In 2012, Richard Mille launched the exuberant RM 56 Felipe Masse Tourbillon Sapphire, which at the time was the first watch to utilize a pure sapphire crystal case. That was followed by the RM 56-01, which went a step further with the addition of a sapphire crystal baseplate, bridges, and third wheel.

At the Watches & Wonders event in Hong Kong yesterday, they launched a third iteration, now with a cable suspension system similar to what is used in the RM 27-01 Rafael Nadal.

While the baseplate for the RM 56-02 Sapphire Tourbillon is now in Grade 5 titanium, the bridges and case are made of sapphire crystal. The movement is suspended within the sapphire watchcase by the single braided cable of only 0.35mm thickness. It is woven within a system of 4 pulleys on posts at the movement’s corners and another 6 pulleys placed along the movement’s periphery.

According to Richard Mille “The tension of the cable is perfectly controlled by a miniature ratchet at 9 o’clock. This entire cable unit is attached to a separate indicator located below 12 o’clock allowing easy visual inspection of the cable tension, to ensure that it is always operating within the designated norms.”

Even the strap, which was created Aerospace Nano® by Biwi SA, exclusively for Richard Mille, is partially translucent.

The RM 56-02 will be released in a limited edition of 10 examples worldwide and is expected to cost over $2 million.