Richard Mille RM023 AO RG TZP

Not every Richard Mille is massive. The RM023 AO RG TZP , which was originally launched in 2009, comes in at a pretty minute 38 mm in diameter. Not that it doesn't make a statement. With its white gold caseband and TZP (zirconium oxide, a ceramic that has outstanding resistance to wear and cutting) bezel, it looks bright and tough. And its Roman numerals, again a rarity for Richard Mille, give it a personality that sets it apart from the crowd.
I know Ed Sheeran is a big Richard Mille fan. For the most part, he's photographed with the usual Mille models on his wrist—like the ubiquitous RM030. But I'm sure he'd be a fan of the RM023, with its blend of hard modern looks and classic nods.
Those hands, for example. Slender and sophisticated, the skeletonised hour and minute hands are about as un-Richard Mille as you can get. And there's an actual second hand, delicately red-tipped, which combines beautifully with the elongated Roman numerals to give a completely different feel to this luxury watch.
And yet, and yet. Despite the face, which is frankly more Franck Muller than Richard Mille , the RM023 is still decidedly part of the family. It's got the classic revealed-screw bezel, the tonneau case, and the big, skeletonised date wheel. It has an Alcryn collar on the crown, albeit sculpted to resemble the winding crown of an old pocket watch. And it has the sapphire crystal caseback, revealing the skeletonised baseplates, bridges, and rotor of the RM 023 calibre.
RM 023 is an automatic winding movement with hours, minutes, seconds, and Richard Mille's adjustable rotor. The rotor's architecture can be changed manually, allowing the wearer to personalise the watch to suit his or her lifestyle. And thanks to that 38 mm measurement, the RM023 AO RG TZP can be worn equally well on a large or a small wrist.
The defining feature of this luxury watch is its numeral use. Sweeping elliptically up to the 1 o'clock index, the Roman figures hang over the movement like a spiderweb. The effect is slightly Alice in Wonderland, imparting a reeling sensation as though the wearer is about to fall into the display, perhaps travelling back to the past from whence the watch seems to have travelled.
Richard Mille makes so many hyper-modern luxury watches; it can be a shock to see him design something so cyberpunk. In the case of this specific iteration of the RM023, the surprise of the hands and face is mitigated by the modernity of the case materials. And the colour scheme: the interior bezel of the RM023 AO RG TZP is white, with a red-and-white minute track. Combined with the most, depthless black of the bezel, it's a colour palette reminiscent of a Star Wars storm trooper's helmet. And, as the Roman numerals on this version are black over a dark movement, the historic elements hit you as an after-effect.
The other tech stuff: there's a date display at 7 o'clock. The bracelet is in black rubber, and the double-fold clasp is white gold. The case is water-resistant to 30 m.
When he released X, Ed Sheeran became something most young artists can only dream of. Where many acts release one safe album, designed to please a fan base predetermined to like their music, and then fall, Ed took an apparently effortless step to the next level. He 'matured his style', as the music journalists say, without laying himself open to ridicule. And he did it by writing about things he knows about: the growing up on tour, the wearing of the mantle of bona fide pop megastar, where once he'd been just another kid on the pub circuit.
Richard Mille might not have been playing it safe; when he released RM001 back in 2001—but he was playing to an audience he knew would bite. So when he designed the RM023 AO RG TZP he was taking something of a gamble. This isn't the kind of luxury watch every existing Richard Mille fan would choose to buy. But it's a thoughtful and, dare I say it, mature interpretation of his fascination with historic watch-craft. And that makes it a hit.
Image Credit – officialwatches.com vedere di piu replica rolex orologi e Breitling Navitimer