A conversation with Mr Richard Mille, President & CEO, Richard Mille.

By Peter Chong

With exclusive, never published before hand sketches, showing development of the design of the fascinating watches

 

 

PC: Richard, thank you for meeting me and for being here for this interview. My objective for this interview is to allow our Timezone readers to have a better understanding of you as the man behind the brand, and a good look at the central key propositions of the Richard Mille watches.

 

Shall we begin with your involvement in the watch business. You have been in this business for a long time, although the Richard Mille brand is a fairly new company. Tell us more about your background.

 

RM: In fact, I had always been a manager, a frustrated manager as my mind was always occupied by numbers, finance, figures, marketing, when in fact I was passionate about technique.

 

I am totally mad about this subject; watches, cars, aircraft. I am not personally a watchmaker, and I am pleased to say, Enzo Ferrari was not a car technician, but he had a very clear idea of what a high-performance car should be.

 

I believe I have a precise idea of what a high-performance watch should be. I think I have gone deeper into technique than many others . Nowadays, all top of the range models for any brand are developed with teams of engineers, with computers, with cad machines, so I had no hang-ups about starting my own brand, with a strong concept and very precise technical ideas.

 

PC: You had an illustrious career with Mauboussin before you started on your own; tell us more about that house.

 

RM: I started with Mauboussin as CEO of the watch company, in 1993, and finished as Chairman and CEO; as CEO of the Jewellery Company and CEO of the Holding in 1998. The House of Mauboussin started in the 19^th century, based in Place Vendôme, Paris, and has always been a very creative Jeweler.

 

I left the Company for 2 reasons: my project for launching my own watch was ready, and I did not agree with some members of the family on their latest strategy , which was to abandon selective distribution and replace it with a hypothetical �mass market� distribution. This proved to be unrealistic and megalomaniac. Since then, the new owner has reestablished a correct distribution policy.

 

 

PC: Where did you first start your fascination on watches, and how you built your businesses?

 

RM: I do not know whether the fascination for watches was first or whether it was the love of technique, research and development. I was about 9 years old when I dismantled my first watch, which of course I couldn�t put back together again.

 

But I remember the many times I worked on spare parts that I later used on my model cars that I had built from scratch and that I still have today. Since then, I have spent my time reading technical books relating to watches, cars, aircraft, etc�and this naturally led me to visualise a strong conceptual watch which was highly technical but without gimmicks.

 

This concept was, however, so technically complex that it led to the very high end positioning where it stands now. This is how my passion was transformed into reality, and the tremendous success of this brand is certainly due to the fact that the inspiration was purely technical and not at any time commercial. This is still true today.

 

 

PC:Tell us more about why you decided to start Richard Mille.

 

RM: Without being megalomaniac, we all dream of leaving something behind us on earth. It seems that connoisseurs consider this brand as a turning point in watch history, and this certainly was a motivation. It is always agreeable to hear so many nice things about a product which is your baby! I also had the right partners, my old friend Dominique Guenat, and Audemars-Piguet/Renaud & Papi, money from my

shares in Mauboussin, so all lights were green!

 

PC: You exude great drive and passion, has the Richard Mille the man always been like this? (Richard was waving his hands in excitement and jumping up and down making his point in the hotel suite in Geneva when we met�testimony to his passion and �fire and brimstone� style of expression) Were there difficult times during the birthing of Richard Mille the brand, and how has this great passion pulled you through?

 

RM: Itâ��s very easy to be driven and passionate when your work just happens to be your passion ! There must have been times when I questioned myself as to whether I was going the right way, but honestly, I donâ��t remember them. I was always convinced that my direction was the right one and I had and I still have such faith in my product.

 

PC: What are the key tenets and special propositions that the brand will bring to collectors?

 

RM: I modestly think, and professionals confirm it, that this brand opens a new era in watch history, in terms of concept, technique.

 

PC: I certainly agree with the professionals too. Shown right is the design development of the chronograph dial, showing hand sketches by Richard.

