Richard Mille RM 11-03 McLaren automatic flyback chronograph

Richard Mille launches the RM 11-03 McLaren automatic flyback chronograph

The announcement of new brand partnerships occurs almost every day in the watch industry. This has caused watch brands of all sizes to line up with various luxury goods and celebrity ambassadors. Although from a consumer’s point of view, these partnerships occasionally show negative sentiment, people often feel that the most organic brand relationship stems from the automotive industry. At this time last year, Richard Mille and McLaren announced their alliance. At the Geneva Motor Show last week, we finally saw what the visionary pair had come up with.

It can be seen at a glance that the RM 11-03 McLaren Automatic Flyback Chronograph is a fake Richard Mille product. There is no doubt about the barrel shape, the hollow dial and the multi-color aesthetics.

The new watch was created by McLaren design director Rob Melville and Richard Mille engineer Fabrice Namura, and is interwoven with carbon fiber TPT and orange quartz TPT. TPT is a thin layer technology, which is a proprietary method of layering carbon fiber introduced by Richard Mille in 2013 (that’s why you can see horizontal stripes). Of course, orange is a reference to many different McLaren vehicles, which use the same hue. The titanium buttons are designed to recall the highlights of the McLaren 720S. Titanium alloy inserts, similar in shape to the intake pipe of McLaren F1, with McLaren logo, decorated on the bezel. The grade 5 titanium crown is shaped like a McLaren wheel.

Inside the watch is the RMAC3 movement, originally released in 2016, with flyback timing complications, annual calendar functions and big date functions. It is powered by two parallel barrels and a balance wheel that utilizes variable inertia, providing a 55-hour power reserve. The barrel-shaped winding is ensured by a variable geometry rotor, which can be individually wound according to the wearer’s activity level. This is inspired by the fact that the chassis of a racing car must always be able to resist torque while remaining lightweight. Richard Mille followed this idea and produced PVD treated grade 5 titanium base plates and bridge plates so that the drive train can achieve the required stiffness and still work normally.

The RM 11-03 McLaren Automatic Flyback Chronograph. Like other watches produced by the watch and car partnership, RM 11-03 is strictly limited to McLaren Ultimate Series customers, who can choose to match the McLaren version number with the RM 11-03 McLaren back cover number.