Richard Mille, RM 056, Tourbillon Chronograph Sapphire is available from TA Jewelers.

Watch specifications

Reference: RM 056

Model: Tourbillon Chronograph Sapphire

Calibre RM056 Manual winding tourbillon movement with hours, minutes, seconds, split-seconds chronograph, 30-minute totaliser, power reserve, torque and function indicators. Limited edition of 5 pieces The highly skeletonised RM 056 movement reproduces all the characteristics of the RM 050 calibre, a manual winding tourbillon movement with hours, minutes, chronograph split seconds, power reserve, torque and function indicators. A unique evolution of this tourbillon split seconds Chrono Competition RM 056 Felipe Massa is that its entire case -front bezel, caseband and back bezel- is cut and milled from solid blocks of sapphire, a feat of engineering and a strong visual statement.

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. Sapphire is known as a particularly scratch-resistant material and one of the hardest materials on Earth, with a Mohs rating of 9. 0.

Made of aluminium oxide (Al 2 O 3 ) crystals, it is transparent thanks to its molecular composition. The machining of such components was the biggest challenge faced by Richard Mille, a challenge made all the more difficult as the sapphire machining process is exceptionally delicate. Although extremely tough, sapphire does not allow for even the slightest error during milling and cutting.

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. The cutting tools must be specially designed and tipped with diamond. For excellent optical properties, bezel case parts have been treated with an anti-glare coating.

The tripartite case is water resistant to 50 metres, ensured by two Nitrile O-ring seals. The case is assembled with 20 Spline screws in grade 5 titanium and abrasion resistant washers in 316L stainless steel. Top view Right view Back view Left view.

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