The RM 27-05 Flying Tourbillon Rafael Nadal is engineered for greatness

The RM 27-05 is renowned for its exceptional shock resistance of 14,000 g-forces and lightweight construction of 11.5 grams. — Photos: Richard Mille

Tennis legend Rafael Nadal still remembers the day Richard Mille contacted him to discuss a potential collaboration, back in 2008.

It involved wearing a Richard Mille watch during his tennis matches, and as someone who had never worn anything on his wrists, Nadal had his doubts.

“Between managing nerves and requiring total concentration during a game, any small distraction can be critical. I didn’t want to pursue it any further,” said Nadal in a press book by the brand.

Later, he recalled telling a friend about it, to which he replied, ‘If you’re going to explore this opportunity with anyone, it should be with Richard Mille’.

Nadal’s main condition for wearing a watch during competition was lightness as he didn’t want to feel it on his wrist.

“I listened to his advice and contacted Richard. My main condition for wearing a watch during competition was its lightness, I didn’t want to feel it on my wrist. Everything changed in 2010 when the first prototype was ready,” said Nadal.

“Richard came to visit me in Mallorca and, as a joke, he presented me with a very heavy platinum watch. Seeing my worried reaction, he quickly revealed the real prototype: the RM 027, a surprisingly light watch with a spectacular design. I was immediately won over.”

And as the saying goes, the rest is history. To date, Richard Mille enjoys a long-standing partnership with Nadal, as it does with other elite athletes across various disciplines.

These sports icons, known for their own relentless pursuit of excellence, are living testaments to the resilience and functionality of Richard Mille’s creations under the most demanding conditions on the pitch, track, course or court.

From Rafael Nadal on the court to Bubba Watson on the green, the brand’s timepieces are testaments to peak performance, both in sport and high watchmaking.

The making of an icon

A perennial favourite in the Richard Mille sports range, the Rafael Nadal collection stands out for its enduring appeal.

Forging a familial bond over 14 years, the tennis champion and the brand have co-created two iconic watch collections: the RM 027 and the “Baby Nadal,” a more affectionate moniker for the RM 035.

Limited to only 80 pieces worldwide, the all-new RM 27-05 Flying Tourbillon Rafael Nadal is a true collector’s item.

On the demanding clay courts of Roland Garros, Nadal’s choice of timepiece speaks volumes.

The all-new RM 27-05 Flying Tourbillon Rafael Nadal is as much a work of art as it is an instrument of precision timekeeping.

The RM 27-05, renowned for its exceptional shock resistance of 14,000 g-forces and lightweight construction of 11.5 grams, seamlessly endured the vigorous rallies and powerful strokes, proving itself a worthy companion for the king of clay.

A watch that is the epitome of Richard Mille’s relentless pursuit of lightweight construction in watchmaking, over 4,000 hours of work went into the designing of the calibre and case of the watch.

The RM 27-05 embodies a fascinating interplay between cutting-edge materials and meticulous craftsmanship. Research and development plays a central role in the development of the watch, with the brand constantly pushing boundaries by exploring new materials and engineering solutions, all while ensuring the performance of their intricate movements. This dedication to “hypertechnology,” as the brand terms it, is a defining characteristic of Richard Mille’s approach to watchmaking.

The starting point for the watch’s development was weight, said the brand’s technical director for Casings, Julien Boillat.

“We were lucky enough to benefit from the innovations of the RM UP-01 Ultraflat Ferrari for the calibre,” said Boillat. “There are no screws holding the movement and case together. The entire mechanism sits inside the monobloc caseback, topped by the flange and followed by the bezel and crystal. These put pressure on the calibre to hold it firmly in place.”

This newest addition to the collection showcases the ground-breaking Carbon TPT B.4 that is denser, stiffer and stronger than all previous Carbon TPT, elevating both technical performance and aesthetic appeal for unrivalled performance both on and off the field.

Developed over the course of five years with the brand’s Swiss partner North Thin Ply Technology (NTPT), the material is an optimised anisotropic material that makes it possible to machine the case to ever thinner cross-sections.

This newest addition to the collection showcases the ground-breaking Carbon TPT B.4.

