Author: Jolene Siripala

Women’s watchmaking has long operated on a quiet hierarchy: jewelry first, instrument second. A watch is made, then jeweled. Gemstones appear almost as afterthoughts.

Richard Mille has always resisted that logic. Guided by the vision of Creative and Development Director Cécile Guenat, the brand has spent two decades constructing an alternative: women’s watchmaking where technical rigor and aesthetic expression are not opposing forces but expressions of the same discipline.

The RM HJ-02 Automatic Tourbillon is the apotheosis of that vision. In this second chapter of the brand’s high jewelry journey, precious stones shape the watch’s architecture from the very first sketch.

The Gemstone As Structure

The collection draws from Art Deco’s geometric vocabulary, reinterpreted through Richard Mille’s technical and material language. The signature tonneau silhouette is reimagined not as a single uninterrupted curve but as a constructed surface, broken into sharp transitions, layered planes and asymmetrical interruptions that radically alter its form. Developed over three years, with more than a year dedicated to the case alone, this approach fundamentally reshapes the watch’s architecture.

The result is a play of light and structure. The case resolves into faceted planes that shift with movement. Varying in size and shade, the gemstones create a captivating display of luminous color across the surface as the watch moves through the light.

A staggering 1,399 precious and ornamental stones are set within this composition. Rubies, sapphires, diamonds and emeralds are juxtaposed against bands of malachite and turquoise. From stone selection and preparation to finishing and quality control, the gem-setting process totals close to 700 hours of work per watch, the equivalent of approximately 88 full working days.

The setting techniques employed in the RM HJ-02 are equally sophisticated: snow-setting, grain-setting, bezel-setting and invisible-setting, each painstakingly executed at Richard Mille’s dedicated workshop, established in 2019 to bring this level of control fully in-house.

Despite being composed of geometric planes, the surface of the RM HJ-02 remains implausibly smooth to the touch. Run a fingertip across it and you will detect no discontinuity, only a seamless skin of precious gems and alloy.

The Mechanical Heart: Calibre CRMT2

Developed in parallel with the case and dial, the new in-house Calibre CRMT2 sits at the center of the RM HJ-02. The movement is a skeletonized automatic tourbillon beating at 4 Hz on a free-sprung balance with variable inertia and delivers a power reserve of approximately 50 hours.

The baseplate and bridges are machined from 18-karat white gold, microblasted and hand-beveled, then set with precious stones that physically define the lines of the caliber. This is not decoration for its own sake. The gemstones organize the visual field of the CRMT2, drawing attention to its vital organs. These include the fast-rotating barrel, completing a revolution in five hours instead of the conventional seven and a half, and the variable-inertia tourbillon, which compensates for the effects of gravity on timekeeping precision.

The gem-set gold rotor completes the ensemble. Mechanically, it operates via a One-Way^® reverser system mounted on ceramic ball bearings, winding the barrel with each movement of the wrist. Through the sapphire caseback, gemstones capture and scatter light, turning the rotor into luminous jewelry in motion.

Crucially, none of the decorative work detracts from mechanical function. This is the governing discipline of the RM HJ-02: adornment as extension, never gratuitous addition.

Four Universes, 12 Singularities

The collection comprises 12 unique timepieces organized into four chromatic universes: pink, violet, blue and green. No two RM HJ-02 pieces are identical since no two gemstones are ever alike. The in-house setting process further honors each gem’s singular character.

The pink universe combines rubies and pink sapphires. The violet pieces are dominated by round-cut rubies and purple sapphires. The blue universe employs sapphires in graduated tones, from pale sky to midnight, often paired with turquoise inlays. The green pieces combine tsavorites and sapphires.

Across all four color constellations, a central principle holds constant: light, gemstone and structure fuse into moments of chromatic radiance.

20 Years in the Making

The RM HJ-02 arrives as a declaration. Not of luxury in its conventional register—the refinement of what is already beautiful—but of something more exacting: the elevation of watchmaking through the integration of disciplines that have historically coexisted but never truly converged.

With the RM HJ-02, Richard Mille inscribes high jewelry as a core pillar of its identity, equal in standing to its racing machines and ultralight minimalist creations.

This is not a watch for the collector who reads diamonds as status. It is for those who understand that a tourbillon beneath a quilt of sapphires is not ornament but intent, where mastery emerges from integration rather than decoration. In the fusion of gem-setting and horological innovation, the RM HJ-02 redraws the known limits of haute horlogerie.

The RM HJ-02 Automatic Tourbillon. Twelve unmistakable timepieces. Four chromatic universes. One uncompromising vision.

For more information, visit richardmille.com

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the pilot-poet who gave us The Little Prince, once wrote that perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add but when there is nothing left to take away.

