LIMITED EDITION OF 30 PIECES
The RM 62-01 Tourbillon Vibrating Alarm for Airbus Corporate Jets is to date the most complicated Richard Mille watch. Within a limited volume equivalent to that of an RM 11-03, they had to find space for 816 components, 2 barrels, 7 hands, 11 displays and a tourbillon cage.
A PARTNERSHIP MADE-TO-MEASURE
If ever two worlds were destined to meet at the acme of innovation, those worlds are aviation and horology, both on a quest to master space and time.
Aeronautics has always held a special place as an inspiration for Richard Mille and the company’s vision of 21th century horology reveals close parallels with the former’s extreme conditions. The ability of our watches to function in hostile conditions, to resist considerable forces and to withstand wear and tear has led us to test our innovations by subjecting them to a ‘torture chamber’ we built at our manufacture. Like aviation, which demands a safety margin of 120%-150%, we want our watches to exceed all norms in terms of their functionality.
The mission Airbus has always upheld of transporting passengers through the air with a maximum of safety and comfort has pushed the company’s technical specialists to the forefront of aeronautic design. The name alone evokes unprecedented approaches to the design of aircraft built by the prestigious subsidiary Airbus Corporate Jets (ACJ) for exclusive private clients.
Launched in 2016, the collaboration between ACJ and Richard Mille had already born fruit in the form of the RM 50-02 Tourbillon ACJ. The technical prowess exhibited by the mechanism inside this watch are a breath-taking illustration of both the superlative engineering and shared values the two companies have in common.
CALIBER RM62-01
Manual winding tourbillon movement with hours, minutes, oversize date, UTC (Universal Time Coordinated), am/pm indicator, function selector, power-reserve indicator. Vibrating alarm function with on/off activation indicator.
SKELETONISED BASEPLATE AND BRIDGES MADE OF GRADE 5 TITANIUM
The baseplate and the bridges are crafted of grade 5 titanium, a biocompatible, highly corrosion-resistant and remarkably rigid alloy, which enables the gear train to function effortlessly. The alloy is 90% grade 5 titanium, 6% aluminium and 4% vanadium. The use of grade 5 titanium combined with black PVD treatment lends the whole assembly great rigidity, as well as precise surface flatness. This combination further increases the material’s mechanical properties, which explains its frequent use in the aerospace, aeronautics and automobile industries.
The skeletonised baseplate and the bridges have been subjected to intensive and complete validation tests to optimise their resistance capacities.
VIBRATING ALARM
A new grand complication developed by Richard Mille with Audemars Piguet Renaud & Papi, this specialist alarm is the result of five years of research and development. Its principle rests the automatic trigger, at the programmed time, of a vibrating signal produced by the rotation of an oscillating weight. Machined from a single piece of white gold, this weight is precisely calibrated to oscillate at 5,400 rpm.
Thanks to its dial and two hands, the alarm may be adjusted to the nearest minute of a full 24 hours, using the function selector situated at 3 o’clock. An on/off indicator at 5 o’clock completes the mechanism.
The maximum duration of the vibration, which has a dedicated barrel, is 12 seconds. It can be recharged by pressing a 12 times on the pusher at 8 o’clock. The power reserve can be viewed on a scale situated at 7 o’clock.
MOVEMENT CHARACTERISTICS
– Movement dimensions: 31.92 x 31.99 mm
– Thickness: 7.75 mm
– Tourbillon diameter: 12.30 mm
– Balance wheel diameter: 10.00 mm
– Jewels: 77
– Balance: Glucydur®, with 2 arms and 4 setting screws
– Moment of inertia: 10 mg.cm2, angle of lift 53°
– Frequency: 21,600 vph (3 Hz)
– Balance spring: elinvar by Nivarox®
– Shock protection: KIF Elastor KE 160 B28
– Barrel shaft in nickel-free Chronifer® (DIN x 46 Cr 13 + S), with the following characteristics: stainless antimagnetic, suitable for tempering
FINISHING
Movement
– Hand-polished bevelling
– Hand-polished locking-sections
– Sunray brushing finishing on bridges
– Sapphire-microblasted milled sections
– Lapped and polished contact points
– Burnished pivots
Steel Parts
– Sapphire-blasted surfaces
– Anglage and polishing by hand
Wheels
– Concave chamfering with a diamond tool
– Circular finished faces
– Rhodium plating (before cutting the teeth)
– Minimal corrections applied to the wheels in order to preserve geometry and performance.
FAST-ROTATING BARREL (6 hours per revolution instead of 7.5 hours)
This type of barrel provides the following advantages:
The phenomenon of periodic internal mainspring adhesion is significantly diminished, thereby increasing performance.
Provision of an excellent mainspring delta curve with an ideal power reserve/performance and regularity ratio.
BARREL PAWL WITH PROGRESSIVE RECOIL
This device permits an appreciable winding gain (circa 20%), especially during the start of winding. It is also helpful in evenly distributing the mainspring’s internal tension.
SPLINE SCREWS IN GRADE 5 TITANIUM FOR THE BRIDGES
This permits better control of the torque applied to the screws during assembly. These screws are therefore unaffected by physical manipulation during assembly or disassembly and age well.
