WristWatch Magazine #19 | Page 59

Richard Mille If you could ask any of the great watchmakers of the 1800s to use the best current technology and materials to make an amazing modern mechanical pocket watch, you might end up with something like the Richard Mille RM020. Combining the old school metiers of anglage, lapping and burnishing with modern shapes and materials, the RM020 juxtaposes two eras in watch making. Ten days of torque are supplied by a traditional pair of mainsprings that are housed in capsules carved and finished in a rocket-ready space-age finish. These mainsprings power a gear train mounted on a carbon nanofiber mainplate, yet are controlled by a traditional tourbillion escapement with an inertial screw balance. Engineered buttresses replace bridges, and sapphire crystals work as both protector and display platforms. The gear train is mounted on a carbon nanofiber main plate, while a traditional screw-balance tourbillion whirls within. 2016 | Wristwatch 59