At the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH 2012) luxury watch show last week, seventeen brands showed off hundreds of new timepieces; but only one was the most talked about piece of the fair. The Richard Mille Tourbillon Split Seconds RM 056 Felipe Masse Sapphire.

The RM Sapphire features the typical high-tech, skeletonized Richard Mille movement, but with a never before seen sapphire crystal watch case.

A sapphire crystal is a 9 on the mohs hardness scale, whereas a diamond is 10, so the case will not be prone to scratching. However, due to the makeup of sapphire, it is extremely brittle. If you drop this watch on the ground, the case could easily shatter.

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Ahead of SIHH 2012, which starts January 16th, Richard Mille has revealed a new timepiece, the RM 037, along with an all new in-house automatic movement.

Powering the RM 037 is the new CRMA1 caliber, a high-tech movement which is skeletonized in grade 5 titanium. It features an oversized date at 12 o'clock and a function window at 4 o'clock. A pusher at 4 o'clock allows the wearer to select the mode: (W) winding, (N) neutral and (H) hand setting functions with a simple push. An aperture a 4 o'clock shows the function selected. A pusher at 10 o'clock controls date changes, useful when the date needs to be corrected or adjusted.

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More images at GQ | Richard Mille Rafael Nadal II

Yesterday Richard Mille revealed a one-of-a-kind tourbillon that will be sold to support Jackie Chan's "Dragon's Heart Foundation." The RM 055 JC Tourbillon is a unique piece made in 18k white gold and specifically created to raise money at the Jackie Chan auction which is being held September 14th in Beijing to support children.

In collaboration with Jackie Chan and Mélanie Treton-Monceyron, artistic director to the brand, Richard Mille has created a one-off tourbillon. The RM 055 JC is a manual winding tourbillon with hours, minutes, power reserve indicator (70-hours), torque indicator and function selector. The movement's baseplate is made of carbon nanofiber. The case is features Richard Mille's signature tourneau shape, measuring 48.18 mm tall x 39.70 mm wide x 13.95 mm thick.

The money raised from the auction will enable Jackie Chan to pursue his actions in favor of aiding less favorable children in remote areas through the construction of new schools; 20 of which have already been built since 2004.

In March, Richard Mille unveiled the new RM 035, a timepiece that professional tennis player Rafael Nadal wears during all of his tennis matches. The tonneau shaped case is signature Richard Mille, and is made of a ultra-light magnesium-aluminum alloy. This alloy is composed of 90% magnesium and 8.9% aluminium and helps keep the new RM 035 under 20 grams (including strap).

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The famous musician, Seal, who is married to former Victoria's Secret model Heidi Klum, is seen here wearing a Richard Mille gold timepiece. Not only is he wearing a beautiful, and very expensive timepiece, he is also shooting with one of the nicest medium format cameras on the market, the Leica S2.

At SIHH 2011 there were quite a few ultra-thin watches introduced, only one skeletonized ultra-thin, though, the Richard Mille Extra Flat Automatic RM 033. Available in titanium (shown above), 18K white gold or red gold, each case is 45.70 mm in diameter, and only 6.3 mm thick.

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Just in time for SIHH 2011, Richard Mille signed a new ambassador to the brand. Starting in 2008, they signed Formula 1 race car driver Felipe Massa, then last year they signed pro tennis player Rafael Nadal, and now, they have signed pro golfer Bubba Watson. For Felipe Massa and Rafael Nadal, a special timepiece was created by Richard Mille, and the same is true for Bubba Watson. And just like Rafael and Felipe, Bubba will wear a special edition Richard Mille timepiece during all of his professional competitions.

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