Đồng hồ Richard Mille RM 74-01 In-House Automatic Tourbillon

A material exclusive in watchmaking to Richard Mille, grey Cermet combines the lightness of titanium with the hardness of a ceramic. It consists of a metallic zirconium matrix associated with high-performance ceramic that gives the material its singular grey colour.

The production process is no less extreme than the material itself. Heating and forming such different materials together at high temperatures without adulterating their respective quali¬ties and achieving a homogenous material is no mean feat, and one rendered all the more difficult as the composition eschews the nickel and cobalt generally used in this family of hard materials for a material that is fully REACH compliant.

 

 

After years of development in specialised laboratories, Richard Mille and the Groupe IMI have succeeded in eliminating these unwanted binders, conserving only the desirable materials thanks to an innovative process that combines conventional hot-stamping associated with a series of bursts of high-voltage electrical current that augment the kinetics of the sintering. The technique is known as flash sintering.

Materials of a similar composition are employed in ballistic protections and in aerospace for shuttle re-entry components, exterior fuselage pieces and in the brakes on competition vehicles. Cermet has a mass to volume ratio of 4.1 g/cm³ and a hardness of 2,360 Vickers, comparable to other high-performance ceramics, making it eminently suitable for use in bezels, an area highly vulnerable to scratches, while ensuring that entire assembly is light in weight. These bezels are affixed to a caseband made of grade 5 titanium, which also contributes to lowering total mass.

The tripartite case is water resistant to 50 metres, ensured by 2 Nitrile O-ring seals. The case is assembled with 20 grade 5 titanium spline screws and abrasion-resistant washers in 316 L stainless steel.