 

RM: It has the 3 basic requirements for auctioneers, i.e: Authenticity, quality, rarity, and I would add another: creativity, which represents an important aspect in terms of artistic value.

 

All important artistic periods, as in painting for example, represent a complete rupture with existing works. I wanted the Mille watch to represent a rupture, but at the same time, I wanted to keep the best of watch-making tradition, such as hand finished angles, work that many top brands do with machines today.

PC: How do you intend to deliver this (these) promise(s)?

 

RM: By simply refusing to go into the mass market and by always bringing models with Technical added value.

 

PC: I think your products look absolutely beautiful and are a breath of fresh air, but the collecting community has been shown very fickle � favoring new, innovative brands while the novelty is there, and then going back to the traditional makers after the �honeymoon is over�. How do you intend to stay relevant for years to come?

 

RM: I am aware that many brands disappointed their clients by turning towards commercial objectives. This is in fact what I have been avoiding desperately all my life.

 

The success of my brand is due to the fact that I can pass on my passion to my client, and my clients can say that they won�t change this watch for another, although they have plenty others in their safe. It means that they know my watches are truly genuine, and that there is no lie in the technical data.

 

So I am not going to revert to a situation � with purely commercial objectives � that I�ve always hated, and which I have done everything possible to step away from. On top of that, I think I have more that enough technical ideas and concepts for the next 20 years to come and I would be too frustrated not to transform them into reality! The great painter�s collections became valuable because of continuous creations. After 2 years of existence, we already are at model N° 9, model No.10 is in the pipeline and with the arrival of each new model, more important developments!

 

PC: Can you tell us more about No.9 and No.10? What about No. 7.

 

RM: Let me start first with the RM 008 which will be available shortly.

 

PC note to audience. The RM008 is a split second chronograph with tourbillon. Also shown left is the original design of the unique case, which is elegant and at the same time exudes strength and engineering feel�much like a Ferrari.

 

This is certainly the most complicated watch I have ever made and I would go so far as to say that it will probably be one of the most complicated the world has ever seen. It�s been five years in development and taken up thousands of hours of study to arrive at this point. The watch itself will have over 500 separate pieces.

 

As for the RM 009, it will be lightest mechanical watch ever seen, made from ultra-modern materials. Without wanting to give too much away, I will tell you that its price will be inversely proportional to its weight!

 

I am very proud of the RM 007 which will be released in May of next year. The 007 is my first watch designed for ladies and I have done everything I can to avoid the stereotypical female watch. Often ladies� watches are simply modified versions of the man�s watch with a few diamonds for good measure. I realised that women of today are much more demanding; they are now powerful executives, they choose their own cars and will appreciate a watch with a big personality.

 

The RM 010 will have to remain my secret for the moment but I can assure you that there are lots of developments in the pipeline.

 

 

PC: Please do let me have the details when you are ready, Timezoners all over the world are waiting with bated breath for this one! Richard, let me turn now to your fascination with Formula 1 racing. Why this fascination? How and where does this relate to watchmaking?

 

RM: I am in fact more interested in F1 techniques than in the sport itself. F1 is so rich in terms of development that it is a great source of inspiration in areas such as performance, rigidity, resistance, reliability, materials, and functions.

 

PC: What lessons have you learnt from F1 techniques that you have applied to your watches? Do you believe a watch movement has to be absolutely rigid with respect to its case ? Do you feel a lighter watch is technically more superior to a heavier one? What about the movement what special features?

 

RM: From the outset, my objective was to make a watch using the same thought processes as a designer of an F1 car. A watch that is extremely technical but robust enough to withstand all sorts of vibrations and shocks. I do believe that a movement must be rigid. I use carbon fibre for the base plate because I have found that this is the most stable.

 

PC note to readers: The RM006 was a world first to implement a carbon fibre movement plate�what began as an experiment to test the new material, resulted in a beautiful watch.

 

Plates made from gold, brass and copper are not rigid and will react to temperature changes and shock. Carbon fibre, which is amorphous, will not react in this way and remains rigid, with excellent isotropic results, as well as chemical stability. For example, this material will not react to thermic shock.

