RICHARD MILLE RM 07-01 COLOURED CERAMICS: THE FINAL CHAPTER IN COLOUR AND GEM-SETTING

Richard Mille’s latest RM 07-01 is conceived as a conclusion, but it does not read like a retreat. The 2026 Coloured Ceramics collection completes an aesthetic and technical exploration that began in 2021, bringing together three softly saturated ceramic tones with an unusually elaborate approach to gem-setting. Each of the three watches is limited to 50 pieces, giving the final chapter a deliberately finite character.

The three colours — Blush Pink, Lavender Pink and Powder Blue — establish the first impression. Their delicate tones contrast with the highly engineered construction beneath, creating a watch that is as much about surface and colour as it is about mechanical architecture. Richard Mille uses TZP, or tetragonal zirconia polycrystal, ceramic for the bezels, selected for its chromatic stability, resilience and ability to retain its finish.

What makes these watches particularly distinctive is the way precious stones are introduced into that ceramic framework. Gem-setting an extremely hard material requires a high degree of precision, and the bezels use a technique involving carefully positioned gold prongs and stones. The surrounding polished white-gold casebands and satin-finished pillars extend the jewellery treatment beyond the bezel, giving each colourway its own combination of stones.

The Blush Pink version pairs diamonds with yellow and blue sapphires. Powder Blue introduces diamonds alongside pink sapphires and tsavorites, while Lavender Pink combines diamonds with orange sapphires and rubies. The combinations are intentionally varied rather than simply repeating the same precious-stone palette across three colours.

The dial provides another layer of visual complexity. A grey PVD-treated red-gold base is combined with coloured ceramic details, laser-cut rubber appliqués and diamond-set components housed in white-gold inserts. Guillochage adds a more traditional decorative dimension, creating a meeting point between a centuries-old dial-making technique and Richard Mille’s distinctly contemporary approach to watch design.

Guillochage has been practised since the 16th century, traditionally using repeating lines cut into a surface to create precise geometric patterns. On the RM 07-01, the technique is not presented as historical decoration alone. Instead, it becomes part of a more fragmented composition in which pattern, colour and gemstones interact across the dial. Richard Mille’s own presentation of the collection describes this approach as an unconventional interpretation of the craft, retaining its technical discipline while changing its visual context.

At its mechanical centre is the CRMA2 calibre, a skeletonised automatic movement developed with hours, minutes and an adjustable-geometry rotor. Measuring 29.90 by 22.00 millimetres and 4.92 millimetres thick, the movement operates at 28,800 vibrations per hour and provides approximately 50 hours of power reserve, with the brand specifying a tolerance of plus or minus 10 per cent.

The variable-geometry rotor is one of the movement’s more technically considered details. Its geometry can be altered according to the wearer’s activity level by repositioning two weights. Bringing the weights closer together increases inertia and allows the barrel to rewind more rapidly, while positioning them towards the outer edges reduces inertia and slows the winding rate. The system uses an automatic OneWay ceramic winding system with ball bearings and a bidirectional winding mechanism.

The movement’s baseplate and bridges are made from Grade 5 titanium, microblasted and treated through electroplasma processing. According to Richard Mille, the treatment provides rigidity and precise surface flatness, while separate validation testing was carried out on the skeletonised baseplate and bridges to meet the required strength standards.

The proportions remain recognisable as part of the RM 07-01 family. The case measures 45.66 by 31.40 millimetres and is 11.85 millimetres thick. Its architectural form gives the colourful ceramic and gem-set details a distinctly modern frame, while the skeletonised movement allows the technical construction to remain visible rather than concealed behind a conventional dial.

Richard Mille’s history helps explain this combination of experimentation and mechanical seriousness. The brand was established in 2001, when Richard Mille introduced the RM 001 Tourbillon in an initial series of 17 watches. Created with business partner Dominique Guenat, the company emerged from Mille’s ambition to approach watchmaking through contemporary engineering, materials and design. Its early watches established the tonneau-shaped case and highly technical visual language that remain central to the Maison today.

The company is based in Les Breuleux, Switzerland, and its heritage has developed around an approach that draws heavily on technical experimentation, ergonomics and high-performance engineering. Richard Mille’s official history notes Mille’s long-standing interest in automotive and mechanical technologies, influences that became part of the brand’s philosophy from its earliest years.

The RM 07-01 Coloured Ceramics therefore sits comfortably within a broader Richard Mille tradition: taking familiar watchmaking disciplines and asking how far they can be pushed without losing their underlying precision. Here, traditional guillochage, automatic winding and gem-setting are placed alongside TZP ceramic, titanium architecture and a highly contemporary palette.

For clients in the United Arab Emirates, Richard Mille’s current official store locator lists boutiques in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The Dubai boutique is located at Dubai Mall, Level G, Shop No. 279 in the Grand Atrium, while the Abu Dhabi boutique is at The Galleria Mall on Al Maryah Island, Square Unit 165. The Dubai boutique also has a watchmaking workshop.

With its three colours and tightly limited production, the 2026 RM 07-01 Coloured Ceramics brings the collection’s exploration of colour to a carefully considered close. Its significance lies in the balance it maintains: delicate hues against technical materials, centuries-old decorative craft against contemporary engineering, and jewellery brilliance against the uncompromising mechanics beneath. Rather than simply marking an ending, the collection suggests how far a single design language can evolve when colour, craftsmanship and machinery are treated as equal parts of the same composition.