Richard Mille casts horological ingenuity through Tourbillon RM 26-02 Evil Eye
As a visionary of contemporary watchmaking, Richard Mille pursues its nonconformist nature by crafting another unusual timepiece: The Tourbillon RM 26-02 Evil Eye
Historic tales and folklores from around the world have spoken about the concept of the Evil Eye. Known to have been the source of misfortunes, the Evil Eye’s spells require extraordinary talismans to protect one against it. With this fascinating idea of Evil Eye hails the modern talisman in the form of a remarkable timepiece crafted by the adventurous Swiss watchmaking company, Richard Mille. Inspired by the olden tales, the new Tourbillon RM 26-02 Evil Eye is born in the Swiss Jura this year, designed and brought to life by Olivier Vaucher, a renowned craftsman from Geneva.
The Tourbillon RM 26-02 Evil Eye was fashioned from 3N red gold, of which the flames and eye have been hand-carved using chisels made specifically to perfect the tiniest details. The art of grand feu enameling has given the eye its striking depth and realism. In grand feu enameling, the motif is painted onto the gold dial using various rare oxides before it is set on fire at a high temperature between 800°C and 900°C several times. It is then finished with several more layers of transparent lacquer which are also put on fire in identical manner. These multiple layers collectively create an exquisite visual depth that is impossible to achieve by any other means.
Meanwhile, the ‘Evil Eye’ is nestled at the heart of the tourbillon RM 26-02 caliber, a manual winding movement with a power reserve of approximately 50 hours indicated by a red line on a differential-driven, rotating disk located between 10 and 11 o’clock. Assembled using a plate and bridges in PVD-coated grade 5 titanium that is highly resistant to corrosion and remarkably strong, the tourbillon caliber movement beats at 3 Hz. The extensive skeletonization carried out on the baseplate reveals the other side of the ‘Evil Eye’ through the back of the watch.
The RM 26-02 caliber is protected from the outside world by a black TZP ceramic case. The deep black of this high-tech ceramic – worked at length to obtain a mat effect over the entire surface – plays with the light of the hand-polished chamfers to highlight the curves of the case, thereby further showcasing the colours of the ‘Evil Eye’s’ flames.
The case middle in 5N red gold features a torque-limiting crown, which prevents the wearer from accidentally over-winding the tourbillon caliber. Thanks to two Nitril O-ring seals, the tripartite case is water-resistant to 50 meters, and is assembled using 12 spline screws in grade 5 titanium and washers in 316L stainless steel.
Produced in a limited edition of 25 timepieces in black TZP ceramic, the new Tourbillon RM 26-02 Evil Eye is available exclusively in the twenty five Richard Mille boutiques located around the world.
