·       Grey Cermet, Richard Mille’s new exclusive material

·       The lightness of titanium meets the hardness of diamond

·       Limited edition of 140 pieces

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True to the Richard Mille spirit, grey Cermet is the fruit of painstaking research conducted by the brand, which is unrelenting in its commitment to the creation of new materials. This exclusive Richard Mille material in watchmaking combines the lightness of titanium and the hardness of diamond.

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The construction of the automatic movement gives pride of place to titanium. Its functions notably include a GMT display that can be simply adjusted thanks to a push piece at 9 o’clock, a 24-hour flyback chronograph, and an annual calendar. The added grey Cermet is adapted to the pure aerodynamic lines of the iconic case, which measures 50 x 42.70 mm with a total thickness of 16.15 mm.

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The Cermet owes its unique grey colour to the combination of a metallic zirconium matrix with high- performance ceramic inserts. Its implementation required a degree of rigour commensurate with that needed to create the materials themselves. Heating and pressing together very different kinds of materials at a high temperature without altering their respective qualities was a challenge.

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It proved even more difficult to obtain a homogeneous whole, as nickel and cobalt, which are normally used in this family of hard materials, were excluded in order to adhere to REACH standards, which ensure safety in the production and use of chemicals in the European industry.

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It took many years of development for Richard Mille and the IMI Group, specialising in microtechnology, to remove these undesirable binders and only retain suitable materials. The innovative procedure used for this solution pairs classic hot stamping with a series of powerful electrical current pulses to increase the sintering kinetics, a technique known as “flash sintering”. Its density of 4.1 g/cm3 – less than that of titanium – and its hardness of 2,360 Vickers – almost the same as diamond’s 2,400 Vickers – make Cermet a judicious choice for use in bezels that are very exposed to scratches, while maintaining overall lightness. Cermet’s physical properties are widely recognised, hence its frequent use in ballistic protection, external aerospace fuselage components, and in the brakes of competition vehicles.

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The combination of a Carbon TPT caseband, a grade 5 titanium caseback and a grey Cermet bezel helps to significantly reduce the weight of the RM 11-05.

Limited to 140 pieces, the Richard Mille RM 11-05 Automatic Flyback Chronograph GMT will be available from July 2020.

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Richard Mille RM 11-05 Automatic Flyback Chronograph GMT

Technical specifications:

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Calibre RMAC3: skeletonised automatic winding movement with hours, minutes, seconds at 3 o’clock, oversize date, month, flyback chronograph with minutes and countdown counters at 9 o’clock, hour counter at 6 o’clock, GMT function and variable-geometry rotor.

Case dimensions: 50.00 x 42.70 x 16.15 mm.

Main Features:

·      Power Reserve: Circa 50 hours (±10%). Actual power reserve results will depend on the period of time the chronograph is utilised.

·      Baseplate and Bridges: Made In Grade 5 Titanium

·      Flyback Chronograph

·      Countdown: Located at 9 o’clock, the hand is replaced by a skeletonised 60 minutes-marked disc. The user can read minutes elapsed but also remaining minutes.

·      GMT Function: The RM 11-05 features a GMT hand filled with Super-LumiNova. It can be easily adjusted using the pusher at 9 o’clock.

·      Oversize Date Display: Semi-instantaneous, placed in a red outlined horizontal aperture under 12 o’clock with automatic adjustment for months of 30 or 31 days.

·      Month Display: Semi-instantaneous indicated by Arabic numerals, placed between 4 and 5 o’clock.

·      Free-sprung balance with variable inertia

·      Rotor with variable geometry

·      Double barrel system

·      Spline screws in grade 5 titanium for the movement and case

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Other Features:

·       Movement dimensions: 30.25 x 38.45 mm

·       Thickness: 9.00 mm

·       Jewels: 68

·       Barrel arbor: AP 20 steel

·       Balance: Glucydur, 4 arms, moment of inertia 4.8 mg•cm2, angle of lift 53o

·       Frequency: 28,800 vph (4 Hz)

·       Balance spring: elinvar by Nivarox

·       Index assembly: Triovis n° 2

·       Shock protection: INCABLOC 908.22.211.100 (transparent)

·       Escapement wheel jewels: Rubifix (transparent)

·       Three-position winding stem: Manual winding, date adjustment, hand setting

Case:

Front bezel in grey Cermet, caseband in Carbon TPT and caseback in grade 5 titanium.

