RICHARD MILLE
RM 27-03 TOURBILLON RAFAEL NADAL
RAFAEL NADAL WORE THIS BRIGHTLY COLORED, ultra-light
Richard Mille RM 27-03 Tourbillon Rafael Nadal when he claimed
his tenth French Open title in June. The new watch is the seventh
tourbillon timepiece made by Richard Mille in partnership with
Nadal, and once again both the watch and Nadal have been gener-
ating excitement on and off the court.
Like Nadal, the watch on his wrist has achieved a victory of
sorts among the horologically aware. Richard Mille says the
tourbillon caliber withstands shocks of up to 10,000 Gs. This new
record is the end result of years of work and much testing, notably
repeated pendulum impact tests that simulate linear acceleration
from sudden movements.
The tourbillon caliber here is built into a skeletonized one-
piece baseplate of Carbon TPT, made by separating carbon
threads to create multiple layers of parallel filaments. The watch’s
bezel and caseback are assembled directly on the baseplate,
reducing the number of components, which serves to keep the
watch light (34 grams in total, including strap).
Fans at the Open noted the watch’s brilliant red and yellow
color, which was quite visible even from distant seats at the
Roland Garros Stadium.
Meant to recall Nadal’s native Spain, the Richard Mille RM
27-03 Tourbillon Rafael Nadal’s colorful case is made of Quartz
TPT, a material created in partnership with North Thin Ply Tech-
nology. Technicians place fine layers of silica (measuring just 45
microns thick) with tinted resin. The filaments are stacked in
layers before being heated to 120 °C. and then are milled and
finished. The caliber’s rapid winding barrel helps provide a
70-hour power reserve, and, in a touch of net-side whimsy, the
Quartz TPT crown is shaped like a tennis ball.
The 47.7mm Richard Mille RM 27-03 Tourbillon Rafael Nadal
is a 50-piece limited edition and is priced at $725,000.
SUMMER 2017 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | 49