RM 032
CALIBRE RMAC2
Automatic winding movement with hours, minutes, oversize date, month, flyback chronograph with minutes and seconds counter, hour counter, running indicator and variable-geometry rotor.
We love constraints. Performance, safety, efficiency, beauty, ergonomics: they all come together in this model, designed for the great depths of the oceans. At 300 metres under water, there is no room for error. Clumsiness and inaccuracy can have serious consequences.
The RM 032 offers hours, minutes, seconds, a 12-hour totaliser and flyback-chronograph functions, combined with an annual calendar sporting an oversized date at 12 o’clock and a month indicator. The power reserve is circa 50 hours, 45h with chronograph running. The digits for the date indicator are composed of two discs, with the digits cut out like positive stencils, offering great visual clarity combined with style.
The skeletonized automatic movement of the RM 032 utilizes Richard Mille’s patented system of automatic rotor with variable geometry, a major innovation that allows the level of automatic winding to be adjusted to the user’s lifestyle via the setting of two 18k white gold rotor ribs. The caliber RMAC2, with 62 jewels and beating at 4Hz, has a free sprung balance with variable inertia. It also possesses a running indicator, located at 3 o’clock. o’clock. Thanks to both its geometry and 2-rpm rotational frequency, it is possible to check the correct functioning of the running movement under stressful conditions. The running indicator disc is composed of successive Superluminova and black sectors; as a result it can be easily read during day or night.
Assembled by three layers connected with 22 screws, the bezel and system attaching it to the watchcase makes it totally stable as well as impossible to inadvertently dislocate or loosen. The bezel rotates unidirectionally, this avoids all mistakes when calculating diving time.
In the world of horology, the case of the RM 032 is currently considered as one of the most difficult one to manufacture. After a 1h30-hour turning phase, this tripartite case has to undergo 830 operations planned during an 9-hour milling phase. At the end of a 11-hour machining phase, each RM 032 case has to pass a 1-hour quality control.
The pushers, their respective components and crown require a 10-day machining phase. During this period numerous water-resistant tests and quality controls are carried out as well as the hand brushing and polishing of the case. All of these steps are paramount to obtain the specific ergonomic levels associated with Richard Mille watches.
During deep sea dives, the water pressure on the pushers and crown is powerful enough to unintentionally operate one of the pushers, eg. the “start” pusher of the chronograph. In order to avoid any external pressure effect or accidental manipulation, Richard Mille has developed a patented locking crown that locks the pushers simply by rotating its ring (green index if unlocked, red index if locked).
The RM 032, with its chronograph and date functions enclosed in a highly water resistant and tough case/bezel design, is a multi-talented horological realization. Thanks to Richard Mille’s innovative design and manufacturing, the RM 032 combines the practical features of timekeeping on land along with the exotic and harsh environmental conditions experienced by deep sea divers.