With about ten weeks to go until SIHH (19-23 January 2015) and a few months before Baselworld (19-26 March), some brands are already presenting their previews of watches that will be highlighted at these events. SIHH is restricted to just the Richemont Group brands (A. Lange & Söhne, Audemars Piguet, Baume & Mercier, Cartier, Greubel Forsey, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Montblanc, Panerai, Parmigiani Fleurier, Piaget, Ralph Lauren, Richard Mille, Roger Dubuis, Van Cleef & Arpels, Vacheron Constantin), while Baselworld is the show for just about all the others, including the vast Swatch Group universe.
Richard Mille has presented an SIHH preview, the RM 33-01, an automatic with a round case housing a skeletonized movement, featuring an unusual treatment of the date ring. What looks like an abstract pattern at the edge of the dial resolves into a number arranged vertically, highlighted by a white-edged outline on the sapphire glass at about 7 o’clock. This date ring forms most of the peripheral part of the dial: at the centre, a few wheels of the movement can be seen, driving the two characteristic dauphine hour and minute hands, with a continuous seconds subdial at 6 o’clock.
More of the RMXP3 movement can be seen through the caseback, with an off-centre platinum micro-rotor. The movement is in titanium, which is sandblasted and electroplasma-treated to provide the various dull silver tones contrasting with the dark PVD-treated bridges and date ring. The watch is large at 45 mm diameter and 9.2 mm thickness, but its upper surface is curved (like the brand’s tonneau watches) and the lugs have been designed for good wearing comfort. The case is formed of bezel, caseband and caseback, assembled using the characteristic titanium spline screws that are in prominent view. The inset caseband is in titanium, while front and back of the case are in titanium, red gold or white gold. The watch has a rubber strap.
Read more at http://www.richardmille.com/
Below, a view of the micro-rotor of the previous model, the RM 033: