New Richard Mille RM 88 Automatic Tourbillon Smiley

Photo: Time and Tide

The Smiley has always been the embodiment of joy and optimism. Featuring its 3-D design and gorgeous hues, the latest Richard Mille RM 88 Automatic Tourbillon Smiley has the lively feeling of an awakened dream. Also, a beautiful work of art captures the smile’s shared language through its good vibrations. It is a vibrant, poetic, and fun creation with a limited run of only 50 pieces.

Franklin Loufrani created The Smiley, a yellow ring with dual oval eyes as well as a broad overturned mouth, more than five decades ago. It has since become a well-known icon. Moreover, the smiley has had an important place at the core of pop culture over multiple inspired generations and symbolizes positivity, happiness, and sharing.

The Richard Mille crew created the RM 88 Automatic Tourbillon Smiley, an emotional timepiece highlighting all such principles after they were given this top role. It took them 3 years to build the exceptionally innovative and technological Smiley watch.

The piece’s ornamental components are a cheery manifestation of the Smiley universe: a blooming flower, the sun’s warm rays, a juicy pineapple, a blooming cactus, a pink flamingo, as well as a rainbow of vibrant colors. The cocktail glass inside the neon pop scene offers a joyful drink to be enjoyed by drops.

Photo: Time and Tide

The RM 88 Tourbillon Smiley is proof that a number of technological and artistic obstacles were surmounted. The piece has an ATZ white ceramic with a red gold casing that is 48.15 by 39.74 by 13.30 millimeters in size. Additionally, two baseplates are included in RM 88. One is technical and supports the CRMT7 in-house caliber, a mechanical tourbillon movement featuring hour, minute, and functional indicators. This skeletonized beats at a rate of 4 Hz (28,800 mph) and has a power reserve of about 50 hours. The second one holds the dial’s left-side decoration in place. This auxiliary baseplate, put into the movement afterward, portrays the elements on an inclined surface to enhance the volumetric impression.

The craftsman Olivier Kuhn had to take extra caution because of the size and mass of the golden micro-sculptures. The combined components, which weigh below one gram each, must endure all shocks. Next, to enhance their impact and make their installation easier, it was essential to choose how to organize the elements in the three-dimensional area around the theme, the Smiley.

Each component in this display has undergone meticulous attention to detail in its polishing. The green PVD-treated leaves, the pineapple’s micro-blasted and finished face, the yellow golden cactus spikes that were separately cleaned to eliminate the PVD coat, and the sun’s micro-blasted and refined rays all serve as examples of how constant the strive for excellence is. Moreover, all the RM 88 Smiley polishing procedures were done by hand per manufacturing tradition.

The symbolic small-seconds index swings back and forth between favorable and undesirable weather each minute. It moves smoothly over the tourbillon’s attached ARCAP cloud before slipping under a smaller cloud made of micro-blasted, satin-polished white gold. It reappears at the bottom of a rainbow made of 4 various kinds of gold. The rainbow alone took 25 hours to create and features an additional micro-blasted, drawn-out finishing.

Photo: Watch Collecting Lifestyle

From above the extra movement work bridge made of micro-blasted ARCAP featuring finished angles and painted borders, the Smiley image, colored in yellow gold and has been micro-blasted, occupies the area. This bridge, including its greater reflection of the rainbow pattern, contrasts with its anthracite-colored rhodium plate. It also shines with delicate lights due to its hand-applied finishes.

The case back and bezel are made of ATZ white ceramic. This is created by injecting pipes of aluminum oxide powder under pressures of around 2,000 bars. With such high-pressure infusion, the absorbency of materials is reduced to almost nothing while its stiffness is increased by 20 – 30 percent.

Photo: Ablogtowatch

ATZ is renowned for its constant hue and exceptional resistance to abrasion (1,400 Vickers). It is among the world’s most robust materials after diamonds. So to produce a flawless version of these intricate, bent bezels and satin polish, long and arduous machining with diamond cutters is necessary. Two nitrile O-ring sealing on the tripartite casing provides water resistance of 50 meters. On the other hand, the caseband is constructed of 18K 5N red gold.

The Richard Mille RM 88 Tourbillon Smiley’s internal caliber CRMT7 is visible when the piece is turned over. The movement is made of micro-blasted 5th-grade titanium featuring PVD coating. This gives the baseplate and arches a significant deal of stiffness and the accurate face uniformity necessary for the gear track to operate perfectly.

Photo: Ablogtowatch

Likewise, the gear line is made of 5th-grade titanium, a biocompatible, incredibly robust, and extremely corrosion-resistant metal. The 90 percent 5th-grade titanium, 6 percent aluminum, and 4 percent vanadium make up the composition. The substance’s mechanical qualities are further enhanced by this blend, which indicates why it is frequently used in the aviation, aeronautics, and even automobile sector.

When the crown is pushed out, the functional indication lets one view the wound and hand-setting levels, similar to those of a vehicle’s gearbox. A pointer at 3 o’clock indicates the current position. The movement, casing, and dial were all thought of holistically in the watch’s construction and design. Everything has therefore been built in accordance with very exacting criteria. For instance, the movement is fixed on chassis adhesive rubbers secured by titanium screws instead of using a case ring.

Bottom Line

The Smiley is undeniably the epitome of thrill and positivity. Franklin Loufrani first created this easy-to-remember symbol of connection, which has now become a worldwide trademark for happiness. The Richard Mille RM 88 Automatic Tourbillon Smiley is, thus, influenced by the Smiley universe and its principles in recognizing this classic landmark and its enduring popularity. Furthermore, Richard Mille’s crew introduced a brand-new in-house CRMT7 automated tourbillon caliber.

Photo: Ablogtowatch

However, this wristwatch definitely isn’t suitable for everyone, and neither is it an item that tries literally to delight everyone. The company would, thus, have accomplished its objectives well if Richard Mille could make just the appropriate number of people feel energized with this smiley watch.