Richard Mille Donates $775,000 RM 27-02 Tourbillon Prototype to Charity

The prototype of the Richard Mille RM 27-02 Tourbillon worn by tennis star Rafael Nadal will be sold for charity at the Only Watch auction in November 2015.

Introduced earlier this year, the RM 27-02 is the latest in Richard Mille‘s series of ultra-light wristwatches designed for Rafael Nadal. The tennis champion had on his wrist a prototype of the RM 27-02 during the 2015 tennis season, the very same watch that has been donated to Only Watch 2015, a charity watch auction raising funds for medical research. Worn by Nadal through all the Grand Slam tournaments of 2015, from the Australian Open in January to the US Open in summer (none of which Nadal won unfortunately), the RM 27-01 has a case made of a lightweight carbon composite with a distinctive layered structure. Also made of carbon composite, the base plate is a single piece with the case band, an unusual construction since these two components are separate in most watches.

The base-plate integrated with the case band

The base plate, as well as the titanium bridges, is skeletonised, revealing the mechanics of the movement. It’s hand-wound with a 70 hour power reserve, and a tourbillon regulator visible at six o’clock.

The outfit Rafael Nadal wore at the 2015 US Open, signed by Nadal, will be sold with the RM 27-02 prototype. It’s one of 43 unique timepieces that will be sold on November 7, 2015, with all proceeds going to funding research into a cure for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. 

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