EVERMORE POWERFUL
The watchmakers from the workshop in Les Breuleux have pushed back mechanical resistance limits with this timepiece equipped to deal with the tennis player’s lightning acceleration.
During the most recent Roland Garros tennis tournament which ended once again with his victory, Rafael Nadal won all his matches with the new Richard Mille creation on his wrist which was specially designed for the champion. Following on from the sturdy RM 27-03 with its bright colors (2017), here comes the surprising RM 27-04 boasting a host of innovations. The first is to be discovered in its satin-brushed, microblasted case. Even if its shape is fully recognizable, the material used to fashion it is much less so. A one-of-a-kind polymer produced by injecting carbon fiber, the incredibly-light, ever-so resistant TitaCarb®. The watch, along with its strap weighs but 30 grams. Another unique feature of this model is the suspension of its tourbillon-equipped caliber. This is made of a single 0.27 mm-diameter cable. The way it’s attached is inspired by tennis racket stringing. It enters the flange edges 38 times and creates a string-mesh design dial-side.
Perfectly esthetic, yet its presence plays a vital role in the timepiece’s resistance. It can cope with accelerations as lightning-quick as Rafa’s right-hand shots… over 12,000 g! The hand-wound movement is linked to the mesh by five polished grade 5 titanium hooks, which originate at the back of the baseplate. Vibration dampeners, placed along the tourbillon chatons, the barrel and the hands, are used to help center the caliber during insertion and absorb any vibrations along the mesh which could disrupt timekeeping.
To play a match in ultimate comfort, each reference of the 50 assembled RM 27-04 Tourbillon Rafael Nadal pieces is complemented by a high-tech fabric strap.
Price on request richardmille.com
By Dan Diaconu