STYLE Edit: Richard Mille unveils dazzling new diamond-set versions of the RM 72-01 Lifestyle In-House Chronograph, shining a light on one of the watchmaker’s most unique timepieces

Jul 15 , 2022

Richard Mille just gave its already impressive RM 72-01 Lifestyle In-House Chronograph a sparkling makeover with diamonds. Photos: Richard Mille

A dedicated horological trailblazer, Richard Mille is no stranger to pushing the boundaries of watchmaking. From repeatedly setting records for wristwatch lightness – most recently with 2013’s RM 27-01 Rafael Nadal Tourbillon that weighs in at a barely believable 18.83 grams – to inventing beautiful new materials such as quartz TPT, the history of the revered Swiss luxury watch brand has been one of firsts since the outset.

With the RM 72-01 Lifestyle In-House Chronograph, Richard Mille ticks off yet another fine watchmaking achievement: it features the first flyback chronograph entirely designed, developed and manufactured by the brand, a process that took more than 30 months of full time work from a dedicated team at its manufacturing facilities in the village of Les Breuleux, Switzerland.

Driving change with Amanda Mille, daughter of Richard Mille

The new diamond versions of the RM 72-01 Lifestyle In-House Chronograph come with full baguette set diamonds, medium baguette set diamonds (shown here) or snow set diamonds.

The dial of the RM 72-01 Lifestyle In-House Chronograph is dominated by its most immediately eye catching feature, the three sub-dials arranged in a triangular pattern that indicate the hours, minutes and seconds. Each of those three timescales is indicated by a splash of colour: green for hours, orange for minutes and blue for seconds. Sitting alongside them around the edge of the dial are the numerals 3, 8 and 11 – the only numbers plucked out for the gorgeously simple design.

The new white gold with snow set diamond iteration of the RM 72-01 Lifestyle In-House Chronograph.

Those sub-dials come equipped with the flyback chronograph function that gives the watch its name. They’re controlled by an ingenious mechanism that isolates the seconds wheel from transfers between minutes and hours. The oscillating mechanism, involving a pair of pinions instead of the usual single one, has been entirely developed in-house by Richard Mille, and patented by the company. It means that the 50 hour power reserve is hardly affected by use of the chronograph function, while also allowing the movement to be as slimline as 6.05mm.

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A glance at the openwork caseback of the RM 72-01 Lifestyle In-House Chronograph shows Richard Mille’s exquisite craftsmanship in all its glory.

The RM 72-01 Lifestyle In-House Chronograph was originally launched in 2020 with four case options: 5N red gold, titanium, and black or white ceramic. For 2022, it now also comes in three new diamond set versions, all in white gold: one with full baguette set diamonds, one with medium baguette set diamonds, and a third with snow set diamonds.

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Style Edit

The RM 72-01 Lifestyle In-House Chronograph is the first flyback chronograph created entirely by the brand in Switzerland – and is the product of 30 months’ work
The transfers from minutes to hours have been isolated from the seconds wheel in the RM 72-01, which incorporates a patented double oscillating pinion mechanism