Richard Mille Sweet treasures
Richard Mille Sweet treasures: The Sweets collection from Richard Mille comprises four models, all with two-tone ceramic cases that set off their grand feu enamel or black-chromed titanium confections. The RM 07-03 Cupcake, RM 07-03 Marshmallow, RM 37-01 Sucette and RM 16-01 Réglisse are colourful and delectable, evoking a whole spectrum of flavours. Better yet, the textures you expect to encounter upon biting into these sweets are conjured visually thanks to a mastery of enamelwork that succeeds in evoking sensations like softness, crunchiness, and fluffiness
Sweets line
Sucette, Cupcake, Réglisse, and Marshmallow – four sweets, four colours to bring childhood memories spiralling back. The four models are crafted from two-tone ceramic with a creamy, melt-in-your-mouth surface. Their dials, shaped like giant sweets, are grand feu enamel, excepting that of the RM 16-01 Réglisse, which is a black chrome metal. On these broad canvases, the motifs stand out and enhance the variations in texture. The RM 37-01 Sucette, RM 07-03 Cupcake, and RM 07-03 Marshmallow are all graced with a dial produced in one of the most refined techniques employed in haute horlogerie: grand feu enamel, here used in an entirely novel way. Also, the firing and glazing techniques used to produce the artisanal confectionery are different from traditional methods.
Grand feu enamel requires extremely high firing temperatures, around 800°C. When heated in the oven, the enamel contracts, twisting the dial plate out of alignment. To combat this, dial makers usually resort to enamelling the reverse to balance the tension between the front and back. However, these grand feu enamels are produced without enamel backing. This allowed them to reduce the thickness, but add yet another layer of complexity to the production process. Furthermore, enamelwork is usually lapidated, where the polishing phase rubs out texture and flattens the surface. Rather than lapidation, Richard Mille chose to sand the grand feu enamel on the RM 07-03 Marshmallow in order to preserve the volume and appearance of the material itself, thus, for instance, achieving the fluffy quality of the marshmallow on the dial. Other constituents of the decoration are highly polished to produce the sparkling transparency appropriate for tart sugar candies, like those on the dial of the RM 37-01 Sucette and the RM 07-03 Cupcake. Lastly, the dials of the RM 07-03 Cupcake and RM 07-03 Marshmallow models are not made all of a piece, but combine several plates.
The six grand feu enamel plates of the Marshmallow are all created separately before they are arranged together and assembled. Richard Mille made the decision not to add a border to the dial, leaving an arbitrary contour. The modular construction makes it possible to suggest juxtapositions that enhance the realism of the volumes and highlight effects of texture, heightening the luscious quality of the ribbons and twists. As for the RM 16-01 Réglisse, the smoothness of the big liquorice roll at its centre, stamped from a solid titanium block and coated in black chrome, recalls the traditional waxy coating of this distinctively flavoured sweet.
Once again, crowns also have a key role to play in the collection, and serve as a final ingredient, the cherry on top, as it were. Their shape, colour and diameter all refer to the realm of taste, perfectly setting off the chromatic effect of the cases. The bezels and casebacks are made of high-performance TZP ceramic. Machined from solid blocks of material in order to ensure the emblematic three-dimensional curvature of all Richard Mille watches, the latter have the velvety look of marshmallow or the smoothness of custard cream, an unusual visual effect in watchmaking. In red and white gold, the stripes on the case catch the light with a discreet shine that calls to mind a confectionery glaze. Each of these four models will be issued in an edition of 30 pieces.
