Style Edit: Richard Mille’s RM 65-01 McLaren W1 is another masterpiece in watchmaking excellence, driven by automotive innovation and pushing technical limits
This is Richard Mille’s fourth partnership with the British luxury car maker, which just launched the W1 – it builds on the legacy of McLaren’s F1 and P1 models
McLaren is revered as the maker of the world’s most desirable, technically advanced and aesthetically extraordinary vehicles, the brand parlaying its expertise from its world-famous Formula One team into road cars that have long led the field when it comes to materials, performance and luxury. In the equally technically challenging field of watches, Richard Mille fills exactly the same standard-setting role – so a partnership between the two is a match made in hi-tech heaven.
Richard Mille draws inspiration from supercar technology
The Swiss luxury watch manufacturer has long drawn inspiration from the remarkable technical feats of car designers and engineers, and has worked alongside the British automotive manufacturer since 2016; with the RM 11-03 Automatic Flyback Chronograph McLaren, the first of the four watches they have released together, seeing the light of day at the 2018 Geneva International Motor Show. The design of an elite car’s cockpit, the materials used in the construction of futuristic automobiles, the spirit of daring and adventure: all are grist to Richard Mille’s innovative mill.
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Richard Mille is pushing boundaries with the new RM 65-01 McLaren W1 chronograph
With the recent launch of the W1 supercar, the latest and most advanced manifestation of McLaren’s automotive supremacy, following on from the legendary F1 and P1 models, Richard Mille has introduced a new watch to match; one that reflects the vehicle’s materials, features and appearance. Like the car that inspired it, the RM 65-01 Automatic Split-Seconds Chronograph McLaren W1 pushes its craft into entirely new territory.
The RMAC4 movement powers the Richard Mille RM 65-01 McLaren W1
At its heart sits the RMAC4 high-performance automatic split-seconds chronograph movement, which beats at the high rate of 5Hz, allowing it to be particularly precise in its recording of elapsed times, down to the level of just one 10th of a second. Taking speed to unprecedented levels in yet another way, the calibre features a rapid winding system that allows its 60-hour power reserve to be recharged by pressing a McLaren orange pusher on the left of the case.
The dial design of the Richard Mille RM 65-01 McLaren W1 is inspired by the supercar maker’s aesthetics
The openworked chronograph function is expressed via subdials at 3, 6 and 9 o’clock. Nestled in the bottom right corner is the function indicator that also appears on other Richard Mille McLaren collaborations, allowing the wearer to toggle easily through the three options: W for winding, D for date or H for hand-setting. They can be selected using a special rubber crown on the right of the case, with an orange tip and a design based on the W1’s driveshafts. The automotive marque’s aesthetics are also clearly visible in the chronograph pushers and rapid winding button, mounted on titanium frames that echo the shape of McLaren supercar seats.
Crafting the Richard Mille RM 65-01 McLaren W1’s two bezels was among the challenges involved in the timepiece’s construction
The RM 65-01 McLaren W1 comes in a 43.84 x 49.94 x 16.19mm case made of carbon TPT, a material borrowed from high-performance vessels of another kind – sailing boats. That case surrounds a bezel that takes its cues from the McLaren W1’s undulating form – or rather, two bezels, one inside the other, in grade 5 titanium: a supreme technical challenge that took Richard Mille nine months and eight prototypes to develop.
