Great Machines: Watches: Every Second Counts
06/01/2008
Whether screaming along the Autodromo di Monza straights at 200 mph or hustling down Boulevard du Larvotto in Monaco to catch dinner, F1 drivers live by the clock, always looking for ways to save fractions of seconds. Case in point: Ferrari F1 pilot Felipe Massa, who relies on his Richard Mille RM 011, a flyback chronograph that boasts the acute accuracy of a running stopwatch that can be reset without having to first stop the mechanism. Massa, a Brazilian racer who won three grands prix in 2007 by a total of just 11.2 seconds, knows the significance of time and the devices that keep it. Thus, the RM 011—available in titanium (pictured, $87,000), titanium and rose gold ($92,000), and titanium and white gold ($97,000)—is arguably as technologically advanced as Massa’s Ferrari F2008 racecar. For instance, the watchcase, which requires 68 stamping and 202 machining operations for the bezel, mid section, and caseback, takes nearly three weeks to complete and was the focus of an entire year of research and development. Further, the skeletonized 62-jewel automatic movement—a Caliber RM 011-S—boasts a 55-hour power reserve, adjustable rotor geometry, and components made of such materials as ceramic, Glucydur, tungsten/cobalt alloy and titanium. There’s even a titanium crown with a double-seal O-ring, which allows the 50 mm x 40 mm x 16.15 mm timepiece to withstand up to 50 meters of water, which could make it the perfect watch to wear while driving a Rinspeed sQuba [see page 64].Richard Mille, 310.271.0000, www.richardmille.com