The RM 008 incorporates all the characteristics of the RM 004 split-seconds chronograph, to which we added a tourbillon carriage comprising 85 parts and weighing just a third of a gram (0.34 g). Assembly and adjustment of this component alone requires several months to complete.
The RM 008-V1 combines a tourbillon and a split-second mechanism. These two complex specifications combined together and lodged in the heart of a mechanical caliber, is a major technical feat. Built on a grade 5 titanium baseplate, It’s been five years in development and taken up thousands of hours of study to arrive at this point.
Richard Mille RM 008 The Richard Mille RM 008 Tourbillon Split Seconds Chronograph is one of the representatives of the Richard Mille RM 008 Replica Watches series. The Richard Mille RM 008 Tourbillon Split Seconds Chronograph Replica watches are one of Richard Mille’s most sophisticated timepieces, and it is the brand’s culmination of design concepts, materials and performance.
Giving existing materials a new impulse by applying them in a new manner, as well as the implementation of new materials to watchmaking, is completely second nature to Richard Mille Watches’ philosophy. In fact, from the brand’s first inception, the tone was set to search for challenges and never look back- only ahead to the next bend in the track.
Just like the shockwave that went though the swiss watch industry when the first haute horlogerie watches appeared in steel cases rather than gold- a half century ago- Richard Mille shocked everyone by creating tourbillons with titanium cases and movements.
However, if that were all, it would never be enough for Richard Mille. This first step was quickly followed by the use of carbon nanofiber for movement baseplates, marking the premier use of this material in watchmaking. Carbon nanofiber is a composite composed of carbon fibers many times thinner than a human hair, which takes on an isotropic structure possessing mechanical, physical and chemical stability when molded under high pressure (750 bars) and temperature (2,000˚ C). The reason why this material is so suited for use in watchmaking is that it is amorphous, chemically neutral and dimensionally stable within a wide range of temperatures. This might sound deceptively basic, but in actual fact, the different temperature coefficients of all the parts within a watch movement can create disturbances in the going train, therefore possibly affecting chronometric results. If the foundation of the movement is absolutely stable, as carbon nanofiber is, it provides the ideal basis for any kind of complicated horological creation, whether tourbillon or split seconds chronograph.
The combination of titianium and carbon nanofiber have set a high challenge for watchmaking today, and have been proven more useful, more interesting and more beautiful than others might have dared imagine.
New for 2009, as a celebration of those new impulses started with experiments in 21st century watchmaking as well as the desire to create a new alternative, Richard Mille has created the ALL GRAY series: the RM 002-V2 ALL GRAY, the RM 003-V2 ALL GRAY, the RM 004-V2 ALL GRAY, and the RM 008-V2 ALL GRAY. Each watch in this series has a carbon nanofiber baseplate with a special gray PVD coating combined with a case of microblasted titanium.
RICHARD MILLE – LE MANS CLASSIC 2012
The next edition of Le Mans Classic will be held from 6th to 8th July 2012. Richard Mille will naturally be there in its capacity as Principal Partner and Official Timekeeper of the competition, which has become one of the world’s most renowned events for vintage cars. To mark the event, the brand is unveiling two limited editions: the RM 008 LMC and the RM 011 LMC. These two technically advanced, high-performance sports watches are a tribute to this outstanding race, which offers a retrospective of the famous Le Mans 24 Hours. Both timepieces have been designed using the same approach developed for the construction of racing cars, where chassis, engine and bodywork are imagined as a coherent whole with the single objective of optimum efficiency.
RM 008 LMC Tourbillon Chronograph Watch
For this 6th edition of Le Mans Classic, Richard Mille has chosen to create a tourbillon split-seconds chronograph, the RM 008 LMC. This watch celebrates the race in the purest Le Mans Classic style: the minutes and seconds of the chronograph – indicated by the tourbillon – as well as the torque and function displays echo the blue and yellow colours of the rumble strips on the 24-hour circuit. Another reminder of this historic race is the Le Mans Classic logo positioned on the dial, at 12 o’clock. The case in grade 5 titanium is microblasted and features a DLC-treated caseband. The double striped “Le Mans” type bezel is also microblasted. The RM 008 LMC, released as a limited edition of two timepieces, embodies the synergy between watchmaking and motor racing.
Richard Mille has been the Principal Partner of Le Mans Classic since its first edition in 2002. This international event on the 13 kilometer long, Le Mans circuit brings over 80 years of motor-racing history back to life, as the cars and drivers who wrote the legend of the world’s most famous race come together on the track. The event immediately became a must for all motor-racing enthusiasts: 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010 … each new edition has set new attendance records! Since the very first edition, Richard Mille’s involvement in Le Mans Classic race has reflected its passion for motor racing…from Formula 1, where the quest for the ultimate performance inspires the design of our watches, to vintage racing cars, with their beautifully engineered machinery and hand-crafted bodywork. Richard Mille watches exhibit the same uncompromising aspects that are unnecessary in a racing car. All blend extreme technical prowess and performance; assembled and finished by hand, they are the very quintessence in the finest watchmaking tradition.