The partnership between Rafael Nadal and Richard Mille that began in 2010 has spawned many remarkable watches over the years, constantly pushing the boundaries of horological innovation. Continuing with the tradition, the highly successful alliance has created yet another groundbreaking timepiece that highlights Richard Mille’s constant pursuit of excellence. Meet the new RM 35-03 Automatic Rafael Nadal, the fourth innovative watch to join the Baby Nadal collection. The highlight of the collaborative piece is a new winding mechanism called the butterfly rotor, which represents the watchmaker’s commitment to revolutionizing the art of timekeeping. “In our respective domains, we both seek to achieve excellence,” Nadal said. “We speak the same language, Richard and I.”
The tonneau-shaped case measuring 44mm is crafted from Carbon and Quartz TPT, giving the timepiece a stealthy appearance. However, the red and subtle yellow accents contrast the otherwise monochromatic colorway. The watch features sapphire crystals on the front and back, offering an unhindered view of the in-house Caliber RMAL2 – a skeletonized automatic-winding movement with hours, minutes, seconds, butterfly rotor, sport mode, and function selector.
As mentioned before, the talking point of the movement is the new butterfly rotor. It took Richard Mille three years to develop the patented innovation, which allows the wearer to directly play with the rotor’s geometry and control the movement’s winding speed.
Salvador Arbona, Technical Director for Movements, said, “Previously, any modification of the rotor’s geometry needed to be done by one of our licensed watchmakers. We have perfected this system and given wearers the possibility of directly acting on the watch’s winding speed. It’s like a driver being able to adjust the transmission style from city use to racetrack by activating the sports mode.” The all-new Richard Mille RM 35-03 Rafael Nadal is currently at authorized dealers with a retail price of $220,000.
