Richard Mille, I don't get it

Richard Mille, I don't get it

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Discussion

Adrian W

Original Poster:

13,884 posts

229 months

Saturday 20th February 2010
quotequote all
New Top gear magazine just hit the mat, it has a full page advert for the Caliber RM 028 priced £56500, How? why? It doesn't look special or clever, in the same mag there is a mention of the RM004 Filipe Massa at £184000

The Rotary rip off's don't look that much different

Is it just me that doesn't get it, can someone explain please

OPC100

192 posts

189 months

Saturday 20th February 2010
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I don't get it. Complete waste of money in my opinion and there are much nicer watches that cost 1000's less.

But then I would only ever spend a max of about £4000 on a new watch and maybe up to £6000 on a vintage one.

hilly10

7,151 posts

229 months

Saturday 20th February 2010
quotequote all
We do not get it. But if its your thing and money is no object,you just do because you can

Edited by hilly10 on Saturday 20th February 15:30

okgo

38,093 posts

199 months

Saturday 20th February 2010
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What are they doing advertising in that mag... Surley the average reader isn't their target..

andy tims

5,581 posts

247 months

Saturday 20th February 2010
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Millionaires watches for sure, but if I'd won that 56m Euro's I'd buy an RM.

I don't like the divers version mentioned by the OP & I'm not even a fan of rectangular cased, or skeleton watches in general, but RM are very innovative & produce exquisitely made watches.

As for advertising in EVO - maybe the average reader could never afford to buy an RM, but they're not looking for high volume sales in any case.

okgo

38,093 posts

199 months

Saturday 20th February 2010
quotequote all
andy tims said:
Millionaires watches for sure, but if I'd won that 56m Euro's I'd buy an RM.

I don't like the divers version mentioned by the OP & I'm not even a fan of rectangular cased, or skeleton watches in general, but RM are very innovative & produce exquisitely made watches.

As for advertising in EVO - maybe the average reader could never afford to buy an RM, but they're not looking for high volume sales in any case.
He said TG mag mate, quite a different crowd I think.

andy tims

5,581 posts

247 months

Saturday 20th February 2010
quotequote all
okgo said:
He said TG mag mate, quite a different crowd I think.
My mistake.

Still I stand by what I said about the watches.

10JH

2,070 posts

195 months

Saturday 20th February 2010
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I like the look of them, up close the mechanisms look amazing. Not sure why they cost so much though, plus they only really have one style.

cyberface

12,214 posts

258 months

Saturday 20th February 2010
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They're absolutely gorgeous. I'd love one.

The PHer 'desolate' has one IIRC, an RM005. It's the watch I'd choose.

Richard Mille *does* innovate - they're not just VJ7750s in fancy cases like Hublot Big Bangs - the materials science is clever (carbon fibre / nanotube composites / titanium / etc.) and they're very *techy-futuristic* as opposed to old-fashioned classics like Patek and Breguet.

The only problem is that they're quite big - I saw one on the wrist of an Italian chap when skiing in Courmayeur last year and I reckon it'd be far too big for my wrist... frown

mcgus

371 posts

216 months

Saturday 20th February 2010
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I'd love an RM10. I stopped by the boutique in Paris a couple of years ago and spent a happy hour or so being shown a variety of watches in their collection despite being clear that they were way out of my range but simply engaging with the rather pleasant Russian sales assistant

The watches, certainly the 10 and 11 I tried do actually wear well on the wrist and they deserve a look if you are in that bracket. As said, there is a lot that goes in to them.

Edited by mcgus on Saturday 20th February 23:21

andy_s

19,405 posts

260 months

Saturday 20th February 2010
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I hated them, thought they were the gaudy trinkets of Russian oligarchs with more money than sense.
After a bit of reading up on them and their ilk I'd now have one in a thrice, it takes a while to 'get' them, but they're fantastic - if you have huge amounts of disposable of course...

CardShark

4,195 posts

180 months

Sunday 21st February 2010
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I was in Hong Kong a couple of months back and saw some of these in the flesh. Now I know absolutely zip about watches but did think that, for their type of design/build, they looked stunning - only thing is they were priced up to £100k...... yikes

CardShark

4,195 posts

180 months

Sunday 21st February 2010
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Just noticed that in the OP that the Massa was advertised as £184k.....

okgo

38,093 posts

199 months

Sunday 21st February 2010
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WhAt does an rm005 cost? Why has he mot posted pics!! I'd love to see that. Desolate is the chap with the Bristol isn't he?