This dictum has always resonated at Richard Mille—a watchmaker whose foundational philosophy treats every gram as a concession and every component as earned function. That philosophy finds its purest expression in the new RM 55-01 Manual Winding.

At first glance, the three-part tonneau case sits with conservative propriety on the wrist. This is not a watch that competes for attention. Yet on closer examination, the double sapphire crystal that frames the movement on both sides reveals the watch’s true nature: mechanical ingenuity stripped to its essence.

The Architecture of Lightness
At the center of the RM 55-01 is the new Calibre RMUL4, a manually-wound, skeletonized movement that weighs under 5 grams—an astonishing accomplishment at this level of mechanical complexity.

Conceived as an exercise in radical reduction, the movement reflects a design philosophy that privileges essential structure over accumulation. The absence of an oscillating weight is not a concession to simplicity but the elimination of obstruction: allowing light to pass unimpeded through the movement and reveal its inner workings. In the RM 55-01, interstitial space is not an empty void but the medium through which time is illuminated.

That same logic of controlled equilibrium extends into the movement ’s energy architecture. The RM 55-01 features a double-barrel system that shares stored energy more evenly across its 55-hour power reserve, producing a more consistent torque delivery. That energy is then carried through a free-sprung balance with variable inertia, beating at 4 Hz and equipped with a stop-seconds mechanism for precise setting.

The regulator mechanism traditionally used to control timekeeping accuracy has been replaced by four small, adjustable weights mounted directly on the balance, enabling even more precise and consistent adjustment. Less vulnerable to shock, this architecture delivers greater stability under motion, reduced mechanical stress and improved chronometric consistency.

Material Logic
The same design principles extend beyond the movement into the case construction of the RM 55-01, expressed in three structural executions defined by bezel material: Carbon TPT^®, White Quartz TPT^® and Grey Quartz TPT^®.

Each is created through a proprietary layering process in which hundreds of ultra-thin filaments are arranged at alternating angles, then fused under heat and pressure to form a composite of exceptional rigidity. The resulting damascene-like structure, a material expression that could only have emerged from Richard Mille, is not merely decorative but intrinsically structural.

Beyond their visual character—from the deep intensity of Carbon TPT^® to the vivid translucence of White Quartz TPT^® and the understated tone of Grey Quartz TPT^®—the materials deliver functional attributes including scratch resistance, shock absorption and weight reduction.

Within the movement itself, this logic is expressed in its material construction. The baseplate and three bridges of the RMUL4 are machined from grade 5 titanium—an aerospace-grade alloy used in jet engines and a defining staple in Richard Mille’s design language. Grade 5 titanium is notoriously difficult to work with, its hardness rapidly degrading cutting tools and leaving little margin for error.

From here, the components are finished through a sequence of surface treatments including microblasting, sanding and black PVD coating on the baseplate while the bridges receive wet sandblasting followed by either Titalyt^® or PVD treatment.

The result is a movement whose surfaces absorb and redirect light in alternating intensities, oscillating in an almost alchemical interplay of matte depth and metallic sheen as the wrist moves.

Across all three versions, each execution expresses a different exterior character while remaining unified in its underlying construction. From the rhodium-plated hands to the multi-layered flange in grade 5 titanium, carbon fiber and 316L stainless steel, each element is executed under the same uncompromising logic.

Driven to Perfection
For collectors familiar with Richard Mille’s philosophy, the RM 55-01 represents the reaffirmation of an established principle: that performance as an integrated expression is not achieved through accumulation but reduction. At Richard Mille, this elimination process is defined by three imperatives: extreme material science, radical weight loss and the seamless integration of case and movement.

This is, after all, the brand that conceived the racing machine on the wrist. Just as Formula 1 demands that engine and chassis be conceived as one inseparable system, the RM 55-01 applies the same holistic logic to movement and case innovation.

In the RM 55-01, nothing is added for effect. This rejection of the superfluous runs to its very core. Through this discipline of reduction, the watch fulfills its own promise—perfection through the removal of excess. For the collector who recognizes mastery in what remains when the inconsequential has been excised, this is the definitive Richard Mille.

Visit richardmille.com for more information on the RM 55-01.

Set to enter service later this year, the Bombardier Global 8000 aircraft combines unmatched speed, ultra-long-range performance and a cabin designed for comfort and well-being, unlocking new possibilities in business aviation.

After years of anticipation and development, Bombardier’s new flagship jet has moved from concept to reality. Designed to be the fastest and longest-range business aircraft in the world, the Global 8000 aircraft is delivering on that promise.

On May 16, 2025, the first production Global 8000 took to the skies and completed its inaugural flight. More than a symbolic first flight, this milestone signals real momentum in the Global 8000 program.

With the flight test vehicle preparing for certification, the first production aircraft is currently at Bombardier’s Laurent Beaudoin Completion Centre in Montreal for bespoke interior outfitting, keeping the program firmly on track for entry into service in the second half of 2025.

Leading the Field in Speed, Range and Airport Access

Speed and runway performance firmly set the Global 8000 apart from its competition. With a top speed of Mach 0.94, the Global 8000 is the fastest civilian business jet since the Concorde, setting a new benchmark for private aviation. Its 8,000-nautical-mile range (approximately 14,800 kilometers) enables nonstop connections once considered beyond reach, making city pairs such as Dubai–Houston, Singapore–Los Angeles, and London–Perth a reality.

And its class-leading runway performance enables operators to master 30% more airports than its closest competitor.

A Cabin Crafted for Comfort, Quiet and Productivity

While its performance is extraordinary, the Global 8000 truly excels in cabin experience. Designed with four true living spaces and a separate crew rest area, the aircraft accommodates work, relaxation and social engagement seamlessly.

Passengers benefit from a low cabin altitude of 2,900 feet, industry-leading air quality and the longest seated length in its class, all of which help minimize fatigue and maximize productivity, especially on long-haul flights. With the Global 8000 aircraft, Bombardier has approached cabin design as a strategic component of business aviation, where every detail contributes to passenger well-being and focus.

Bombardier engineers have also made sure that speed wouldn’t affect sound levels in the cabin, making design decisions including fuselage contouring, engines placed further aft and superior sound insulation, all of which enable the Global 8000 to deliver the quietest cabin in its class. In turn, the aircraft’s GE Passport 20 engines recently received the Federal Aviation Administration certification and are also the quietest engines in their class.

Operational Flexibility That Expands Possibilities

Conceived for speed, the Global 8000 aircraft is also built with versatility in mind, ensuring that performance extends beyond long-range travel to practical operational flexibility. Its short-runway capabilities allow access to smaller airports that other ultra-long-range jets cannot access as easily, providing owners and operators with unprecedented flexibility.

This operational freedom makes more direct routes possible, reduces reliance on hubs and magnifies possibilities for executives whose schedules demand precision and adaptability. The Global 8000 aircraft’s operational flexibility ensures that efficiency is never compromised by geography.

Proven Performance, Engineered to Perfection

As an evolution of Bombardier’s celebrated Global 7500, which has accumulated more than 280,000 flight hours and in excess of 215 deliveries since 2018, the Global 8000 draws on this proven platform to set new benchmarks for speed, range, ride quality and cabin refinement.

This proven performance comes with an incredible pedigree—the Global 7500 aircraft has more than 140 speed records to its name, showcasing a winning platform that highlights the attributes of Bombardier’s engineering, production and flight-test teams. This ensures that every aircraft meets the highest standards of performance and craftsmanship, continuing a tradition in which innovation and attention to detail converge to deliver extraordinary results.

One crucial area that is preserved in the Global 8000 is the aircraft’s acclaimed smooth ride, emblematic of the Global family of aircraft. Thanks to the brilliant work of Bombardier’s engineering team, the Global 8000 aircraft’s Smooth Flĕx Wing acts like a shock absorber to help dampen vibration, resulting in a noticeably smoother ride.

This commitment to excellence extends beyond performance and luxury. Sustainability is a priority for Bombardier, from the use of sustainable aviation fuel across operations to energy-efficient manufacturing processes. For today’s business leaders, the aircraft represents a modern approach to aviation—speed, comfort and capability aligned with environmental stewardship.

Redefining Business Travel

Ultimately, the Global 8000 aircraft is more than a business jet; it is a strategic tool for executives who value time, flexibility and an environment designed for working in comfort. By combining record-setting speed, unmatched range and interiors optimized for productivity, it transforms hours in the air into impactful, focused time. The aircraft’s understated elegance and versatility project confidence without ostentation, allowing owners to operate with control and discretion wherever they fly.

As Bombardier prepares for the Global 8000 aircraft’s entry into service in the latter half of 2025, the aircraft continues to exceed expectations. Flight missions to Europe have already demonstrated real-world performance, while final assembly in the Greater Toronto Area ensures meticulous attention to every component. Each step reflects Bombardier’s philosophy: understand the customer deeply, anticipate unspoken needs and deliver solutions that combine reliability, efficiency and craftsmanship.

In the competitive arena of ultra-long-range business jets, the Global 8000 aircraft is in a class of its own. Its blend of near-supersonic speed, exceptional range, operational agility and a cabin designed for working efficiency redefines what discerning executives can expect from private aviation.

The Bombardier Global 8000 aircraft does not merely connect the globe—it transforms travel into a strategic advantage, where time in the air becomes a driver of results.

Talk to us today—your Global 8000 journey starts here.

bombardier.com