The piece is called Richard Mille RM 72-01 Le Mans Classicalthough its classicism is far from the high-end aesthetics and technological avant-garde found in this limited edition of 150 copies. Le Mans Classic is a special event, which in this edition will celebrate a great concentration of vintage cars in the legendary circuit from June 29 to July 2. Some 800 cars on the track and more than 8,500 cars which will be exhibited in the general hall. A promising record celebration for an event that was born in 2002 and has Richard Mille as its exclusive watchmaking firm. This is how Richard Mille celebrates 100 years of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in his style, at Le Mans Classic.
Watches and cars
Since 2008, Richard Mille has developed specific pieces for each edition, each with the colors of the event. And now this new Richard Mille RM 72-01 Le Mans Classic is dressed in green and white. Its TPT® quartz case dyes with this color combination more than 600 layers of parallel filaments obtained by separating strands of silica, which are saturated with white or green resin. He quartz TPT® eIt is a material widely used in the firm’s production due to its high performance, due to its resistance to high temperatures, its strength and the fact that it is not affected by electromagnetic waves.
Richard Mille RM 72-01
The watch chosen for this very special edition is the RM 72-01. a powerful flyback chronograph with patented movement, with oscillating pinions, which the firm launched in 2020 for the first time. The peculiarity of his CRMC1 gauge resides in the unlink the transmission between the different chronograph counters. The display, the union of minutes and hours, is dissociated from the chronograph seconds wheel. In this way, the three counters of the chronograph are fed with direct energy from the barrel thanks to a clutch of two oscillating pinions installed on scales, which control the start, stop, flyback and zero functions —are activated by means of a 6-pillar wheel.
Patented precision
And how can it be visualized in a more practical sense? Thanks to the 4 o’clock pusher, the chronograph hand is reset to zero without having to stop the movement. When the chronograph function is activated, the hours (24-hour counter) and minutes (60-minute counter) can be viewed on the two counters at 5 and 2 o’clock respectively, while the central seconds hand continues its course. . By separating the chronograph functions from the traditional time measurement functions, operating the chronograph in no way impairs the operation of the base movement. Richard Mille developed this device to avoid wasting time to the pilots when they stopped, reset and restarted the chronograph when passing through a waypoint. A more efficient mechanism that also takes up less space. The movement is fixed to the chassis of the case with four screws, the dial is made of titanium and the crown is made of titanium and black ceramic. A platinum rotor powers the fast-rotating barrel with a 50-hour power reserve for this extraordinary technological machine.
- Motion: CRMC1 calibre, running 50 hours
- Function: Flyback chronograph, small seconds and date
- Box: TPT® quartz case 38.40 x 47.34 x 11.68 mm; 30 meters
- Cover: titanium sphere
- Versions:
- Limited edition: 150 pieces