Fittster

20,120 posts

214 months

Sunday 21st February 2010
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Can anyone link to an article that gives an account of how they have innovated?

A Seiko Springdrive has lots of interest tech but it doesn't come with an RM price tag.

cyberface

12,214 posts

258 months

Sunday 21st February 2010
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Fittster said:
Can anyone link to an article that gives an account of how they have innovated?

A Seiko Springdrive has lots of interest tech but it doesn't come with an RM price tag.
I'll try to find something. I know they're using new carbon composites, not plain carbon fibre but nanotube composites IIRC, plus the automatic rotor weight is adjustable for moment of inertia depending on how 'active' you are. That's plain to see from any reverse movement shot of the watch.

Spring Drive is innovative too, and I'd love one - but they're bloody pricey as well and pretty big. The steel Spring Drive chrono that Seiko sold a couple of years ago was 44mm IIRC and at £4500 retail - I was seriously considering springing for one (groan) but 44mm is too big for me.

I'll definitely have one in my collection eventually. The Bulova Accutron is currently the 'smoothest' sweep second hand in my collection smile Only the Spring Drive can better it wink

ShadownINja

76,396 posts

283 months

Sunday 21st February 2010
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Rotary do a copy er homage er similar style if you can't afford an RM. smile

pastrana72

1,721 posts

209 months

Sunday 21st February 2010
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I like RM watches to look at, I think the work that goes in to them is amazing.

They are aimed at a specific market, where the customer's would not have a problem regularly dropping 100k on a watch. Fair play to them, different world to me, but the website is worth a look to see the detail that goes in to these.

http://richard-mille.com/#

If had so much money that price was not an issue, then I would look at a RM. however there are a lot of other things that would be on the list first.






Adrian W

Original Poster:

13,884 posts

229 months

Sunday 21st February 2010
quotequote all
I have looked at the website, to me it looks like a load of waffle and marketing, If they are serious pieces of watch engineering and are making some sort of contribution 21st century watch making where are they in the heap, Unless they are made of precious metals or are covered in jewels none of the others seem to ask these outrageous prices.

Maybe they are what a footballer buys when he has everything else.

cyberface

12,214 posts

258 months

Sunday 21st February 2010
quotequote all
ShadownINja said:
Rotary do a copy er homage er similar style if you can't afford an RM. smile
And the 'replica' guys are starting to attempt to build RM fakes too.

But neither of them have the appeal of the RM technology - they're merely 'look-alikes' without the special materials, construction and variable-inertia rotors.

I'd rather have a well-made Chinese 'replica' than the Rotary 'homage' - as far as I'm concerned the Rotary copies are ethically equivalent to 'real' fakes, and the 'real' fakes are often very well made watches in their own right. The Rotary 'homages' are built much more cheaply, weirdly enough.

Anyway the bottom line is that since RM use fancy materials technology and bespoke design, you can't get an accurate fake. That, in itself, is a marketing feature of a high-end watch these days... when things like Hublot Big Bangs are available as immaculate replicas, if you're buying for status / wealth-display then you want a piece that can't be faked.

I'm still waiting for my JLC reverso but that's an example of a watch that isn't available as a *good* fake, though I didn't buy it for 'status' or 'wealth display' reasons - I bought it because of the clever engineering (it was *very* difficult putting a retrograde chronograph into the small rectangular Reverso case). But the added bonus is that if you see one, you know it's real. There aren't any fakes of them.

And that's a benefit of the RM, I suppose - the available fakes and the Rotary copies are miles apart from the real thing and it's obvious to anyone.

So many top-end watch makers are sticking rigidly to tradition, with 'classic' styling and build - it's cool that small indie makers like RM, Urwerk, and maybe you can include Zenith in there now with some of their designs, are going relentlessly high-tech whilst sticking to mechanical movements. It's pure frivolity really - modern technology allows ultra-accurate, virtually-indestructible timepieces (think G-shock) at very low prices, so you'd have thought that the only market for really expensive mechanical watches would be those wanting traditional craftsmanship from yesteryear (and Patek, Breguet, etc. cater perfectly to this market). But it's cool that people like RM are making obsolete technology out of cutting-edge materials.

I like the simple ones, like the RM005. Don't know why, I just do. But some of the higher-end pieces are silly expensive and I can understand the 'footballer' comments. But RM at least *do* design and innovate their own stuff - they're not just ETA movements in fancy cases...