many collectors at the time were a little unsure of how to make it. Until then, Richard’s most iconic watches, such as RM 001, RM 004 and RM 008, all adopted his stunning barrel shape and were relatively thick watches because they all contained Mille’s radical Different forms of aesthetics and seismic experiments will define the genetic blueprint of his brand in the future. However, the RM 16’s 38 mm wide and 49.8 mm long curved rectangular case is only 8.25 mm thick, and collectors are a little confused. After all, this is not the Mille watch they were looking forward to. However, for me, this is Richard’s first attempt to fundamentally improve the wear resistance of the watch by reducing the height of the case. RM 67-02 is a combination of this concept and the ultra-lightweight, seismic and material innovation experiments of RM 027 and RM 035. But without the important milestone of RM 016, I don’t think RM 67-02 will exist today.

The Richard Mille RM 016 is a curved rectangular watch case measuring 38 mm wide and 49.8 mm long with a thickness of only 8.25 mm. The Richard Mille RM 17-01 Tourbillon is a new interpretation of the RM 017. The smooth, elegant lines achieved through the unique tonneau-shaped case highlight its very elegant and technical movement.

In order to prove that his high complexity can also be the subject of ultra-thin experiments, Richard Mille introduced us to the RM 017 tourbillon in 2010. Although the surface of the case is an ergonomic RM 016 curved rectangle, here we have a spectacular hollow tourbillon movement. The thickness is only 4.65 mm, so the size of this watch is 49.8 mm x 38 mm, but the height Is 8.7 mm. In today’s context, there are thinner tourbillons and even automatic tourbillons, but in 2010, this was again far before the renaissance of ultra-thin watches. This was a pioneering and unconventional time. count. In addition, it should be said that this is one of my favorite Richard Mille movements. Although it is very slender, it displays all of Mille’s iconic ultra-skeleton theme with incredible beauty. So much so that even if it is not ultra-thin, I must yell at Richard Mille’s RM 17-01 here, which is the same movement placed in a normal-sized carbon TPT wine barrel box, in the miniature rose A version of the Golden Highlight 10 watches. It also uses the white and black ceramic versions released last year. I don’t know why these watches will suddenly appear in 2020. Maybe someone opened a drawer at RM headquarters and found some remaining movements, but I only know that this is one of my favorite Richard Milles. Thanks to the carbon fiber TPT and the simple movement, this beauty with dimensions of 48.15 mm x 40.1 mm x 13.8 mm is as the Neapolitans say, “as light as the wind on Vesuvius.”