Richard Mille RM53-01 Pablo Mac Donough

Richard Mille RM53-01 Pablo Mac Donough

Using brand ambassador and contemporary polo icon Pablo Mac Donough as a springboard for the development of the RM 53-01 Tourbillon, Richard Mille created a cable-suspended movement with a tourbillon and a laminated sapphire glass Carbon TPT case. The big challenge here was producing a watch that would be resistant to the countless shocks that any polo player goes through during a match. Richard Mille is no stranger to this after building many timepieces with tennis player Nadal that offer unprecedented levels of shock resistance.

To build this cable suspended movement, the RM team used two separate baseplates. The first is fixed to the sapphire glass case to support the tensioner mechanism. The second is connected to the first baseplate through multiple cables and incorporates the wheels that comprise the movement as well as the winding mechanism. This second baseplate rests on two braided steel cables that come in at just 0.27 mm in diameter. The two cables have a 10-pulley system that is leveraged by four tensioners. The RM team has to make sure that there is an even distribution throughout the intricate pulley system, while the grade 5 titanium used in the baseplate and bridges adds a stiffness that encourages ultimate shock protection.