Richard Mille’s new collection for ladies the RM 71-02 Automatic Tourbillon Talisman represents the quintessence of an era.
A profusion of light in prismatic colour and an eruption of coloured stones inspired by the seventies era, these iconic timepieces are bold, dynamic and breaking all the rules.
Reinterpreting the black and white shades of the RM 71-01 which was released two years ago, the new collection features ten models each presented in a limited edition of seven pieces.
The seventies was a decade marked by the rise of club culture, as well as the birth of electronic and disco music, this decade saw an urban tribe of night owls emerge, creatures that donned their most beautiful plumage at nightfall. Cécile Guenat, Creative and Development Director at Richard Mille, revisited this era, capturing the play of light, sound and colour.
“I was immediately drawn to a very specific cultural era for inspiration very early on in the process; I was in a Studio 54 state of mind—listening to disco, funk and R&B. This collection is so different from anything we’d done before, even if we had used some coloured stones in previous watches. The Bonbon collection helped us introduce this colourful and fun aesthetic to our audiences, and we decided to continue in that way.” Said Cécile Guenat.
Each RM 71-02 Automatic Tourbillon Talisman timepiece features a completely unique personality defined by choice of colour, a highly symbolic use of stones, and the differing geometries of their bezels and dial elements. Cécile Guenat gave each model a name that deliberately acknowledges empowerment, reflecting the women who will wear it.
The choice of stones in the bold timepieces are symbolic: hematite for strength, malachite for inner balance, lapis lazuli for vision, sugilite for protection and pink opal for healing. The models differ in the arrangement of their stones, their setting pattern, their engraving and the central decoration of the dial. The ten variations on the setting, snow and grain, bring together different textures, faceting, finding free expression all over the case and bezel of the watch, whereas the caseback is engraved with matt bands. More than six months in total were spent researching and confirming the placement of the stones in their final configuration.
All of the models contain the in-house self-winding movement CRMT1 tourbillon calibre with a diamond-set oscillating weight. The tourbillon mechanism is integrated into the heart of a movement only 6.2 mm thick and weighing just 8 grams.
Completing the collection is a full series of coloured metallic patent leather straps, embossed with understated botanical motifs at 12 o’clock and geometric motifs at 6 o’clock to set off their jewelled cases. In another first in a Richard Mille collection, metallic leather treatment reinforce the impact of the coloured stones, channelling the glamour of 1970s fashion.
This bold, audacious collection is available in a limited number of pieces.
