To celebrate the 50th career anniversary of Mr. Jean Todt, the president of the FIA —Federation Internationale de l’Automobile—, Richard Mille has released a total of five different watches in honor of Mr. Todt including the RM 036 Tourbillon G-Sensor Jean Todt, the RM 58-01 World Timer Jean Todt, the RM 11-03 Jean Todt, the RM 056 Jean Todt Sapphire and saving the best —or at least which we think is the ultimate best— for last. This last release is the Richard Mille RM 050 Jean Todt 50th Anniversary which features another striking blue case —Mr.Todt’s favorite color—, a tourbillon, a split seconds chronograph and available in a highly exclusive 5-piece limited edition.
Very similar in design to all other RMs and with an almost identical dial layout to the RM 50-03 Tourbillon Split Seconds Chronograph Ultra Light McLaren F1, the Richard Mille RM 050 Jean Todt 50th Anniversary Tourbillon Split Seconds Chronograph features two of the most advanced horological complications in one very sporty timepiece with a price tag not for the faint of heart.
Thanks to its transparent sapphire dial, one can admire the amazing view of the very complex movement underneath and its skeletonized baseplate in grade 5 titanium. While the tourbillon with running seconds indicator and black polished bridge takes the center stage at 6 o’clock, one can’t miss the crown position indicator with ‘H-Hand Setting’, ‘N-Neutral’ and ‘W-Winding’ at 4 o’clock.
Gold numbers on the 30-minute chrono register at 9 o’clock and the running seconds indicator match the hue of the brushed pink gold hands that add the perfect amount of contrast, especially when the chronograph hands are stopped in the right position to highlight that this is a Split Seconds chronograph and not an average one.
Lastly, a power reserve and torque indicators for the chronometric function are located between 11 and 2 o’clock. These indicators feature bright red tipped hands and white and red scale gauges.
Following the design principle of all other RMs recalling the world of motor sports, the case of the RM 050 Jean Todt 50th Anniversary Tourbillon Split Seconds Chronograph features the same tonneau shape that has made Richard Mille watches instantly recognizable.
Still maintaining a tripartite case construction, the case measuring 50 mm x 42.70 mm is made of a combination of white and blue Quartz TPT with a milky and glossy appearance. Extremely resistant and light, the Quartz TPT case is obtained by stacking no less than 600 sheets of silica that are 45 microns thick and then impregnating them with a Richard Mille exclusive blue resin. The titanium pushers and crown with blue o-ring are a work of art in itself.
Equipped with the traditional oversized pullout crown, this time the crown features a design borrowed from competition wheel rims and tires with grooves and treading on its blue O-ring. The specially shaped and engraved pushers are fully in line with the highly recognizable etched lines inspired by the pedal surfaces of racing cars.
The Richard Mille RM 050 Jean Todt 50th Anniversary is equipped with the traditional vented black rubber strap with titanium DLC-coated double folding clasp. This strap features the classic rectangular vents seen on most of all other Richard Mille rubber straps.
Powering the Richard Mille RM 050 Jean Todt 50th Anniversary Tourbillon Split Seconds Chronograph is the manual wound movement calibre RMCC1. This movement composed of more than 400 parts and which weights a total of only 7 grams is feather light due to the use of grade 5 Titanium, Carbon TPT for the baseplate and bridges, as well as extreme skeletonization of all components by hand.
Watchmaking expertise can be found throughout this movement with drawn, polished, satin-finished and soft-polished surfaces all created by hand. Additionally, the movement is held in place by a transverse cage crafted of Carbon TPT= and affixed to the caseband supporting the entire calibre. By eliminating the casing ring, this unusual architecture enables a perfect fit between the movement and case. Additionally, this splits seconds chronograph features two column wheels fully visible via the display case back.