You would think that both Rafael Nadal and Richard Mille have nothing more to prove. Rafael Nadal has won 92 ATP singles titles, including 22 Grand Slam men’s singles titles and 36 Tour Masters 1000 titles, while Richard Mille has made 10 mechanical timepieces that can not only withstand the Spanish player’s 200kph serves, but are light enough not to interfere with his game.
And yet, neither of them seem quite ready to stop. Rafael Nadal recently postponed a Roland Garros farewell party (he could well be back next year) and Richard Mille has just launched its 11th collaborative timepiece with the tennis player. From the very first RM 027 in 2010 to last year’s RM 25-03 with its butterfly rotor system, the watchmaker wanted to create just one more piece that would push the limits of lightness, durability, and performance for its ambassador.
Drawing upon the technology developed for the ultra-thin Calibre RMUP-01, the introduction of a brand-new Carbon TPT B.4 composite, and a love for constantly rethinking the watchmaking process, the technical teams behind the RM27-05 Flying Tourbillon Rafael Nadal were able to make it both lighter and stronger than ever before.
Weighing in at under 15g with the strap, 11.5g without it, and 3.79g for the movement, this is the world’s lightest flying tourbillon. It took over 4,000 hours of research and development to create and was an exercise in teamwork that united experts from across Richard Mille’s watchmaking pole, Audemars Piguet Le Locle, and North Thin Ply Technology, among others.
The quest for lightness is achieved in numerous ways, starting with the skeletonization of the PVD-treated grade 5 titanium baseplate and bridges. Add to this a new Carbon TPT B.4 composite gear train whose properties allow it to be machined into even thinner cross-sections, and the scales continue to go down. Compared with earlier Carbon TPT, this new composite is 4% denser, the fibre is 15% stiffer, and the resin is 30% stronger, allowing for increased lightness without a decrease in durability.
Other details that contribute to the reduction in weight include an extra flat barrel (with a 55-hour power reserve) and the elimination of the tourbillon bridge (the flying tourbillon mechanism weighs a mere 0.27g).
Attention has not only been given to the performance and lightness of the movement, but also the aesthetics with hand finishing throughout, even on the hidden sides of the components.
The ingenuity of the RM27-05 lies in the way the movement is assembled into the case. The calibre sits inside the caseback thanks to grooves machined directly into the material, eliminating the need for any screws. The bezel and the flange then firmly fix the mechanism against the caseback. The movement then contributes to the rigidity of the case and vice versa. The timepiece is topped with a Polymer glass and is fitted with an elastic strap with a fabric reinforcement.
But it isn’t only the lightness that makes this limited edition of 80 pieces so special, its construction is such that the timepiece can resist 14,000G (as a comparison, an average tennis serve exerts 51G on a tennis ball), making it the ultimate sports watch. The testing for the timepiece is also next level with 3D simulations on deformation and tomographic imaging (like an x-ray) carried out after multiple shock phases to ensure consistent performance however many sets Nadal plays!
Although the RM27-05 Flying Tourbillon Rafael Nadal marks the end of a chapter for the RM27 series, the story between the watchmaker and the tennis player is far from over, so let’s wait to see what happens next.