An all-new material exclusive in watchmaking to Richard Mille, grey Cermet combines the lightness of titanium with the hardness of a ceramic. It consists of a metallic zirconium matrix associated with high performance ceramic that gives the material its singular grey colour. The production process is no less extreme than the material itself. Heating and forming such different materials together at high temperatures without adulterating their respective qualities and achieving a homogenous material is no mean feat, and one rendered all the more difficult as the composition eschews the nickel and cobalt generally used in this family of hard materials. The material is fully REACH compliant. After years of development in specialised laboratories, Richard Mille and the Groupe IMI have succeeded in eliminating these unwanted binders, conserving only the desirable materials thanks to an innovative process that combines conventional hot-stamping associated with a series of bursts of high-voltage electrical current that make it possible to augment the kinetics of the sintering. The technique is known as flash sintering.

Cermet’s physical properties are widely recognised, hence its frequent use in ballistic protections and in aerospace for re-entry shuttle components, exterior fuselage pieces and in the brakes on competition vehicles. Cermet has a mass to volume ratio of 4.1 g/cm3 and a hardness of 2,360 Vickers, comparable to other performance high-ceramic making it eminently suitable for use in bezels, an area highly vulnerable to scratches, while ensuring that entire assembly is light in weight.

This bezel is affixed to a caseband made of Carbon TPT, which also contributes to lowering total weight. This high-tech material is made up of 600 layers of parallel filaments obtained by separating out carbon fibres. The layers, no more than 30 microns thick, are impregnated with a black matrix. They are then assembled on a dedicated machine, which stacks the layers, varying the orientation of the fibres by 45° between each one. The composite is then heated to 120°C at a pressure of 6 bars in a kiln similar to that used for the production of aeronautics parts, after which it is ready to be machined at Richard Mille. The caseback is in grade 5 titanium. The combination of these materials helps to significantly reduce the weight of the watch.

The complete case construction is water-resistant to 50 metres thanks to two Nitrile O-ring seals and is assembled using 20 spline screws in grade 5 titanium and 316L stainless steel washers.

Flanges: In carbon fiber filled with an approved luminescent material.

Crown: In grade 5 titanium, microblasted with double seal O ring and collar in Alcryn.

Dial: In sapphire (thickness: 0.40 mm) with anti-glare treatment (2 sides), protected by 8 silicon braces inserted in the upper and lower flanges grooves.

Crystal:

·       Bezel side: in sapphire (1800 Vickers) with anti-glare treatment (2 sides). Thickness: 1.50 mm

·       Case back: in sapphire with anti-glare treatment (2 sides). Thickness: at the center 1.20 mm and outer edges 2.04 mm

Finishing:

Movement:

·       Baseplate and bridges in titanium, wet sandblasted, PVD treated

·       Anglage and polishing by hand

·       Locking sections hand polished

·       Burnished pivots

·       Diamond-polished sinks

·       Pinions with undercuts

·       Sandblasted and rhodium-plated, bevelled wheels

Steel Parts:

·       Sapphire-blasted surfaces

·       Anglage and polishing by hand

·       Screw slot and screws bevelled and polished with rounded and polished tip

Wheels:

·       Concave chamfering with a diamond tool

·       Circular-decorated faces

·       Rhodium plating (before cutting the teeth)

·       Minimal corrections applied to the wheels in order to preserve geometry and performance

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The price for the Richard Mille RM 11-05 Automatic Flyback Chronograph GMT is $215,000 USD and is limited edition to 140 pieces.

For more information please visit Richard Mille Online.