Richard Mille RM 27-04 Tourbillon Rafael Nadal
The brand celebrated the 10th anniversary of cooperation with athletes by issuing limited editions.
For Rafael Nadal, “unstoppable” is the word that best expresses Richard Mille and his team spirit. Realization is impossible. For the past ten years, this has been the creed of the brand, which has designed unique items worn by Spaniards on tennis courts around the world. Their latest product, RM 27-04, is no exception.
The RM 27-04 balances a lightweight design (including the strap) to 30 grams, which has great resistance. The tourbillon movement suspended in the case can resist accelerations of more than 12,000 grams, a record set by Richard Mille. The movement is completely supported by a microspray screen with a surface of only 855 square millimeters, including a single cable of braided steel with a diameter of 0.27 mm, and is fixed in place by two tensioners of 5N gold treated with PVD. This structure is unprecedented in the watchmaking industry.
Inspired by the same principles as tennis racket strings, the watchmaker anchored the steel cable to the tensioner at 5 o’clock and then started making the grid, tying each main string together before adding the cross strings. Braided above and below the main string, the cable is passed through a grade 5 titanium hollow baffle, passed 38 times, and then sorted in a tensioner at 10 o’clock. The movement is placed obliquely and connected to the mesh through five grade 5 polished titanium hooks, which extend from the back of the base plate and have a 5N gold PVD coating.
However, the singularity of RM 27-04 is not its mesh. The case with sandblasted and polished surfaces is also innovative in the use of the exclusive material TitaCarb®. This high-performance polyamide has been reinforced with a carbon fiber content of 38.5%. This addition of carbon gives TitaCarb® an extraordinary tensile strength-370 MPa (3,700 kg/cm2)-making it one of the most durable polymers in the world.
This new watch fits perfectly with the previous watch series created for Spanish champions. It is unique because it also marks the tenth anniversary of the partnership between Rafael Nadal and Richard Mille. Initially a purely professional rapport, the cooperation between the twelve French Open champion and the founder of the brand named after him has since turned into a strong friendship. According to Mallorca, this is a “very special” relationship. This friendship stems from their mutual trust and admiration for each other’s cause, and this friendship continues to grow. RM 27-04 is the new ally of “Rafa”, with his initials engraved on the case. This limited-edition watch of 50 pieces will accompany Rafael Nadal to seek a new trophy.
Each of Richard Mille’s watches is based on the following three principles: the best technology and innovation, very comfortable watches with strong artistic and architectural features, and the best handmade high-end watches. The origin of the brand is Richard Mille’s desire to use cutting-edge industries such as Formula One and aerospace in the field of watchmaking materials and technology. The purpose is to produce products without compromise or ingenuity. The ultimate watch.
Just like today’s racing cars, function determines form without aesthetic skills. For Richard Mille, every screw, pinion, lever and spring must be responsible for the required safety and precision.
Richard Mille (Richard Mille) watches is an intuitive embodiment of every detail and decision in its creation and production process (even the screws used to fix the case are also the result of months of research and development work and investment. The process requires twenty different production steps). The brand’s watches extensively use high-tech materials such as grade 5 titanium, CarbonTPT®, QuartzTPT® and titanium carbide. Experimental research on innovative materials (sometimes revolutionary materials) for specific technical applications in the watchmaking industry has led to timepieces such as the RM 27-01 Rafael Nadal Tourbillon, which is the world’s lightest tourbillon watch. Weighing 18.83 g, the RM 27-03 Rafael Nadal tourbillon can resist shock. Up to 10,000 grams and the high-performance RM 031-mechanical watch, its running speed only varies from 0 to 20 seconds per month.
