Three new 10-piece limited editions available exclusively at RICHARD MILLE boutiques in the Americas! When Richard Mille launched the RM 022 Tourbillon Aerodyne Dual Time in 2010, innovative materials developed for the aerospace industry found new purpose in the world of Haute Horlogerie. The RM 022 took the honeycomb-patterned orthorhombic titanium aluminide alloy originally developed for the wings of supersonic aircraft, and used it to add strength and torsional resistance to the tourbillon. The aerodynamic architecture of an aircraft’s wing—V-shaped with wing tips higher than the body of the plane—informed the shape of the RM 022’s baseplate as well as the light and airy layout of the movement, balancing on four arms.
The RM 022’s dual time zone indicator is technically complex, but also very user-friendly. At the center of the dial a transparent sapphire crystal disc inscribed with hours permanently rotates through the movement. The digits on the disc are apparent only when transposed on a clear background situated at 3 o’clock. This dual time zone is easily and quickly adjusted through the finely finished pusher situated at 9 o’clock. Each impulse adds an extra hour to the time zone.
With the introduction of three new RM 022 Tourbillon Aerodyne Dual Time limited editions, another advancement from the world of aerospace and materials engineering provides function and style. The new timepieces feature a tripartite case crafted from Quartz TPT® and Carbon TPT®.
The front and back bezels of the RM 022 are made from Quartz TPT®. This material, which possesses a remarkable damascene surface, is composed of layers of parallel filaments obtained from separating silica threads. Quartz fibers are generally used for very high-performance applications due to their resistance to high temperatures, their strength, and their transparency to electromagnetic waves. Fibers are aligned in layers no thicker than 45 microns and saturated in red, white or blue resins. These layers are then stacked using an automatic positioning system that changes the orientation of the fiber between each layer by 45°. After being heated to 120°C and subjected to a pressure of 6 bars, they are machined on a CNC machine at Richard Mille’s manufacturing facilities.
The caseband is machined from Carbon TPT®, a material produced using an identical process to Quartz TPT®, but from carbon threads. For the white limited edition, carbon fibers are also incorporated into the front and back bezels, where they are interspersed with quartz fibers to produce a black and white striped effect.
The three, 10-piece limited editions—in red, white and blue–are available exclusively at Richard Mille’s boutiques in the Americas.
Technical Specifications of the RM 022 Tourbillon Aerodyne Dual Time Zone
Manual winding tourbillon movement
Dimensions: 48 mm X 39.70 mm X 13.85 mm
Functions: hours, minutes, dual time zone, power reserve indicator, torque indicator and function selector
Power reserve: 70 hours (±10%)
Presented on a rubber strap with titanium clasp
10-piece limited editions in each of three colors of Quartz TPT® with Carbon TPT®
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