Compared with earlier Carbon TPT, the new composite is 4% denser, the fibre 15% stiffer and the resin 30% stronger.

For optimum strength, Carbon TPT B.4 is woven in stacks using a specific 70° orientation between layers.

Choosing this material guarantees the watch’s powerful architecture the best ratios, weight, performance and rigidity, which is what makes it possible to follow the weave of the Carbon TPT B.4, creating an X-shaped ridge on the caseback that the movement rests on.

“Carbon TPT B.4 offers the best weight-performance-rigidity ratio, bar none. It allows us to obtain ever thinner sections. Every milligram or millimetre has been pared away from the skeletonised movement and case walls.”

Richard Mille is constantly pushing the boundaries of high watchmaking with innovative materials and complex engineering.

The strap’s design also contributed to saving weight.

Where elastic bracelets have a rubber coating where they meet the case, for this watch they opted for fabric, eliminating half a gram from the whole watch.

“Instead of a sapphire crystal, which is also too heavy, we found a lighter alternative in PMMA, a polymer with an anti-scratch treatment that ensures a level of transparency far superior to that of sapphire,” said Boillat.

Innovative engineering

At the forefront of horological advancement, Richard Mille prioritises research and development, constantly pushing the boundaries of high watchmaking with innovative materials and complex engineering.

The movement, based on the ultra-thin RMUP-01 calibre, has a power reserve of 55 hours and incorporates a flying tourbillon that oscillates at a frequency of 3 Hz. Its PVD-treated titanium baseplate is optimally skeletonised and hand-finished, even the hidden parts.

The 5N gold PVD-treated flying tourbillon benefits from the energy transmitted by the flying barrel to perform its gyrations in one minute.

The bridges are also made of grade 5 titanium and Carbon TPT to make them even lighter. The calibre measures 3.75 mm thick and weighs just 3.79 grams. Tremendous thought has gone into the smallest details to achieve this objective.

“Thanks to a base fitted with ball bearings, the tourbillon retains its performance while making it possible to do away with a bridge. Making the barrel fly likewise fit with our need for lightness. Its extreme thinness, 0.72 mm thick, helped us to develop an extra-flat calibre with volume. The barrel was thus pressed into service of this singular aesthetic, a masterpiece of traditional craftsmanship,” said technical director for movements, Salvador Arbona.

Comprehensive simulations of the whole, including the case, resulted the calibre being positioned 5/100ths of a mm from the caseback on 6 support points, which contribute to the watch’s stiffness.

This X pattern is visually reflected throughout the case, while guaranteeing the bezel, flange and monobloc caseback retain their properties regardless of circumstances.

Finite element calculations, multiple simulations and analyses, tomography and numerous impact tests were used to confirm the relevance of each technical option over the course of the prototypes, endowing the RM 27-05 with extraordinary endurance at accelerations in excess of 14,000 g.

An enduring friendship

Throughout the journey of achieving seemingly impossible feats – both on the court and in the Richard Mille manufacture – what truly binds the brand and Nadal is the human side of things.

“After all the time we’ve spent together, we’re looking forward to continuing our exchanges for many years to come,” said commercial director Alexandre Mille.

The tennis champion and the brand have co-created two collections: the RM 027 and the “Baby Nadal,” a more affectionate moniker for the RM 035.

“The RM 27-05 is a testament to both this long friendship and our shared enjoyment. And, looking to the future, the techniques used to develop the RM 27-05 will undoubtedly benefit all our future creations.”

A sentiment shared by Nadal, the tennis champion hopes the bond will continue for many more years to come.

“Richard Mille has been designing my watch collection for 14 years, and since then, I have never ceased to be amazed by the team’s capacity for innovation and integration of exceptional components,” said Nadal.

“The latest model, the RM 27-05, is spectacular. Richard Mille’s ability to innovate and achieve goals in such a short period of time is honestly admirable. My relationship with the brand and with Richard personally, has undoubtedly been a pillar of my sporting career. We’ve had an exceptional journey together as they’ve supported me in all aspects of my life, and I hope that this bond continues for many more years to come.”