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Lot Essay
Offered in excellent condition, this example of the very rare platinum RM015 ‘Perini Navi Cup’ represents the perfect opportunity to acquire an outstanding piece of Richard Mille design and engineering made to celebrate Richard Mille’s involvement with the high performance Mediterranean sailing event, the Perini Navi Cup. The back of the present watch is engraved with the present owner’s name, and is dated 2009.
Introduced in 2007 the RM015 is a product of admiration from Richard Mille to the superyacht builder Fabio Perini and his name sake company Perini Navi. While previously known for their “racing machine on the wrist” philosophy, the RM015 and its sibling the non-second time zone equipped RM014 were conceived due to the shared ethos’ of the brands of ultra-engineered luxury products designed to survive strikingly harsh environments. For Richard Mille the RM015 is a wonderful example of this, which for Perini Navi this is beautifully exemplified by the 88 metre ‘Maltese Falcon’ constructed for its original owner the venture capitalist Tom Perkins and winner of the 2009 Perini Navi Cup.
With grand design elements to focus the narrative on the sea and attention on the tourbillon, such as crown designed to evoke a ship's winch and the machined ridges to the case inspiring thoughts of a ship's deck, it is when the movement is more closely examined that the genius of the team of Richard Mille and Renaud & Papi is evident. With the base plate of the movement produced from carbon fibre and skeletonised, the watch is relatively light without forfeiting strength. From there it is easy to identify thoughtful elements such as the ceramic end stone for the tourbillon cage to minimise wear and a time setting works which is designed in such a way to allow for removal without even requiring the hands to be taken off, let alone disturbing any other part of the calibre.
Introduced in 2007 the RM015 is a product of admiration from Richard Mille to the superyacht builder Fabio Perini and his name sake company Perini Navi. While previously known for their “racing machine on the wrist” philosophy, the RM015 and its sibling the non-second time zone equipped RM014 were conceived due to the shared ethos’ of the brands of ultra-engineered luxury products designed to survive strikingly harsh environments. For Richard Mille the RM015 is a wonderful example of this, which for Perini Navi this is beautifully exemplified by the 88 metre ‘Maltese Falcon’ constructed for its original owner the venture capitalist Tom Perkins and winner of the 2009 Perini Navi Cup.
With grand design elements to focus the narrative on the sea and attention on the tourbillon, such as crown designed to evoke a ship's winch and the machined ridges to the case inspiring thoughts of a ship's deck, it is when the movement is more closely examined that the genius of the team of Richard Mille and Renaud & Papi is evident. With the base plate of the movement produced from carbon fibre and skeletonised, the watch is relatively light without forfeiting strength. From there it is easy to identify thoughtful elements such as the ceramic end stone for the tourbillon cage to minimise wear and a time setting works which is designed in such a way to allow for removal without even requiring the hands to be taken off, let alone disturbing any other part of the calibre.