Number 4 in the top of technical wonders from Geneva is a watch that not only amazes because of the mechanism, but catches the eye due to the material. It won’t be tested by Rafael Nadal on the tennis court, but the collectors who bought it definitely prepared a special show-case.
RM 056 Felipe Massa Sapphire
During a 3D presentation that brought the Richard Mille watches as close as possible to the journalists, the company presented its most advanced watch ever, the RM 056, a tourbillon split seconds chronograph with a case made of sapphire.
This is the first time that the entire case of a watch -front bezel, caseband and back bezel- is cut and milled from solid blocks of sapphire. The material, though considered as one of the hardest materials on Earth, the machining process is exceptionally delicate and sapphire does not allow for even the slightest error during milling and cutting.
The production of this sapphire structure took years of research and testing in order to ensure an adequate response to the demands of strength and comfort. Creating a case of this quality took over 1000 hours of machining, of which 430 hours were spent on pre-forming the case components and 350 hours on polishing the whole watch case, using cutting tools tipped with diamond.
