Richard Mille RM 055: Avant-Garde Watch Engineering and Designing at its Finest

 

In the world of primo watch engineering, design, and functionality, the Richard Mille RM 055 has become a quintessential benchmark in terms of sublime technical innovation, exclusive materials, and visual brilliance. The watch is made to effortlessly transcend the boundaries of modern watchmaking, introducing a harmonious symphony of accuracy and durability that can captivate the minds of watch collectors, connoisseurs, and the average observer.

Developed with an intricate focus on detail, the RM 055 comes with a brilliant case architecture that beautifully mixes revolutionary design methodologies with equally impressive and robust functionalities. With the tonneau-shaped case, a hallmark of classic Richard Mille watches, the timepiece forms an elegant silhouette as well as exudes the company's unwavering commitment to state-of-the-art materials.

For instance, the watch is manufactured with some seriously expensive materials such as NTPT carbon, which is something that's mainly used to make racing yacht sails. The materials add superior durability and robustness to the watch while making sure it remains as lightweight and comfortable as possible. The watch also has a skeletonized dial, which lays bare the meticulous craftsmanship of the watch, especially the tiny gears, springs, and the entire mechanism, inviting the wearer to gaze upon the intricate system with a look of awe and sheer fascination on their face.

Looking at the History of the Brand in a Nut Shell

Richard Mille manufactures highly elegant, expensive, yet much sought-after Swiss watches. The headquarters of the company is located in Breuleux, Switzerland. The company was founded by Mille in 2001 alongside Dominique Guenat in collaboration with the world-famous Audemars Piguet, another world-class manufacturer of luxury watches.

Mille and Guenat realized the idea to open their own watch company because they shared the same love and passion for motorsports such as F1 racing, sailing competitions, and aviation. Together with their individual experiences, skills, and mesmerizing vision of the future, they wanted to combine the materials, engineering, and visual aesthetics from all these sports and interests to create avant-garde watches never seen before. Thus came into existence the elegant and highly praised Richard Mille RM 001, which took two years to manufacture.

The watch was released to the world in 2001, appearing in the Baselworld watch event. People stood and gazed with fascination and awe as they could see the watch's tourbillon movement along with the torque indicator. The RM 001 received superb reviews and was a big success, propelling Richard Mille to become one of the most popular and desirable watch brands in the world.

Some Extraordinary Features of the Richard Mille RM 055

For the legendary RM 055 "Bubba Watson" collaboration, Mille went for extraordinary materials, manufacturing the watch with grade 5 titanium, creating a durable baseplate and bridges of the watch. It boasts a skeletonized movement, featuring none other than the iconic RMUL2 movement, which gives the watch a 55-hour power reserve. In addition, the watch can absorb mind-boggling accelerations of over 500 Gs, making it durable and functional enough to be donned on the golf course without risking any wear and tear damage.

Furthermore, the RMUL2 movement in the watch weighs surprisingly little (4.3g) and it comprises a dual-barrel mechanism for enhanced torque stability and sublime performance. The gems imbued on the watch's escapement wheel can be seen by the naked eye and the wheel balance features a variable inertia system, which is what makes the watch tell time accurately for years to come.

The RM 055 also has a grade 5 titanium crown and is coated with protective rubber shields. It also has a 30-meter water resistance level and is adorned with two sapphire crystals on either side.

Reasons Why Richard Mille Watches Command Exorbitant Prices

The Target Audience

It's very important to understand that Richard Mille caters to a very niche market. The company specifically manufactures state-of-the-art timepieces for people who have the money to spend on sophisticated and super-elegant watches. While this isn't a very big market, Richard Mille has successfully made a big impression on it.

The brand's focused marketing campaigns and strategies revolve around producing a feeling of uniqueness, stature, opulence, and exclusivity throughout all its watch collections. It's also vital to keep in mind that the company doesn't manufacture hundreds of thousands of watches every year. It produces 5,000 watches annually . In addition, every RM timepiece is meticulously handcrafted and bears individual numbers. This is what makes them super exclusive and attracts the attention of collectors and connoisseurs alike. Because of their uniqueness, scarcity, and phenomenal attention to detail, Richard Mille watches deservingly command higher prices, typically meant for the wealthy and affluent. So, how much is Richard Mille 055? The answer is that they cost as much as the very few watch retailers who have them are asking.

Unmatched Use of Materials

Another reason why Richard Mille watches are so expensive is because the company utilizes truly cutting-edge materials. Each watch they make comprises components and parts made of materials that are used in the aviation and F1 racing industry. After years of core research into these materials and millions of dollars in investments, Mille was able to concoct a harmonious blend of exquisite materials such as carbon nanotubes, NTPT carbon, ceramic, silicon nitrate, perfluoroelastomer, and a slew of other materials, making timepieces that you won't find anywhere in the watch industry.

Richard Mille watches are designed to be extremely lightweight. When you wear these watches, you’ll forget that you are wearing them due to their extremely lightweight. While the materials are lightweight they also provide excellent durability and are manufactured to maintain a solid structure, which is delicate to the touch but infinitely more robust.

