Richard Mille

RM 038 Tourbillon Bubba Watson

This time, Richard Mille decided to design and manufacture an innovative Tourbillon Watch able to work in Golf's specific conditions with 3 obsessions: lightness, extreme shock resistance and comfort.

The case, (48mm x 39.70mm x 12.80mm), encloses the caliber RM038, with 19 jewels and beating at 3Hz, has its bottom plate, bridges and balance cock made of grade 5 titanium. This allows the whole assembly to be given great rigidity, as well as precise surface flatness which is essential for the perfect functioning of the gear train. The skeletonized baseplate was subjected to separate and extensive validation tests to insure optimal strength requirements.

The RM 038 tourbillon caliber has a fast rotating barrel which provides significant decrease of periodic internal mainspring adhesion; which increases performance. Moreover it provides an excellent mainspring delta curve with ideal power reserve/performance and regularity ratio. Besides a central involute profile of the winding barrel teeth and third-wheel pinion provides an optimal pressure angle of 20°. This promotes effective rotary motion and allows for compensation of possible variations in the engagement of the going train, thus insuring excellent torque transmission with a distinct improvement in performance. The RM 038 case is made of an extremely rugged and light alloy called Magnesium-Aluminium AZ91. This alloy is composed of magnesium 90% and aluminium 8.9%. Magnesium density is of 1, 74 g/cm3, which means it is one of the lightest metal used for construction. After a long and delicate machining phase, this alloy is given an electro-plasma oxidation treatment named Titalyt II®. The whitish color of the case is due to this treatment: it is a cristalline oxide ceramic with a high ratio of high resistant composites such as MgAl2O4 spinels. This improves both hardness and scratch resistance of this alloy, and also its wear resistance and corrosion resistance. This treatment applied to Magnesium-Aluminium is biocompatible. It is used in aerospace, automotive industries and medical sector.

The tripartite case is water resistant to 50 meters, ensured by two Nitril O-ring seals. The case is assembled with 12 spline screws in grade 5 titanium and abrasion resistant washers in 316L stainless steel. The RM 038 is the new Richard Mille Tourbillon designed for golfers and sportsmen who appreciate haute horlogerie, cased into high-tech materials for extrem conditions.