Richard Mille

In an industry where the fundamentals of mechanical timekeeping remain unchanged in over two centuries, Richard Mille has been pushing the boundaries and challenging the conventional wisdom of traditional watchmaking in nearly every facet since its founding in 1999. Known for marrying the highest complications of traditional Swiss watchmaking, with space age alloys and metals, the brand has produced some of the most sophisticated sports watches of the last two decades. Known for their use of the phrase, ‘A racing machine on the wrist’ the unique technical prowess of their watches is only matched by the ways in which they choose to test their latest innovations.

The present watch, known as the RM038 Prototype ‘Yohan Blake’ is the ne plus ultra of everything that Richard Mille stands for. Its tonneau case is fashioned from WE54 – a lightweight alloy that is 89% magnesium, 6% yttrium, with the balance made from a variety of rare earth metals. Extremely lightweight and capable of withstanding temperatures of up to 300ºC it is more typically found in aircraft and military applications – than in a mechanical wristwatch. After the case has been crafted, it is then coated via an electro-plasma oxidation treatment to improve the durability and scratch resistance of this unique alloy. That coating is what gives the case its unique white coloring. What’s inside the case is nothing less spectacular at all, as it is a full skeletonized calibre RM038. The movement is fashioned almost entirely from grade 5 titanium to ensure strength, and lightness, in keeping with the theme of its high-tech case – and like all RM038s, it features a tourbillon at the 6 position. The color scheme of this watch: Green, Yellow, and White, all echo the colors of the Jamaican flag the native home of Yohan Blake for whom this watch was singularly crafted. 

With all this emphasis on lightness, durability, and strength, it should be no surprise that this highly complicated watch, both in mechanical and physical engineering – weighs less than 44 grams. As Richard Mille likes not only to test the boundaries of materials and watchmaking – but in their testing as well in the most public of theatres including Formular 1 races (such as Felipe Massa), Grand Slam tennis matches (Rafael Nadal), the Golf Majors (Bubba Watson) and in this instance, they created a watch, a ‘Piece Unique Prototype for Yohan Blake, the sprinting superstar to wear during the 2012 London Olympics where he would represent Jamaica alongside his fellow countrymen Usain Bolt. 

During the historic London Olympics, the watch was regally seen and photographed on Blake’s wrist – the first time a tourbillon wristwatch had been worn during any Olympic games. Extraordinarily, he wore the watch whilst winning a gold medal during the 4x100 meter relay race and Silver medal in the 100 meter sprint – ultimately only losing to the fastest man in history Usain Bolt and making Blake the second fastest man alive. All the while, the watch proving that it was able to withstand the incredible shocks and forces being thrown at it, as it competed at the highest level of sport in the world.