If you really think about it, classics become classics for a reason. It must have had something that managed to captivate its audience throughout the years, cementing its place in history. Maybe at the time of its launch it was truly revolutionary or, perhaps, over the years, it slowly garnered its merry band of followers until reaching cult status. Whatever it may be, classics are a point of comfort we can return to and, most probably, will be the benchmark on which all subsequent generations are compared to. So, when Richard Mille decided that it was time to re-invent its RM 011 watch, it set out to give the new RM 11-03 all the advantages that newer technology brings without diluting the elements that made the watch a classic in the first place.
“Every icon needs to evolve if it is to retain its status as a singular object. The RM 011 is being reinvented; however, it continues to embody the essential nature of the brand,†explains Richard Mille. And, in many ways, the perfect analogy to explain what the brand is doing to the RM 011 is to look at Porsche’s 911 (of course, we’d use a car analogy; it is Richard Mille, after all). When the first 911 came out, it blew everyone away with its stunning design and brilliant performance on the race track. The rear-mounted engine was naturally aspirated and air-cooled. Fast forward to 2017 and the latest Porsche 911 Carrera still has a rear engine but it is turbo-charged and liquid cooled instead. The design of the car has changed: it has new brakes, suspensions and gearbox, and even fancy safety systems built in. But is it any less a 911? Is it still a classic? The answer is a resounding yes!
The evolution from RM 011 to RM 11-03 (with a 10-year gap in between) is exactly that. The core DNA of the watch is still very much alive even though the structural features and movement may have changed. As Richard Mille himself puts it: “Each and every aesthetic modification, be it the smallest recalibration of a line or profile, is always motivated by a tangible improvement in functionality, and this is certainly true of the new RM 11-03 Automatic Flyback Chronograph.â€
RICHARD MILLE RM 11-03
Clearly, Richard Mille has been busy in the past 10 years as with the RM 11-03, it has managed to give the classic watch (which was already a technical marvel) more complexity and depth. “This watch represents the first major change to one of the brand’s most legendary and popular timepieces since its introduction a decade ago,†explains Mille.
Immediately, the sporty redesign of the tonneau-shaped case jumps out at you; the ‘stepped’ columns situated around the caseband and bezels are reminiscent of the RM 27-01, where it was first used. The biggest visual change to the watch is not just for aesthetic purposes as the extra material surrounding the screws of the bezels and caseband also increases the stiffness of the entire case unit, providing increased durability. The crown is also re-styled with grooves and minuscule, highly detailed racing cues machined along its entire circumference, along with two additional ALCRYN® rings in yellow.
Pushing the boundaries, this new case takes 255 tooling operations and more than 15 hours of glazing and polishing to reach the final phase. This is also made possible with a five-axis machine that needed 26 hours to establish its settings and 30 hours of kit programming. On the back, Felipe Massa is no longer engraved on the caseback, replaced, instead, by a huge ‘Richard Mille’ that took 45 minutes to engrave.
And it doesn’t stop there: the RMAC3 calibre movement has been skeletonised, so now it looks even more like an engine (with the top block off), and the baseplate and bridges have been upgraded to Grade Five titanium. The basic principle of the variable inertia rotor remains but it has been completely redesigned to be more efficient.
The functions like the flyback chronograph, annual calendar with oversized date and 60-minute countdown timer have been retained but the result of this update is clear: one of Richard Mille’s favourite ‘bad boys’ has now been toughened up to take on the years to come.
