Richard Mille presents a new 80 limited pieces edition, the RM 60-01 Automatic Flyback Chronograph Les Voiles de St Barth in new livery. This is despite the event being cancelled for 2021. The brand will donate the entire proceeds of the sale of one watch to local causes in St Barth.
Press Release information
The Le Voiles de St Barth began in 2010, and was started by the French sailors François Tolède and Luc Poupon as an international sailing competition on the island of St. Barthélemy in the French West Indies. The idea was to make Les Voiles de St. Barth the grand prix of sailing. It was not to be a casual affair. They modeled the event on the island’s sailing regattas started by Loulou Magras during the 1970s that drew more than 140 boats each year. The event has been held annually till 2020. The scheduled race for 2021 (April 11 – 17) was cancelled due to travel restrictions caused by the pandemic. The next scheduled event will take place on 17 Apr – 23 Apr 2022.
Richard Mille has been the title sponsor since 2019. Traditionally, even before securing the title sponsor role, the winner is normally presented with a Richard Mille watch. The RM 028 Les Voiles de St Barth edition was the first with 100 timepieces in 2010 and marked the event’s inception. The baton was subsequently passed to the RM 60-01 Regatta with 50 pieces editions in 2015, 2017 and 2018.
As the race is cancelled this year, all proceeds from the sale of one RM 60-01 will go to support local causes in St Barths. The brand is in talks with the authorities to decide together which projects could benefit from this whether it be for local health facilities or environmental projects.
New 2021 livery for Richard Mille RM 60-01 Automatic Flyback Chronograph Les Voiles de St Barth
Retail price was not released with the Press Information pack. In 2014, the launch RM 60-01 retailed for USD 150,000 with prices rising subsequently to approximately USD 161,500.
The watch for 2021 is (again) the RM 60-01. This is not a new watch from the Richard Mille stable, having first being introduced in 2014 in a grey/black colour scheme. This edition carries the St Barth regatta’s colors in turquoise. The RM 60-01 Regatta Flyback Chronograph is produced in a large and thick round case which is unusual for Richard Mille. The model is the first technical watch from the brand which is designed especially for navigating the seven seas.
Following on the RM 014 and 015 watches which celebrate the world of sailing, the RM 60-01 Regatta was specifically designed for sailing regattas and competitions with all the useful and essential functions that a skipper could need. In particular, it has a unique three-dimensional rotating bezel which shows the cardinal points and enables sailors to find their direction without a compass.
The RM 60-01 features a UTC hand that can be used either as a second time zone indicator or in combination with the sun and the rotating bezel to orientate the points of the compass. It is adjusted using the pusher at 8 o’clock.
Using the RM 60-01 to determine location is based on two factors: knowledge of local time and the position of the sun. To calculate one’s location, the UTC indicator is directed towards the sun using the UTC pusher and then the bezel is turned so that that the UTC hand lines up with the actual local time engraved on the bezel’s circumference. When set in this manner, the compass headings North, South, East and West on the bezel will be correctly aligned with the actual direction on the Earth’s surface.
By using the pusher between 4 and 5 o’clock, the running chronograph can be reset without first having to stop the mechanism. This flyback mechanism was originally developed for pilots in order to not waste time —and therefore accuracy— from stopping, resetting, and starting the chronograph whilst crossing a navigational point.
As an additional safety precaution, the chronograph pushers have a special quick locking and releasing mechanism. Locking (red arrow) and unlocking (green arrow) the flyback chronograph pushers requires only a quick turn of the secondary crown, thus avoiding possible accidental changes of the chronograph readout.
While the chronograph function is activated, the hours and minutes show up the elapsed time on the counter at 6 and 9 o’clock, the seconds are indicated by the central hands.
The case made of Grade 5 titanium with Carbon TPT inserts, measuring 50 mm in diameter by 16.33 mm in thickness is water-resistant to 100 meters ensured by two Nitrile O-ring seals. It is a four part structure, assembled with 46 grade 5 titanium spline screws and abrasion-resistant washers in 316 L stainless steel. The pusher-caps protector is also in Carbon TPT.
The Richard Mille RM 60-01 Regatta Les Voiles de St Barth is powered by the automatic movement calibre RMAC2 calibre with an autonomy of 55 hours. The watch also has an oversize date display at 12 o’clock and a month indicator. A 60-minute countdown timer at 9 o’clock combined with the 24-hour totalizer at 6 o’clock adds to the nautical mindset.
The case back shows the regatta’s colors in turquoise highlighted with Les Voiles de St Barth Richard Mille logo on the case back. The watch is available in a limited edition of only 80 pieces.
