Long billed as racing machines in wristwatch form, Richard Mill is setting its sights on the pitch with the utterly distinctive, sport-inspired Richard Mille RM 41-01 Soccer Tourbillon, designed to track the course of a game in a compact, luxe package.
As the luxe and highly covetable horologist preferred by the likes of Sly Stallone and Drake notes, the “ RM 41-01 Tourbillon Soccer tackles a unique challenge, fully tracking a match through the prism of Haute Horlogerie.” Complete with a mechanical goal counter and a match phase indicator within its proprietary RM41-01 titanium caliber movement, the watch (available in two striking case colorways) manages to feature a tourbillon escapement as well as a 70-hour power reserve.
The envy-inducing watch brand, also notably worn by the likes of Formula 1 star driver Charles Leclerc, worked with Audemars Piguet le Locle on developing the one-of-a-kind movement, with the flyback chronograph design advancing from tracking the first half of a match to the second half of a match with each reset. Ahead of this year’s FIFA World Cup, the Richard Mille RM 41-01 Soccer Tourbillon might prove as functional as it is visually appealing (and expensive, of course).
The Richard Mille RM 41-01 Soccer Tourbillon boasts a movement crafted from grade 5 titanium, with “movement architecture (that) pushes the limits of technical feasibility,” the watchmaker noted. Indeed, its 650 movement components marked five years of development for the haute horologist. Pushers at 2 and 4-o’clock track home and away team goals seamlessly, while the skeletonized dial also features markers for the halves themselves and extra time.
The company’s signature tonneau-shaped case is built from a proprietary, ultra-lightweight composite, while the watchmaker honed in on making the movement as light as possible. The timepiece, a feat of horological innovation that expands on Richard Mille’s previous soccer-inspired timepieces (like the RM 11-01) also showcases Richard Mille’s “ability to merge sport-specific functionality with advanced mechanical watchmaking,” the company said.
Of the investment-level timepiece duo, Commercial Director Alexandre Mille lauded the brand’s ever-innovative approach to watchmaking craft. “We think in concepts rather than linear evolutions,” he said. “What we learn on one reference can become the starting point for the next challenge.” Such innovation certainly doesn’t come cheap: The Richard Mille RM 41-01 Soccer Tourbillon retails for an ultra-rare $1.94 million.
