Father’s Day is fast approaching, and if you’re looking for the perfect way to treat discerning dads, Richard Mille has you covered. Now entering the fifth year of its ongoing partnership with luxury British supercar maker McLaren Automotive, its latest luxury timepiece is an exquisite offering for both fine watch and car aficionados, and the two brands’ most ambitious collaboration to date.
Introducing the RM 40-01 Automatic Tourbillon McLaren Speedtail – a bespoke timepiece honoring the fastest, most advanced and exotic road car McLaren has yet produced, the futuristic Speedtail. Released in a limited edition run of 106 timepieces to match the exclusivity of the 106 Speedtail hypercars, the watch lines mimic the form of a water droplet, while bezel indentations evoke the bonnet openings and pushers recall the air outlets behind the front wheels. “The watch has one of the highest levels of finishing ever executed at Richard Mille,” explains Julien Boillat, technical director at Richard Mille. “There has been a lot of development with our anglers and polishers. The attention to detail is extreme, with mirror polished, plain and satinised effects in different areas and the combined use of titanium and Carbon TPT®. The case itself is made from 69 individual parts.”
Taking an unprecedented 2,800 hours spread over 18 months to perfect the lines, five prototypes were created before the optimum shape was achieved, and to protect the RM 40-01's state of the art movement, Richard Mille developed a unique upper crystal glass featuring a 'triple contour' to account for the decreasing taper and thickness of the bezel. It alone took 18 months to perfect. As for the strap, it comes in an asymmetrical design with the rubber version using Vulcolor® technology from Biwi SA – a special process that enables coloured rubber to be over-moulded allowing the iconic McLaren orange accent coloured stripe seen at 6 o'clock on the movement to extend to the wrist. This is surely the most stylish way to honour your old man come 20th June…
