Richard Mille continues its run of unusual composite materials for watch cases with the RM 011 TPT Quartz, made of a vivid red composite that’s a mix of carbon, silica and quartz.

Exotic composite materials are Richard Mille‘s stock in trade, with the new RM 011 TPT Quartz a case in point. With the entire watch case a remarkably bright red, the RM 011 TPT Quartz is the first model to use a carbon-silica-quartz composite, which is light, hard and exceptionally red. The composite was developed by North Thin Ply Technology (NTPT), a composite specialist that usually makes parts for automobiles and aircraft. First used on the RM 27-02 Rafael Nadal tourbillon, TPT Quartz is made up of carbon sheets with layers of silica in-between, resulting in the woodgrain pattern. Quartz is mixed in to give the material a glossy surface while resin is used as a binder for the material, which is baked in an autoclave, and then machined into shape.

Aside from the case material, the rest of the RM 011 TPT Quartz is identical to the stock RM 011. It’s a self-winding chronograph with flyback function and an oversized date display. The  RM 011 TPT Quartz is limited to 50 pieces. Pricing has not been announced but expect it to be in the region of US$170,000.