Rarely can something fundamentally designed to tell the time have involved this amount of effort: watchmaker Richard Mille’s latest creation involves a feat of intricate engineering so difficult that it’s almost hard to believe it was done. The cue for the extraordinary RM 56-02 Sapphire Tourbillon, its movement encased in sapphire and suspended on a cable only 0.35mm thick, was the Hong Kong Watches & Wonders event later this month – and the result is breathtaking.
The movement appears to float inside its case, each spindly, hand-crafted part in full view of the user, creating a miniature masterpiece. So perhaps it’s not surprising that only ten will ever be made – and, given the painstaking craftsmanship, it’s equally unsurprising that it comes at a price: £1,448,500.
For more info: richardmille.com.
