Gem-set watches often sit at the crossroads of haute horlogerie and high jewellery, yet few brands have managed to dissolve the boundary between the two as convincingly as Richard Mille. The brand’s latest creation, the RM HJ-02 In-House Automatic Tourbillon, does precisely that, demonstrating that gemstones can do more than embellish a watch—they can become part of its very architecture.
Created to mark 20 years of gem-setting at Richard Mille, the RM HJ-02 is less a commemorative edition than a statement of intent. Limited to just 12 unique pieces worldwide, the collection pushes beyond conventional jewellery watchmaking into territory where colour, mechanics and structural design are conceived simultaneously rather than sequentially.
Richard Mille’s RM HJ-02 In-House Automatic Tourbillon celebrates two decades of the brand’s gem-setting expertise.
That ambition is perhaps best illustrated by the numbers. Each watch requires nearly 700 hours of gem-setting and finishing—the equivalent of 88 full working days—while the case alone demanded more than a year of development. Altogether, the project represents more than three years of research and development before a single watch is completed.
More remarkable still is that the work is undertaken by Richard Mille’s in-house gem-setting department, a team of only four artisans. Rather than relying on external specialists, the brand has invested in developing its own highly specialised expertise, allowing jewellery techniques to evolve alongside its watchmaking.
AN EXERCISE IN CONTROLLED COMPLEXITY
The timepiece combines a new in-house tourbillon movement with an architectural approach to high jewellery.
The RM HJ-02 belongs to what Richard Mille describes as its second chapter in high jewellery, but the watch feels markedly different from traditional gem-set timepieces. Rather than pursuing symmetry or predictable pavé surfaces, the design embraces asymmetry, shifting planes and unexpected transitions.
Drawing inspiration from Art Deco geometry while filtering it through Richard Mille’s unmistakably contemporary aesthetic, the familiar tonneau case is reimagined with angular interruptions, layered surfaces and sculptural volumes. The result is a case that appears almost faceted, allowing light to travel across its surface in constantly changing ways.
Michelle Yeoh’s enduring relationship with Richard Mille has always been grounded in authenticity rather than spectacle—a sensibility that resonates naturally with the RM HJ-02.
Each watch carries 1,399 precious and ornamental stones. Rubies, sapphires, emeralds, diamonds and vivid Paraíba tourmalines sit alongside materials more commonly associated with jewellery than watchmaking, including malachite, chrysoprase, turquoise and mother-of-pearl.
Rather than creating uniform colour fields, the stones vary in tone, size and opacity, producing subtle gradients and visual depth. The collection is divided into four chromatic families—pink, violet, blue and green—each presenting its own interpretation of colour through carefully orchestrated combinations of stones.
Snow setting, grain setting and bezel setting are deployed not simply for technical necessity but as compositional tools, directing the eye across the case, movement and clasp. Crucially, the gemstones never overwhelm the watch itself. Instead, they reinforce its architecture, emphasising contours, highlighting transitions and creating rhythm across the entire object.
THE MECHANICAL HEART STILL MATTERS
Each timepiece is adorned with 1,399 precious and ornamental stones, arranged using snow, grain and bezelsetting techniques to create depth and visual rhythm.
For all its visual exuberance, the RM HJ-02 remains unmistakably a Richard Mille mechanical watch. At its centre sits the newly developed in-house automatic tourbillon calibre CRMT2, designed in parallel with the case rather than adapted afterwards. This integrated approach allows the movement to participate fully in the overall aesthetic rather than existing as a separate mechanical entity hidden beneath decoration.
The skeletonised movement features a white gold baseplate and bridges finished with microblasting, bevel polishing and rhodium plating before undergoing the painstaking gem-setting process. Even the automatic rotor is transformed into a gem-set component without compromising its functional role.
Despite the extensive gem-setting, the movement never disappears beneath ornamentation. Richard Mille has carefully maintained visual access to the calibre’s defining technical elements, including its fast-rotating barrel and variable-inertia tourbillon. The mechanics remain visible, legible and central to the experience of the watch.
Michelle Yeoh anchors the dreamlike world of the RM HJ-02 with her unmistakable presence.
This balance between engineering and artistry has become something of a Richard Mille hallmark. Decorative elements are not applied after the fact but are considered alongside movement construction from the earliest stages of development. In the RM HJ-02, that philosophy reaches perhaps its most complete expression.
Ultimately, the RM HJ-02 is not simply a watch covered in gemstones. It is an exploration of how contemporary watchmaking can borrow the language of high jewellery without sacrificing technical integrity. Every stone contributes to the watch’s visual architecture, every mechanical component remains purposeful, and every surface reflects years of experimentation by a remarkably small team working at the highest level of craftsmanship.
Conceived as an immersive interplay of colour, light and form, the timepiece marks two decades of women’s watchmaking through a dazzling expression of design.
In an industry where gem-set watches often fall neatly into either jewellery or horology, Richard Mille continues to argue that the two disciplines are most compelling when neither dominates. With only 12 unique examples ever to be produced, the RM HJ-02 represents not only a celebration of two decades of gem-setting, but also a glimpse of where Richard Mille believes contemporary high jewellery watchmaking is headed: one where mechanical ingenuity and artistic expression become inseparable.
