Star attraction
Natalie Portman will be the latest name to join hands with Richard Mille's watches in his collaborations with celebrities and athletes.
Although founder Richard Mille is tight-lipped about Portman's project, he says it will be different from watches he has created with other celebrities. "Every watch has its own objective," he says. "Every time it's a new development, a new concept and a new philosophy." His philosophy is to be functional and interesting. This year, he is launching seven novelties, five in co-operation with high-profile names and two with revolutionary technological advancements.
Jean Todt, president of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, has the honour of being the first person with links to two watches from the brand. "Jean Todt is a very demanding guy," Mille says. "To have someone like him developing things with you, it's pure pleasure. The minimum I could do was to devote two models to my friend."
Designed to display the number of G's accumulated by wearers during rapid deceleration, the mechanical G-sensor is a new complication on the skeleton base plate of the Tourbillon G-Sensor RM 036 Jean Todt Limited Edition. It was developed and patented by Renaud Papi exclusively. It visualises G-forces by translating the movement of a small internal mechanism to an indicator. It can withstand decelerations of several tens of G's. The RM 58-01 Jean Todt World Timer is a limited edition of 35 pieces. Time is set by rotating the bezel anticlockwise and positioning the name of the city the traveller has arrived at to 12 o'clock. Local time and the time of 23 world cities, representing the 24 time zones, are then set automatically. A black and white disc distinguishes between day and night.
The new Tourbillon RM 27-01 Rafael Nadal Watch, available in a limited edition of 50 pieces, ensures Nadal's comfort during tennis matches and stresses on its lightness and strength. Its calibre can withstand accelerations of more than 5,000G. The case is made of carbon, giving it high resistance against shocks and scratches.
The watch weighs only 19 grams, strap included.
The RM 59-01 Yohan Blake is equipped with a skeleton tourbillon movement and is available in a limited edition of 50 pieces. Apart from celebrity co-ops, Richard Mille is also launching two timepieces that require specific technique and watchmaking know-how: Tourbillon RM039 Aviation E6-B Flyback Chronograph watch and Tourbillon RM56-01 Sapphire Crystal.