 

PC: You are personally involved in all aspects of the design and production of the watches. How do you do this? You are not a watchmaker, so where do you get the engineering and know how? This page is scattered with your personal sketches, many of them shown to the public for the first time. Shown right is the sketch showing the development of the dial, the numerals, and placement. Even small details are handled personally.

 

RM: Although I am not a watchmaker, I have very precise technical ideas and concepts. I am involved every step of the way when we make the movements, as I design many of them, as well as cases, dials, and all accessories. I also design the displays and the packaging. I also follow any aspect of watch production, with my friend and partner Dominique Guenat.

 

PC: Tell us more about Dominique?

 

RM: Dominique has been my friend for nearly 20 years and our business relationship has always been based on a mutual respect, frankness, total confidence in each other�s morality and of course a love for developments in watchmaking. Dominique took over the family business, Valgine, in 2001. Valgine has a history of more than 100 years and has always specialised in private business, working for the the prestigious houses.

 

We decided to start a joint venture in 1999 and created a group of companies specialising in different watch areas; manufacturing small of special cases or other, assembling movements (tourbillon, automatic....) and assembling the final product. Our objective is to remain with limited editions that have high technical added values.

PC: Describe some of these high technical added values.

 

RM: As I previously mentioned, my ideas come from a mixture of watch/car/aircraft techniques. This is why the result is performane, resistant to shocks, has practical functions, is ergonomic, and has long lasting materials, etc� in fact, all these technical developments are there for a purpose, and not just as artistic developments. As I said, I take the best from the tradition, the rest is open, as long as it has a use and is not a gimmick, because I hate gimmicks!

 

 

PC: You have been known to throw your watch on the floor, or across the table to drive home the point that your watches are especially tough. Are those watches still running well? Do you really encourage your customers who buy these beautiful timepieces to rough-handle their watches?

 

RM: I just wanted to prove that this watch is not a piece to be put in a safe, but a real instrument to be worn. This is why Felipe Massa, Formula one driver for Sauber Petronas, has been wearing a tourbillon RM006 without any maintenance for 8 Grand Prix. He hasn�t had the slightest problem with it, in spite of intense vibrations and shocks. In the Canadian Grand Prix, this tourbillon resisted, as well as the pilot, a deceleration of 113 G, the highest ever recorded by the FIA. A final note however, I would not encourage owners to throw their watches on the floor - the case could be scratched, or the glass broken - but I do insist that these watches really are for everyday use, like a Formula One you could drive to the office!

 

 

 

PC: You use some rather interesting materials in your watches. Tell us about some of them, their special qualities, and special problems you have encountered working with them. Note to Timezoners: shown left is the design of the crown.

 

RM: The basic requirement for perfect material, especially for an important component such as a movement plate, is rigidity and physical and chemical stability. The more a material is amorphous and neutral, the better. Titanium or carbon fibers have got these kind of characteristics. It has taken a long time to validate these materials. Others have been abandoned. We are now developing other materials for other purposes but, on the other hand, I do not want to release materials just because they�re sexy without checking their shelf-life. Any results must be exactly adapted to the technical requirements. This is what we�ve done with components in ceramics, ARCAP, Titanium grades 2 and 5, Carbon fiber.

 

 

 

 

Sketches of the pincers of the split second hand on the Rattrapante RM08, and design of the rotor bearing of RM005.

 

PC: What is your relationship with Renaud et Papi? How has this played into Audemars Piguet�s very similar Royal Oak Concept watch?

 

RM: I have �family� like relationships with Audemars-Piguet and Renaud & Papi. This relationship is based on friendship, together with mutual intellectual and technical exchanges, and we develop this everyday. This is quite unusual in the watch business, where companies are not used to sharing ideas and making joint developments.

 

We have some �babies�in common, and the best is to yet come!

 

PC note to Timezoners: See design exchange document shown left showing the collaborative nature of the relationship.

 

PC: Thank you very much, Richard, and obviously you have had very good success with RM watches, and I wish you even greater success.

 

 

© Peter Chong October 2004.

 

 

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