SIHH 2017, Richard Mille: a brilliant and high-tech appetizer

Richard Mille already offers a preview of some new 2017 watches that will be presented at the upcoming SIHH in Geneva. To begin the menu: two beautiful women RM 07-01 and RM 037 editions that combine the brilliance of diamonds with the avant-garde of NTPT carbon, a high technology material previously reserved for men’s models.

NTPT carbon is a signature feature of the Richard Mille men’s collection. Indeed, it lends watches a unique and powerful appearance while simultaneously ensuring an optimal protection for the calibre. Today, this material reveals its feminine side in the RM 07-01 and RM 037, which boast gem-set NTPT carbon of unsurpassed elegance, a Richard Mille exclusive.

At the slightest wrist movement, all eyes are riveted by a striking contrast between the sparkle of clear diamonds and the matt carbon contour that adorn both of these automatic timepieces.

Setting gemstones in NTPT carbon is a new adventure for the brand. Unlike gold, which can be worked directly with tools to create the prongs that will hold the diamonds, the hardness and resistance of NTPT carbon mean special CNC machines for milling equipped with diamond tools are required to perform the mitraillage involved in a pavé setting.

Hand-polished prongs in red or white gold are produced separately and then inserted around the many 0.25mm bearings destined to firmly contain as many as 250 diamonds in the case of an RM 037 Full Set model. The perfectly flush surface of each creation bears witness to an absolute mastery of this art.

Thanks to the technicity of their in-house calibres and their cases adorned with diamonds and NTPT carbon – immutable materials – the RM 07-01 and the RM 037 are particularly balanced and refined models.

Know more about NTPT case set with diamonds :

The case in NTPT carbon gem-set has a caseband in gold 5N. Its remarkable surface displays extremely regular undulations, as NTPT carbon is composed of multiple layers of parallel filaments obtained by dividing carbon fibers. These layers, with a maximum thickness of 30 microns, are impregnated with resin then woven on a special machine that modifies the direction of the weft by 45° between layers. Heated to 120°C at a pressure of 6 bars, the NTPT is then ready to be processed on a CNC machine in Richard Mille’s Proart case factory.

Unlike gold, which can be worked directly with tools to create the prongs that will hold the diamonds, the hardness and resistance of NTPT carbon mean special CNC machines for milling equipped with diamond tools are required to perform the mitraillage involved in a pavé setting. Hand-polished prongs in red or white gold are produced separately and then inserted around the many 0.25mm bearings destined to firmly contain diamaonds (as many as 250 diamonds in the case of an RM 037 Full Set model).