Richard Mille watches “The Fruity Delights”

Richard Mille watches “The Fruity Delights”

This year, Richard Mille has revisited its existing collections while playing with colour, which allows it to bring out a pop-inspired sense of fun.

In all, the marque has developed a palette of 60 colours for this unisex collection.

Despite its disruptive appearance, the Richard Mille Bonbon Collection is directly descended from earlier Richard Mille creations.

The brand’s understanding of how tinted ceramics behave, its expertise in layering materials like Carbon TPT and Quartz TPT, and constant improvements to the setting of coloured gemstones are all ingredients in these confectionary recipes, which are singularly imaginative, playful, distinctive and, most importantly, appetising.

Lastly, the intrinsic detailing makes these six models stunning graphic compositions that offer a wealth of shades and textures. Here, we bring you a sneak peek at its Fruits line…

Fruits line

The Richard Mille Fruits line that conjures the taste of sweets are as much a tribute to the guilty pleasure of the sweet tooth as to the minute attention to detail that characterises watchmaking.

Whether it’s Litchi and Myrtille (Blueberry) (RM 07-03), Citron (Lemon) and Fraise (Strawberry) (RM 16-01) or Cerise (Cherry) and Kiwi (RM 37-01), these volumetric constructions are vibrantly coloured, teeming with details and irresistibly delightful.

There are 16 different sweets in this collection, with a different confectionery delight on each piece. These 6 models will be produced in an edition of just 30 pieces, each adorned with 8, 12, or 16 miniature depictions.

Gumdrops, swirling gelato, marshmallows or barley sugars, all these miniatures are machined from sheets of solid titanium, and are entirely painted by hand to simulate the texture of a sugar coating.

Each model has its own unique index and flange. These representations are then affixed to the openwork dials. The skeletonised plates are made of grade 5 titanium, sanded and angled by hand.

These mechanical components of the watch are also designed to ensure secure attachment of the inserted miniatures, which was tested for risks of loosening due to vibrations and humidity.

In order to provide a consistent frame, the contour of the dials is also coloured. The crowns, which represent such delights as pink-frosted cupcakes or rolls that recall donuts are also technical elements that contribute to the story.

Their bezels are carved from blocks of Carbon TPT whose black sleekness unmistakably recalls the natural colour of liquorice, whereas their cases provide a fruit note thanks to Quartz TPT, a material exclusive to Richard Mille that can potentially be created in just about any colour.

Here we have a variety of overlays in red, yellow and purple with black veining.

Whether the long, narrow tonneau of the RM 37-01 case, the chunkier, less contoured form of the RM 07-03, or the gently rounded rectangle of the RM 16-01, each of the cases is both emblematic of the brand’s creations thanks to its design, and evocative of the velvety softness of lovely sweets.

The three-dimensional curves of the cases evoke the naturally supple texture of a fruit paste, the pillowy softness of marshmallow, and the crunchy brittleness of hard candies.