Style Edit: Richard Mille’s 72-01 Lifestyle In-House Chronograph is an everyday watch that is nevertheless another study in innovation and precision engineering in titanium and ceramics
The brand’s first in-house flyback chronograph, it features a double-oscillating pinion mechanism that took a full 30 months to develop. Unsurprisingly, after such efforts, a patent is pending for the design.
The innovative double clutch has a double impact: keeping the Calibre CRMC1 slim at a willowy 6.05mm, despite it containing a whopping 425 components; and also meaning that the chronograph function has little impact on the watch’s power reserves.
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That’s handy, considering the 24-hour and 60-minute counters positioned at 5 o’clock and 2 o’clock respectively that let you keep track of a long drive, or the time spent on a time-sensitive project.
One of the most striking features of the dial? The three counters are colour-coded – the blue accented one for seconds, the orange for minutes and the green for hours. As a visual counterbalance, the numbers 3, 8 and 11 are highlighted, creating an interesting asymmetry.
Other features include the baseplate and bridges crafted in grade 5 titanium, a highly corrosion-resistant and rigid alloy widely used in the aerospace and automotive industries of 90 per cent titanium, 6 per cent aluminium and 4 per cent vanadium.
The date is displayed in vertical fashion in a rectangular window at 7 o’clock, while at 3 o’clock is the function indicator, which can be compared to a gearbox in a car, displaying winding (W), date adjustment (D) or hand setting (H) when the crown is pulled out.
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The RM 72-01 model is designed for everyday use and so has a 50-hour power reserve and is available in four different combinations – 5N red gold, titanium, and black or white ceramic.
- A dedicated team worked for 30 months on the design that is slimmer than if a vertical clutch was used, according to Salvador Arbona, technical director for movements at Richard Mille
- A patent application has been submitted for the double-clutch chronograph, the first flyback chronograph entirely developed and designed by Richard Mille