Pre-Owned Richard Mille Richard Mille RM030 TI 40991734/AS09231

The Omega Speedmaster, Cartier Tank and Rolex Submariner –– all are easily discernible from across the room regardless of identifying the brand name or logo. It’s their distinct features and recognizable silhouettes that give the watch away instantaneously. Another brand following the same trajectory and known for its own discernible features –– Richard Mille.

In 1999, a nearly 50-year-old watchmaker with decades of experience struck out on his own. His creations would soon change the face of horology forever. Richard Mille’s timepieces have since garnered fame, stirred controversy, and been seen on the wrists of actors, athletes, musicians, and other celebrities around the world. Technologically advanced, highly sophisticated, super limited, and priced like luxury automobiles, these watches are the new face of a revolution that has followed in the brand’s wake. Indeed, the global success of the ‘high-end independents’ can, in part, be directly attributed to the embrace that RM has received over the past two decades by collectors, connoisseurs, and watch lovers around the world. 

The company’s first product, the RM001, was a revelation in contemporary watchmaking. Conceptually, this semi-prototype sought to bridge the automotive and horological worlds by incorporating lightweight materials, innovative complications, and a design that spoke as much to the influence of hypercars as it did the history of the Vallée de Joux. Since the resounding success of their inaugural piece, Richard Mille has continued to break the mold and challenge the norm of how a wrist watch should look and more importantly feel on the wrist –– we stress the latter because experiencing a RM’s paper-weight profile in the metal is a completely unique experience unto itself. 

This particular example, a Reference RM030 TI, flexes the design house’s technical know-how with the Calibre RMAR1, which of course is visible through the open-work dial style and curved sapphire crystals on each side. It features RM’s patented declutchable, variable-geometrey rotor which in our opinion, puts the brand’s innovative prowess on full display. The Calibre RMAR1 has the unique ability to automatically disengage or ‘declutch’ itself once the power reserve reaches 50 hours, preventing unecessary barrel winding, and then rengages once the power reserve dips below 40 hours. The variable-geometry rotor allows the user to customize the rotor’s ‘winglets’ based on the wearer’s activity level — if you’re an average joe like us, then you might want to spread those wings to maximaize the rotor’s inertia!

This watch features the brand's characteristic tonneau shaped 42mm x 50mm x 14mm Grade 5 titanium case with a skeletonized dial showing luminous hands and markers, a power reserved display and an on/off ‘declutch’ indicator, as well as a set of floating Arabic indices printed on the curved sapphire crystal. It comes fitted to a brand new signed black rubber strap with signed titanium pin buckle.

There are wildly-out-there Richard Mille’s, and then there are the more under-the-radar, technically-inclined examples.

This one is the latter and a true racing machine for the wrist.