Richard Mille has added a new Carbon TPT case to its RM 35-03 Automatic Rafael Nadal (aka “Baby Nadal”) lineup. The new model is the latest named for the “King of Clay”who has partnered with Mille since 2010.
The RM 35-03 Automatic Rafael Nadal (US$238,000) in Carbon TPT is the third timepiece in the series, which launched two years ago with a patented butterfly rotor that the wearer can adjust to match their current activity level.
For example, if they’re gearing up for a high-intensity tennis match, they can press the pusher at 7 o’clock to engage sport mode, suspending the rotor to prevent excessive winding of the movement and limit wear and tear.
The butterfly rotor consists of two grade 5 titanium wings mounted with metal weights that are joined in normal mode converting the wearer’s every movement into the torque needed to wind the barrel. But in sport mode, the wings separate and fan out at a 180-degree angle, suspending the winding process. An on/off winding indicator at 6 o’clock makes it clear whether the oscillating weight is active or not.
The result of three years of development, the winding system is an evolution of Mille’s variable geometry rotor, a signature of the brand’s automatic movements that can be adjusted by a watchmaker to wind in accordance with the owner’s activity level.
“Previously, any modification of the rotor’s geometry needed to be done by one of our licensed watchmakers,” Salvador Arbona, technical director for movements, said in a news release. “We have perfected this system and given wearers the possibility of directly acting on the watch’s winding speed. It’s like a driver being able to adjust the transmission style from city use to racetrack by activating the sports mode.”
The car analogy can also be made for the function selector controlled by a push piece at 2 o’clock that allows the wearer to shift between three crown modes: winding (W), neutral (N) and time-setting (H), akin to an engine’s gear box.
The intricate Calibre RMAL2 engine is on full display through sapphire crystals front and back. The fully skeletonized movement features baseplate and bridges crafted of grade 5 titanium with a gray electroplasma and PVD treatment to enhance rigidity of the entire assembly. Openworked hands sweep along the micro-blasted grade 5 titanium outer flange that is punctuated with the Arabic numerals 3, 6, 9 and 12 and slanted inward towards the movement to enhance depth.
Distinguished by its unique striated appearance evoking Damascene steel Carbon TPT (short for Thin Ply Technology) is a high-tech material consisting of multiple layers of woven carbon filaments stacked with alternating orientations and impregnated with resin. The material is then subjected to high heat and pressure to create a composite that is exceptionally rigid and lightweight.
Two previous versions of the RM 35-03 are offered in blue Quartz TPT with a white Quartz TPT case band and white Quartz TPT and Carbon TPT with a Carbon TPT case band. Quartz TPT is a similar advanced composite material made using quartz fibers instead of carbon.
The RM 35-03 case design was inspired by the US$1 million RM 27-04 Tourbillon from 2020 that was worn by Nadal when he won his record-breaking 21st Grand Slam title at the 2022 Australian Open.
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