Overview

The split-seconds chronograph on a carbon nanofibre baseplate

The RM 004 and the RM 008 are both split-seconds wristwatches with virtually the same mechanical layout and design. The only significant technical difference between them is that the RM 008 is driven by a tourbillon escapement.

The implementation of a carbon nanofibre baseplate in the development of the RM 003 required an almost total revision of its structural design and assembly methods. In the highly complex RM 004, with its deep-set movement bridges, this represented a major and daunting challenge that required years of research and development.

The first batch of RM 004s produced were equipped with complex movements that used the same titanium baseplate design seen in the first RM 002 and RM 003 tourbillons. The design was very quickly redeveloped to incorporate carbon nanofibre. The RM 004 was already a rare item within the Richard Mille collections, and very few titanium-baseplate versions were created before the switch to the RM 004-V2 was made; those examples are now among the rarest serially produced Richard Mille timepieces.

This example is cased in 18K white gold, on a rubber strap with an 18K white gold deployant buckle, and comes as a full set with Richard Mille box and papers.

Key details

Design and engineering

• Calibre RM004-V2Manual winding movement with hours, minutes, seconds, split-seconds chronograph, 30-minute totaliser, power-reserve, torque and function indicators. The movement measures 30.20 × 28.60 mm with a thickness of 8.90 mm, on 37 jewels at 21,600 vph (3 Hz), with circa 50 hours of power reserve without the chronograph running. The calibre comprises 383 components, of which 230 are unique to it, and a number of them cannot be seen with the naked eye.
• BalanceGlucydur®, two arms, balance wheel diameter 10 mm, moment of inertia 11.50 mg·cm², lever angle 53°, with an Elinvar balance spring by Nivarox and KIF Elastor KE 160 B28 shock protection. The barrel shaft is a steel sandwich, AP 20.
• Centre bridgeTitanium.
• Chronograph operationStarted and stopped by the pusher at 8 o’clock, reset by the pusher at 10 o’clock. Richard Mille records the near-complete elimination of the initial jump in the chronograph seconds hand, achieved through gear wheels and levers manufactured in titanium to reduce inertia, and an energy-consumption reduction of up to 50% through reduced friction at the spindle.
• FinishingAnglage and polishing by hand; hand-polished locking sections; sapphire-blasted milled sections; lapped and polished contact points; burnished pivots. Steel parts sapphire-blasted with hand anglage and polishing.
• Carbon nanofibre baseplateIntroduced to the RM 004 after the first titanium-baseplate batch, following the development work carried out on the RM 003.
• Titanium handsAn unusual magnetism was identified in some watches early in production. The cause was the fast-moving chronograph hands turning above the carbon nanofibre inserted between the front and back sapphire crystals of the case, which generated a build-up of static electricity that magnetically charged the movement through the steel hands. The solution was to use titanium hands instead, and Richard Mille retrofitted it to all RM 004 watches already delivered to customers.
• Dial layoutRunning seconds register at 6 o’clock, 30-minute chronograph totaliser at 9 o’clock, power-reserve indicator between 10 and 11 o’clock, torque indicator between 1 and 2 o’clock.
• Dial and handsTransparent sapphire dial with luminous dot hour markers and white Arabic numeral hour indices, luminous white skeletonised hands, and central split-seconds chronograph hands with red and white arrow tips.
• CaseTonneau-form 18K white gold, 48.00 mm long by 39.70 mm at its widest and 14.95 mm at its thickest, with a curved sapphire crystal and a sapphire display back, water-resistant to 50 m.
• Continuous refinementThe design saw incremental technical refinements in the years following release. Minimalist improvements to small details continue to be implemented when watches return for regular servicing.

Specifications

Technical specifications

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Related references

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