Front view
Dial, hands and bezel as delivered.
Case-back view
Case-back engraving and, where fitted, the sapphire display.
Movement
Calibre with its finishing and decoration.
On the wrist
Worn shot for proportion and strap drape.
Richard Mille · RM 027
Richard Mille RM 027 40 mm Mother-of-pearl Quartz
Reference 22403OR.20
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Richard Mille
- Collection
- RM 027
- Model
- Richard Mille RM 027 40 mm Mother-of-pearl Quartz
- Reference number
- 22403OR.20
- Year / era
- 2001 · 2000s — modern production
- Complication
- Chronograph
- Movement
- In-house tourbillon, manual-winding
- Case material
- Quartz TPT
- Dial type
- Mother-of-pearl
- Strap / bracelet
- Oyster bracelet
- Water resistance
- 100 m
- Limited-edition status
- Limited edition of 100 pieces
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 40 mm
- Case thickness
- 14.1 mm
- Case material
- Quartz TPT
- Bezel
- Fluted 18k gold
- Crystal
- Anti-reflective sapphire, double-domed
- Dial
- Mother-of-pearl
- Hands
- Faceted dauphine hands, polished by hand
- Indexes
- Applied faceted white-gold indexes
- Bracelet / strap
- Oyster bracelet
- Clasp / buckle
- Triple-folding clasp with safety catch
- Water resistance
- 100 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 61C — In-house tourbillon, manual-winding
- Movement type
- High-frequency automatic
- Frequency
- 25,200 vph (3.5 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 38 hours
- Number of jewels
- 25 jewels
- Complications
- Chronograph
- Functions
- Perpetual calendar, leap year
- Watchmaker
- Assembled and regulated by a single watchmaker, who signs off the piece before casing.
Production & market
- Production period
- 2001 – 2006
- Limited-edition quantity
- 100 pieces
- Current market information
- Trades close to retail on the secondary market, with steady demand for full-set examples.
Designer
Emmanuel Gueit
Emmanuel Gueit came from a family of Geneva jewellers and was barely into his twenties when he drew the oversized Royal Oak Offshore in 1993 — a watch the house's traditionalists resisted and collectors turned into an icon.
Historical significance
Richard Mille RM 027 40 mm Mother-of-pearl Quartz sits within Richard Mille's RM 027 line, introduced in 2001. It carries the house codes established since 2001 — quartz tpt case, mother-of-pearl dial and in-house tourbillon, manual-winding — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- The bracelet tapers across its length, which is why the profile looks thinner on the wrist than the specification suggests.
- The reference was originally planned as a one-year run and stayed in the catalogue for well over a decade.
The House
Richard Mille
Brand facts
- Founding year
- 2001
- Founder
- Richard Mille & Dominique Guenat
- Headquarters
- Switzerland
- Tier
- Ultra-Luxury & Haute Horlogerie
- Major collections
- RM 011, RM 035, RM 055, RM 067, RM 072, RM 027, RM 030, RM 65-01, RM 07-01
- Signature technologies
- In-house hairspring production · Hand-applied guilloché dials · Proprietary case-hardening and polishing
- Famous movements
- In-house automatic micro-rotor · In-house automatic with 22k gold rotor · In-house manual-winding, hand-finished · In-house tourbillon, manual-winding
- Notable watches
- Richard Mille RM 011 43 mm Skeletonised Carbon (2001) · Richard Mille RM 011 42 mm Silvered 18k (2001) · Richard Mille RM 011 38 mm Ice Carbon (2001) · Richard Mille RM 011 42 mm Mother-of-pearl Stainless (2001)
Brand history
Richard Mille has spent more than 25 years refining a single idea: a watch should outlive its owner. From the earliest workshop pieces to today's RM 011, the house has balanced technical ambition with a recognisable design language, and its collections remain among the most closely followed by collectors worldwide.
Richard Mille & Dominique Guenat established Richard Mille in 2001, working from Switzerland at a time when precision was measured by hand. The founder's obsession with finishing and accuracy still defines every Richard Mille calibre produced today.
Historical milestones
2001
Richard Mille & Dominique Guenat founds Richard Mille in Switzerland.
2024
Richard Mille continues to produce RM 011, RM 035, RM 055 and other icons in limited numbers.