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Lot Essay
Offered in excellent overall condition and with the International Guarantee, the present timepiece is numbered 8 of a limited edition of 50 pieces only.
When Rafael Nadal first met Richard Mille in 2008, it was to be the start of a long standing friendship and significantly the collaboration was to be the catalyst behind the development and realization of many of Richard Mille’s most extraordinary wristwatches, in particular it lead to the production of the lightest tourbillon wristwatch in the world at that time, the RM027. In 2013, this remarkable long-term collaboration with Rafael Nadal further resulted in the creation of the present model - an awesome ultra-lightweight tourbillon - the RM27-01, made in a limited edition of 50 pieces which sold out almost immediately.
It is hard to convey how phenomenally lightweight this watch is, weighing under 19 grams including the strap, the movement itself only weighing an incredible 3.5 grams. Nadal tested the RM27-01 in real world conditions and wore it during the tennis season where it was subjected to the most extreme movements and shocks expected during top level tennis matches, after which the watch remained unaffected. Furthermore, the lightness of the model allowed absolute freedom of movement for Nadal without any distraction.
Contributing to the watch’s extreme lightness, the movement baseplate and tourbillon carriage are made from grade 5 titanium and the barrel bridges and gears are made from aluminium-lithium alloy. The entire movement is suspended by four braided steel cables, measuring just .35mm thick. Each cable is anchored to a tensioner that is pulled tight by the watchmaker and adjusted when required. This cable suspension system allows the RM27-01 to be able to withstand acceleration up to 5000 G.
The manufacture of the case employed absolutely state of the art materials, it is made of grey anthracite polymer injected with carbon nanotubes specifically designed to absorb both external and internal impact. The case is of monoblock construction to eliminate unnecessary components and the strap totally integrated.
The luxury of the RM27-01 is in the connoisseur’s appreciation of the amazing technical and manufacturing know-how necessary to have made such a lightweight watch a reality. This concept also applies to the pared down yet visually striking design aesthetic whereby the movement appears to be simply suspended in the two-part case in the same way that a supercar engine is placed into the chassis, without any extraneous frills or unnecessary detailing.
A Brief History of Richard Mille’s Ultra-Lightweight Watches
In 2004, the RM006 Felipe Massa Tourbillon was introduced, which weighed just 48 grams (excluding the strap). The following year, the brand repeated this triumph with the RM009 Felipe Massa Tourbillon, which set a then world record of 28 grams (excluding the strap). In 2010, that record was broken by the 20 gram RM027 Rafael Nadal (strap included). The movement made from titanium and LITAL. In 2013, the record was broken yet again by the manually wound RM27-01 Rafael Nadal Tourbillon which pushed the concepts of lightness and resistance to the extreme. Developed with the tennis phenomenon, the watch weighs just 18.83 grams (strap included) and holds the record for the lightest tourbillon ever made due to its lithium aluminium movement and carbon nanotube case. In 2017, at the Salon international de la haute horlogerie (SIHH), Richard Mille presented the RM 50-03 McLaren F1, the world's lightest flyback chronograph weighing just 38 grams (strap included).
When Rafael Nadal first met Richard Mille in 2008, it was to be the start of a long standing friendship and significantly the collaboration was to be the catalyst behind the development and realization of many of Richard Mille’s most extraordinary wristwatches, in particular it lead to the production of the lightest tourbillon wristwatch in the world at that time, the RM027. In 2013, this remarkable long-term collaboration with Rafael Nadal further resulted in the creation of the present model - an awesome ultra-lightweight tourbillon - the RM27-01, made in a limited edition of 50 pieces which sold out almost immediately.
It is hard to convey how phenomenally lightweight this watch is, weighing under 19 grams including the strap, the movement itself only weighing an incredible 3.5 grams. Nadal tested the RM27-01 in real world conditions and wore it during the tennis season where it was subjected to the most extreme movements and shocks expected during top level tennis matches, after which the watch remained unaffected. Furthermore, the lightness of the model allowed absolute freedom of movement for Nadal without any distraction.
Contributing to the watch’s extreme lightness, the movement baseplate and tourbillon carriage are made from grade 5 titanium and the barrel bridges and gears are made from aluminium-lithium alloy. The entire movement is suspended by four braided steel cables, measuring just .35mm thick. Each cable is anchored to a tensioner that is pulled tight by the watchmaker and adjusted when required. This cable suspension system allows the RM27-01 to be able to withstand acceleration up to 5000 G.
The manufacture of the case employed absolutely state of the art materials, it is made of grey anthracite polymer injected with carbon nanotubes specifically designed to absorb both external and internal impact. The case is of monoblock construction to eliminate unnecessary components and the strap totally integrated.
The luxury of the RM27-01 is in the connoisseur’s appreciation of the amazing technical and manufacturing know-how necessary to have made such a lightweight watch a reality. This concept also applies to the pared down yet visually striking design aesthetic whereby the movement appears to be simply suspended in the two-part case in the same way that a supercar engine is placed into the chassis, without any extraneous frills or unnecessary detailing.
A Brief History of Richard Mille’s Ultra-Lightweight Watches
In 2004, the RM006 Felipe Massa Tourbillon was introduced, which weighed just 48 grams (excluding the strap). The following year, the brand repeated this triumph with the RM009 Felipe Massa Tourbillon, which set a then world record of 28 grams (excluding the strap). In 2010, that record was broken by the 20 gram RM027 Rafael Nadal (strap included). The movement made from titanium and LITAL. In 2013, the record was broken yet again by the manually wound RM27-01 Rafael Nadal Tourbillon which pushed the concepts of lightness and resistance to the extreme. Developed with the tennis phenomenon, the watch weighs just 18.83 grams (strap included) and holds the record for the lightest tourbillon ever made due to its lithium aluminium movement and carbon nanotube case. In 2017, at the Salon international de la haute horlogerie (SIHH), Richard Mille presented the RM 50-03 McLaren F1, the world's lightest flyback chronograph weighing just 38 grams (strap included).