Despite being known as a gentleman's pasttime, the sport of polo is still a decidedly violent sport—as can be somewhat expected when mallets and galloping are involved. This school of hard knocks presents an interesting challenge for watchmakers, as most watches are usually not robust enough to withstand blunt-force trauma at close range—most mechanical watches are fragile feats of micro-engineering. But it was a challenge that Richard Mille took on with gusto. At SIHH 2018, Richard Mille presents their new RM 53-01 Pablo Tourbillon Mac Donough, which uses two groundbreaking innovations to solve the impact-induced problems.
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The RM 53-01 Tourbillon Pablo Mac Donough tackles two different problems—that of shattering glass, and a tourbillon movement's structural integrity. Normal sapphire glass would not be able to withstand the extreme force that polo players exert, so a direct blow to the watch would most likely result in the protective glass shattering outright. To combat this, Richard Mille worked with sapphire glass specialists Stettler to produce a laminated glass. Inspired by technology already in use in the world of fast cars, the laminated glass conprises of two sheets of sapphire glass separated by a thin polyvinyl film—a first in the world of watchmaking. When hit with a mallet, the laminated glass might crack, but it won't shatter, so it will continue to protect the delicate movement from the violence of the polo field. This glass, with accompanying anti-reflective and UV coatings, is a patent-pending Richard Mille exclusive.
On top of that, the case of the RM 53-01 Pablo Mac Donough is machined in Carbon TPT, Richard Mille's trademark carbon fibre material that is extremely tough and resilient to micro-cracks and tears.