Exquisite Movements

Richard Mille watches are revered and cherished for their cutting-edge approach to horology engineering and visual brilliance. The company focuses on implementing the use of highly polished and quality materials to create exceptional movements. For example, RM watches comprise materials such as vanadium, titanium, and aluminum. These are all materials that aren't typically used by luxurious watchmakers. These components make the movements infinitely stronger and longer-lasting. Furthermore, Richard Mille also employs the use of state-of-the-art coatings made with materials such as Titalyt and PVD, safeguarding each watch's baseplate against wear and tear, and impact-related damage.

Celebrities Who Wear the Richard Mille RM 055

Bubba Watson

Bubba Watson is a renowned professional golfer who has won two major golf championships. He is known for his superb skill with clubs and his powerful drives. In 2012, Watson won his first Masters Tournament and won another one two years after that. In 2015, he was ranked as the second-best golfer in the world and is among a handful of lefty golfers on the PGA Tour. In addition, he is also among the very few players who have managed to win two Master championships.

Furthermore, Bubba has also been a beloved Richard Mille ambassador for the last 12 years and has been requesting the legendary watch designer to manufacture a watch in the golfer's favorite color, bright pink, matching Watson's pink golf clubs that he is often seen using during charity golf tournaments. Before becoming an RM ambassador, Watson founded his own clothing business known as Bubba Gold thirteen years ago. The former player is known for his funny personality and has appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres Show. Watson is also a proud owner of the Richard Mille RM 055.

Yoshihiro Akiyama

A talented and highly skilled mixed martial artist, Yoshihiro Akiyama, who also goes by his Korean name "Choo Sung-Hoon", is a 4th generation MMA fighter, and actor, and has also appeared on television shows in both South Korea and Japan. Akiyama's most distinctive honor in his career as a judo professional is winning the 2021 Gold Medal in the Asian Judo Championships where he was representing South Korea. In addition, the professional fighter also won a gold medal a year later in the Asian Games. This time, he represented Japan and participated under his Japanese name Yoshihiro Akiyama.

The icon's awards, accolades, and popularity in both South Korea and Japan helped get him promotional deals in the West, and he eventually joined the UFC where he went on to win several Fight of the Night awards owing to his supreme martial arts skills and unique style. In 2009, the iconic judo and MMA fighter also launched his own judo gym known as the Akiyama Dojo in Tokyo. The fighter is known for his good looks, charismatic personality, his love for living a fashionable lifestyle, and massive watch collection including the Richard Mille RM 055.

Jay Tatum

Jay Tatum is a professional basketball player and a 4-time NBA All-Star. He was also selected as a two-time All-NBA player. In 2022, the talented player also received the accolade of being the NBA Eastern Conference Finals MVP (Most Valuable Player) and has guided his team, the Boston Celtics, to reach the NBA finals. In 2020, during the U.S. Olympics held in Tokyo, Tatum was awarded a gold medal for his performance and also holds the record for scoring 55 points in an All-Star game.

In 2016, he was also drafted for the McDonald's All-American Game and was awarded the Skills Award, leading his team to victory. The Boston Celtics player is known for his cheery personality and his skill with the ball and likes living the high life. In addition, he also has a decent watch collection of expensive timepieces including a Richard Mille RM055 Bubba Watson in a titanium case and ceramic bezel.

Yo Gotti

American hip-hop sensation, Yo Gotti is revered for his rap abilities and was signed by the production company Cash Money Records. In the 90s, during his slow rise to fame, the rapper was known by the name Lil Yo. In 2000, the singer launched his first album From Da Dope Game 2 Da Rap Game, and throughout the early to late 2000s, Yo Gotti went on to release several albums, including The Pyrex King: Street Runnaz Special Edition.

After climbing the ladder of success and fame for more than a decade since he started, the rapper founded his own record label company in 2012, known as the Collective Music Group. He then went on to sign new talents and artists such as Moneybagg, GloRilla, and many other popular artists. Yo Gotti is considered to be one of the most talented Southern-style rap artists and is known for his lyrical finesse. Gotti also likes to be a high-roller and lives a luxurious lifestyle. He has been seen donning the epic Bubba Watson Richard Mille RM 055 timepiece at the White Party hosted by Michael Rubin.

Lil Baby

Born and bred in Atlanta, the super-talented rap artist and hip-hop sensation, Lil Baby has a high lifestyle and charismatic personality. He is known for his confidence and incredible popularity throughout the globe thanks to producing top-ranking songs and albums.

Following the launch of the artist's mixtapes during his early rise to fame, Lil Baby managed to skyrocket to fame in 2018 with the release of his first official album, Harder Than Ever which also featured Drake in the hit song Yes Indeed from the same album. That song along with Drip Harder (in which he collaborated with Gunna), went on to land on the top 10 spots in the Billboard 200 charts. In addition, Lil Baby has won several awards and accolades, including 1 Grammy Award, 1 MTV Video Music Award, and 2 BET Awards.

Known for his extravagant fashion sense and high-roller lifestyle, Lil Baby also has a pretty amazing collection of watches and has been seen wearing the Richard Mille RM 055 on more than one occasion.

Bottom Line

Richard Mille watches are the epitome of class, affluence, and futuristic style. They are masterpieces that command respect and admiration due to the highly intricate and painstaking processes involved. If you're interested in purchasing an RM 055 for your collection or any other Richard Mille watch, be sure to visit luxury watch specialist Avi & Co. in one of their NYC, Miami, or Aspen locations.