Richard Mille RM 028

Richard Mille RM 028 History

Launched in 2009, the RM 028 arrived roughly a decade into the watchmaker’s existence as a company. Richard Mille’s RM001, which debuted roughly a decade earlier, completely differed from anything the industry had ever seen. This was soon followed by a flurry of other impressive timepieces that combined cutting-edge technology with some of the most innovative use of materials ever seen in the horological industry.

In 2009, Richard Mille ventured into the diving watch category with the release of the RM 025. It was a Tourbillon Chronograph timepiece, which isn’t surprising because many of the watchmaker’s earliest timepieces were Tourbillon watches. What was more notable was the watch’s design. The RM 025 was Richard Mille’s first watch to be produced with a round case, and it made quite a splash in the market.

A year later, Richard Mille unveiled the RM 028. Unlike its predecessor, a manual-wound tourbillon, the RM 028 was an automatic diver’s watch. It was also a round watch but came in a slightly smaller case size of 47mm. With the RM 028, Richard Mille expanded the design principles behind its first dive watch. The new watch had an exceptional case design, durable build, and unparalleled ergonomics.

Richard Mille was still in its early years when the RM 028 was released. Yet, the company had already achieved many remarkable feats of horological engineering at the time. Although it was the second watch in the diving watch category, the RM 028 is the timepiece that took the “racing machine for the wrist” below the waves.

RM 028 Features

The RM 028 was intentionally designed by Richard Mille to be a true diving watch. The 47mm watch is equipped with a robust casing that makes it waterproof, a unidirectional rotating bezel that gives it real utility underwater, and an impressive automatic movement with a power reserve of up to 55 hours, along with other impressive features. On top of that, this timepiece was a visual feast, sporting Richard Mille’s signature skeletonized dial and a range of other aesthetic upgrades.

Casing

The RM 028 was a pretty sizable watch, which isn’t exactly news for a Richard Mille model. It came in a 47 by 14.6mm casing, which may have been cumbersome for other brands to pull off. Yet, the mass of this timepiece was intentionally designed to be inversely proportional to its true weight.

So, while it is a visually imposing watch, the RM 028 is equivalent in weight to 40mm steel watches from other brands. This timepiece feels remarkably lightweight thanks to the use of an exotic titanium alloy for its casing. The weight is further minimized by the lack of a conventional dial and the skeletonized design of its movement.

It is worth noting that not all versions of this timepiece are entirely lightweight. The rose gold variant, for instance, feels quite heavy on the wrist. This makes sense for a timepiece casing made out of a genuine block of gold instead of the hollowed-out gold cases that have become quite popular even in the luxury watch industry.

Overall, the comfort of the wearer was the main focus of this design, and it’s the main reason why it was built to be so remarkably lightweight. The watchmaker borrowed inspiration from the structure of Formula 1 vehicles and designed a case that was flexible in just the right places but stiff and robust where it needed to be.

Unidirectional Locking Bezel

This feature is the main reason Richard Mille had to ditch its famous tonneau-shaped casing in this dive-watch. The watchmaker’s attempt to create a robust dive watch led to several innovations and refinements in its conventional designs, including the unique unidirectional dive bezel with a locking mechanism.

The bezel was composed of three sections, held together by 22 torque screws that allow perfect adjustments where necessary. The bezel is designed to track dive times and can measure up to one hour. Setting this mechanism has always been a big challenge in traditional dive watches, as the bezel is often difficult to manipulate with wet or gloved hands. To solve this problem, Richard Mille made the traditional screw-down oversized and added a rubber-coated knurled edge for easy handling.

But the highlight of this bezel has to be its locking mechanism, which is designed to prevent the timing mechanism from accidentally being reset underwater. The watch has double push buttons that must be pressed simultaneously before turning the bezel. This helps to secure the timing mechanism quite effectively.

Ergonomic Rubber Strap

The rubber strap on the RM 028 is not a mere afterthought. It was intentionally configured to be ergonomic and perfectly fitting for the function of this timepiece as a diving watch.

The supple rubber strap has relief channels carved into its backside, allowing moisture and grit to escape seamlessly from the watch. The strap integrates deep into the case, with pre-cast curvature that allows it to mold smoothly into the wearer’s wrist. This means you won’t need weeks of active wearing to break the watch as you would with other models.

The grooves also add rigidity to the strap, providing stability for the casing. The strap is complete with a no-frills titanium pin buckle with a wide and slim profile that adds to this timepiece's polished appearance when worn outside the water.

Open Dial

Despite having a unique round case, one of the features that make the RM028 instantly recognizable as a Richard Mille watch is the open-worked design of its dial that provides a glimpse into the internal workings of the watch.

Like the case and bezel, the dial has a tripartite design with a sapphire cover for each section. The assembly is covered by a sapphire crystal. The second sapphire serves as a platform for the watch calibrations and the date window, while the final one is a mobile ring with the numerals and date information.

The stacked designs of these sapphires add depth to the watch's face, creating an illusion that the information on the dial is floating above the movement underneath them. While the dial may appear cluttered at first glance due to its open-worked design, a closer look will show how easy it is to read. This is all thanks to Richard MIlle’s use of bold numerals, broad hands, and a great combination of colors.

Caliber RMAS7 Movement

The RM 028 is powered by the Caliber RMAS7 movement. This is an automatic movement designed specifically for this timepiece. It features skeletonized titanium base plates, which have become standard practice for the Richard Mille brand.

The movement design plays an important role in the durability of this watch. The skeletonized plates help minimize inertia. They also have elastomer isolation units and insulating components that provide shock resistance. In addition, the RM 028 has variable inertia blocks that protect the free-sprung balance against sudden jolts and knocks.

One of the best things about this movement is a variable inertia winding rotor - an important feature in movements designed for people with an active lifestyle. This feature is designed to optimize the winding mechanism based on the wearer’s activity level, keeping the watch from getting overwound.

Richard Mille RM 028 Price

The RM 028 has been on the market since 2010, which means it is now considered a historical Richard Mille model. When it was released, the timepiece retailed for about $80,000. Richard Mille created this watch as the more affordable alternative to the RM 025, which was more complicated and came at a staggering price of over $500,000.

Despite being over a decade old, the RM 028 is still in demand in the secondary market. Prizes range from about $64,000 to over $120,000 for some models. Richard Mille has released many limited-edition variations of this watch over the years. These rare variants, such as the RM 028 Les Voiles de St Barth, RM 028 Brown PVD Titanium Automatic Divers, and RM 028 Diver "Americas", come at a higher price than the collection's main line.

Conclusion

The RM 028 was built to be an ideal companion for hobbyists and professional divers in the water, providing the functionality and reliability necessary for deep-sea adventures. Yet, the remarkable aesthetics, cutting-edge execution, and comfort of this means it could also do more out of the water. More than just a dive watch, the RM 028 combines Richard Mille’s techno-centric design with unique ergonomics that make it a complete package worth owning, even for non-divers.