The lightest mechanical watch ever created is a Richard Mille and was originally designed for the Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal. Coded as RM 27–01, it was then followed by two other timepieces belonging to the same collection, namely the Richard Mille RM 27–02 and the Richard Mille RM 27–03 and, in 2017, by the lightest chronograph tourbillon, the Richard Mille RM 50–03 McLaren F1 Tourbillon Split Seconds Chronograph Ultralight, the first outcome of the technical partnership signed between the brand and McLaren Automotive. The pursuit of extreme performance has always been a source of inspiration to the volcanic entrepreneur, who achieved, with the RM 27–01, a record-breaking weight: the Richard Mille RM 27–01 is a complicated timepiece that weighs just 19 grams (18.83g to be more precise), strap included. Its caliber, a hand-wound tourbillon, is made of titanium and Lithal®, a lithium alloy containing aluminum, copper, magnesium and zirconium in which lithium is used to increase the caliber's resistance to shocks, a key project requirement given that Rafa Nadal uses to wear the watch when training and competing.
Lithal® is an alloy that Airbus also used on their Airbus A380 and that most probably inspired the design of the RM 50–02 ACJ. The movement is suspended inside the case and is hold by 4 braided steel cables, each with a diameter of just 0.35 mm, an architecture that Richard Mille's engineers used once again when they designed the Richard Mille RM 53–01 Tourbillon Pablo McDonough and that helps protect the movement from accidental shocks. The Richard Mille RM 27–01 has been then followed by the RM 27–02 and the RM 27–03, where the brand debuted the Quarz TPT (Thin Ply Technology) and the Carbon TPT made case and main plate, a Richard Mille's exclusive in watchmaking. The Richard Mille RM 27–03 dramatically improved the RM 27–01's resistance to shocks, by raising its original value of 5000g's up to 10,000g's.
(Photo credit: courtesy of Ella Ling, Stefano Galuzzi)
Gaetano C @Horbiter®
