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Vivian Chen

Luxury watchmaker Richard Mille has created a tourbillon timepiece that can take the knocks of a physical game  
of polo. 
 “Polo is a dangerous sport,” Mille says. “Hard knocks are a regular occurrence. It’s a  
very elegant game but also a contact sport.” 
So the maison created a watch, the RM 53-01, that it says “could resist the many types of shocks arising in a polo match”. 
Richard Mille designs new watches for 2017 IAAF World Championships
 Richard Mille also collaborated in its design with Argentine polo star Pablo MacDonough. Their aim was to create a shock-absorbing, durable watch, and also to highlight the beauty of the house’s signature mechanical movements inside. 

As a result, the tourbillon has a special laminated glass that was created in a collaboration with Stettler, a world-renowned sapphire specialist. The maison put a thin Polyvinyl film between two sheets of sapphire glass to make them shatterproof.
Richard Mille to unveil first diamond-set ceramic watch for women
It’s the first time such technology has been used in a wristwatch, although its use is not patented exclusively to Richard Mille. 
Polo is a dangerous sport. Hard knocks are a regular occurrence. It’s a very elegant game but also a contact sport 
Richard Mille, luxury watch brand
The watch’s case is also tough, durable and extremely light – in Carbon TPT. This special material is difficult to  make as it consists of 600 layers of parallel filaments obtained by separating carbon threads in the machinery of Richard Mille’s in-house atelier. The double baseplate and bridges of the watch’s movement are also made in Grade 5 titanium. 
The beating heart of RM 53-01 is also designed to withstand shocks, the maison says, citing how the calibre suspended within the case can resist shocks  of over 5,000 g’s. 
 The highly skeletonised calibre also features two braided steel cables that hold the baseplates in place and  give the watch a modern and sporty look. The watch’s fast-rotating barrel now has an enhanced performance that backs its 70 hour-power reserve. 
Only 30 pieces of the RM 53-01 will be available, and each costs HK$7.2million. 
Richard Mille launches world’s lightest split-second chronograph at SIHH 2017
Richard Mille has also unveiled a women’s watch, the RM 07-01, which highlights the maison’s know-how of gem-setting in black TZP ceramic. The case requires painstaking polishing for an elegant matt finish. 
As ceramic is a brittle material, it is no easy feat to set the ceramic bezel with diamonds. The  stones are set on red gold prongs, each only a quarter of a millimetre  wide to create a rare combination of a diamond-set ceramic watch. 
As the modern brand continues to push the boundaries of movements, materials, and craftsmanship, Richard Mille’s innovative timepieces are in a league of their own. 
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SIHH 2018

Richard Mille created the RM53-01 watch to resist the knocks of polo, and reveal the beauty of its movements.

Pablo Mac Donough wearing RM

ablo Open argentine 2017 (2)_-¬Pascal Renauldon

Richard MIlle's RM 53-01 movement. SIHH 2018

Richard Mille RM53-01, SIHH 2018 Novelty

RM07-01 Ceramique FRONT CMYK

5 tourbillons that stole the spotlight at this year’s SIHH

Montblanc. The Star Legacy Suspended Exo Tourbillon Limited Edition 58 features a three-dimensional dial and a new patented complication. Price on request

Richard Mille. The sporty RM53-01 Tourbillon Pablo Mac Donough, a collaboration with polo champion Pablo Mac Donough, reveals a suspended tourbillon calibre through the laminated sapphire glass of its carbon case. Price on request

Cartier. Set in platinum, the Rotonde de Cartier Skeleton Mysterious Double Tourbillon Watch features skeletonised bridges in the shape of Roman numerals and blued steel sword-shaped hands. Price on request.

Girard-Perregaux. The Minute Repeater Tri-Axial Tourbillon, in titanium, is powered by a mechanical manual-winding calibre. The minute repeater and the tourbillon simultaneously gravitate around three axes. Price on request

Vacheron Constantin. Les Cabinotiers Grande Complication “Ornementale”, in an 18ct white gold case, displays 16 complications and is hand-engraved with Victorian pattern on the back. Price on request

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Tourbillon has special laminated glass created in collaboration with renowned sapphire specialist Stettler


Maison consults Argentine polo superstar Pablo MacDonough on design features


Richard Mille

Richard Mille’s RM 53-01 tourbillon is designed to cope with rigours of polo

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Tourbillon has special laminated glass created in collaboration with renowned sapphire specialist Stettler

Tourbillon has special laminated glass created in collaboration with renowned sapphire specialist Stettler