Richard Mille’s robust watches in New Age materials have been associated with the world of sport for a long time now . Be it tennis player Rafael Nadal or Brazilian racer Felipe Massa, the brand’s high-performance watches have adorned the wrists of leading sportsmen over the past two decades. However, to announce the launch of its first in-house flyback chronograph this year, the maison instead took an artistic twist, opting for a collaboration with renowned choreographer Benjamin Millepied and music composer Thomas Roussel. Designed, developed and built over 30 months, the movement for the new RM 72-01 has been entirely made in-house at Richard Mille’s manufacture in Les Breuleux, Switzerland. Unlike the usual construction where a single wheel transmits energy from the going train to the chronograph, the CRMC1 in RM 72-01 relies on twin oscillating pinions. This is the first time any brand has used the novel concept of a double-clutch system with oscillating pinions. “This pinion, which can enmesh or withdraw from the gear teeth, has been twinned. There is now one for the minutes and another for seconds. This system is thinner than a vertical clutch, which would be hard to fit into the heart of the movement,” says Salvador Arbona, technical director for movements at Richard Mille. Watches & Wonders 2020: highlights of Geneva’s first digital-only fair Despite its 425 different components, the CRMC1 is just 6.05mm thick and is one of the slimmest chronographs from the brand. Richard Mille has submitted a patent application for this double-clutch chronograph, which is energy efficient as well. The chronograph’s minute and hour function are independent of the watch’s seconds wheel, which helps in delivering a power reserve of 50 hours – irrespective of how much the chronograph is used. As for the watch’s connection to the world of music, the unconventional layout of the dial is inspired by the three beats in the traditional musical measure of a waltz. Unlike the conventional chronograph layout where the registers are placed at three, six and nine o’clock, the RM 72-01 has them placed at three, eight and 11 o’clock. The minutes counter is orange, green represents the hours, and blue is for seconds. The watch case is a slim 11.68mm, but it retains the traditional Richard Mille form and details. The pushers and crown have been streamlined to give the timepiece an extremely sleek look. View this post on Instagram Accelerations, repetitions and breath-like motions of clocks constitute the pulse of living, dancing and sonorous artworks, the underlying rhythms of our life force. Expression of raw human energy, W I T H I N reveals this vision of time to create watches, a point where art and perfection meet. #RichardMille A post shared by Richard Mille (@richardmille) on Sep 7, 2020 at 8:00am PDT Presented by the brand as the ultimate “intersection between haute horlogerie, dance and music”, the RM 72-01 brought together choreographer Benjamin Millepied and Paris-based composer Thomas Roussel for a short film called Within . Shot against the arid mineral landscape in California’s Joshua Tree National Park, this film was groundbreaking in more ways than one, with Millepied going behind the camera for the first time in his career. Obsessed with perfect timing and harmonious movement, Roussel created the film’s score by first sampling the watch’s chronometric function, then adding different layers to the soundtrack, building a tempo around it. He gave the film a musical rhythm anchored in the raw energy and abandon of the dancers. The final score was recorded at St. Luke’s Church in conjunction with musicians of the London Symphony Orchestra. The two artists are aligned with the brand’s watchmaking philosophy in their own distinct ways. According to Richard Mille, both rely on a wealth of heritage and tradition to shape modern visions of their respective arts. What’s Rolex got up its sleeve for 2020? “They fashion singular works that powerfully combine the quintessence of their disciplines and their contemporary sensibilities,” says the brand. Available in four different combinations – 5N red gold, titanium, and black or white ceramic – the RM 72-01 is a virtuoso offering for aesthetes looking for a slimmer, cleaner and truly avant-garde chronograph from Richard Mille. Want more stories like this? Sign up here . Follow STYLE on Facebook , Instagram , YouTube and Twitter .