Watch brands don’t technically do seasons as far as their collections go. But there can be rhythms in place, and at Richard Mille it’s become a de facto practice that every summer, creative and development director Cécile Guenat introduces some colour and levity. In the past, that has included sweet, playful candy designs; the punchy colours of the brand’s first sports watch dedicated to women; and graphic odes to the Memphis design movement.
This year, though, the high-end Swiss watchmaker is taking an elegant, architectural approach with the new RM 75-01 Flying Tourbillon Sapphire. The watch is inspired dually by the limpid grace of flowing water and the imposing beauty of Gothic architecture. An unusual combination, but it’s precisely this aesthetic tension that makes the watch interesting and adds to its beauty.
The idea of water is evoked through the absolute use of sapphire to fashion the three-part case of the watch. The bezel, caseband and caseback are crafted from immaculately grown gem-grade sapphire that is perfectly clear and has all its mineral strengths. A model in full clear sapphire is limited to 15 pieces, while a pair with contrasting coloured casebacks in lilac pink and sapphire blue are each limited to 10 pieces.
The reason for the difference in numbers is simple: crafting coloured sapphire parts is, to put it mildly, a technically challenging feat in watchmaking. Metal oxides are introduced into growing sapphire boules, and must be tended to with delicate, intense care. The slightest irregularity in temperature, speed of mixing or purity of the environment can introduce flaws. And in a watch machined and carved from single blocks of sapphire, and which is meant to evoke the clarity of water, even a speck of impurity or irregular colour is unconscionable.
Working with a watch that is fully encased in transparent sapphire also birthed a new creative challenge for the brand. It designed, for the first time in its history, a brand-new movement, the calibre RM75-01, specifically to partner and complement a sapphire case. This is where the Gothic architecture comes into play. Observe the curves, corners and details of the movement, which is equipped with a flying tourbillon and flying barrel, and you might see a cathedral inspiration.
Perhaps the most enlightening view of this is from the side of the watch. The flange that frames the movement, crafted from 5N red gold, evokes the soaring ribbed vaults of an architectural dome, or even architectural features like flying buttresses. To make the architecture of the skeletonised-to-the-maximum movement easier to take in visually, Richard Mille added touches of colour separation with the titanium baseplate PVD treated with 5N gold, and wheels treated with rhodium for a silvered grey finish.
“We weren’t spontaneously attracted to a two-colour treatment for the metallic components,” explains Guenat of the creative yet logical approach to distinguishing the components of the movement through depth and colour. Combined with the flying tourbillon and flying barrel—which are secured without upper bridges so you can take in an unobstructed view—you get a sense of wonderment.
Vogue Singapore’s June 2025 ‘Gold’ issue is available on newsstands and online.
