Richard Mille Dazzles With Its New Coloured Sapphire Cases
Richard Mille’s extraordinary new collection of sapphire tonneau cases in the RM 07-02 Automatic Sapphire collection highlights the watchmaker’s expertise in this revolutionary material.
By Renee Batchelor - published
When we look at our watches, perhaps the most important, though oft underrated, feature is the clarity of the window. Through a crystal clear sapphire—a material renowned for its radiance, transparency and its structural strength—watch enthusiasts are able to enjoy and appreciate the finest details on the dial. Most significantly, this material has excellent resistance to scratches making it ideal to cover and protect watch dials and casebacks.
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RM 07-02 in Green Sapphire
But beyond these applications, watchmaker Richard Mille has pioneered the use of sapphire for entire watch cases. As the second hardest natural material on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, sapphire has extraordinary properties. Richard Mille employs advanced machining techniques to craft intricate cases and movement components from solid blocks of sapphire—a skill that requires great technical prowess. The creation of sapphire tonneau cases in particular has proven to challenge the trifecta of technicity, innovation and horological complexity.
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Richard Mille has long had a fascination with sapphire and after unveiling the RM 056 Tourbillon Split-Seconds Chronograph Sapphire in 2013, it delved into coloured sapphire—a more complex undertaking. To achieve vibrant hues such as pink, orange and green, required the introduction of metal oxides into the sapphire’s crystalline structure. This highly delicate process has to be precisely controlled and meticulously carried out in order to achieve an even colour distribution and brilliance. Each case created by the brand requires over 1,000 hours of milling and polishing to create cases that are precise and durable, exuding a sense of luxury and refinement.
A behind the scenes look at the assembly of a coloured sapphire case
The brand’s work with coloured sapphire culminated with the launch of the RM 07-02 in 2015. Considered a masterpiece of technical wizardry and aesthetic excellence, these timepieces showcase not only the mastery of coloured sapphire, but also the ability to set diamonds on this challenging material. The result is a watch that dazzles, thanks to the combined brilliance of the diamonds and the sapphire and brings together the worlds of haute horlogerie and high fashion. It is not unusual, after all, to see the most fashionable women who enjoy haute couture and high jewellery donning these timepieces.
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RM 07-02 in Pink Sapphire and Lilac Sapphire
The RM 07-02 Automatic Sapphire collection maintains its clean design and mechanical complexity but comes in four stunning new versions. Lilac is a brand-new shade in the coloured sapphire repertoire. The collection also boasts fresh interpretations of the gem-set dial. The stones that decorate this piece catch the light and enhance the sapphire case. On the dial and bezel, you will see not just diamonds, but also blue and yellow sapphires, and ornamental stones like malachite, opal, orange spessartite and white agate, creating a scintillating harmony of colour and spectacle all just for the wrist.