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 055
Richard Mille RM 055 38 mm Meteorite Stainless
Reference 96234ST.44
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Richard Mille
- Collection
- RM 055
- Model
- Richard Mille RM 055 38 mm Meteorite Stainless
- Reference number
- 96234ST.44
- Year / era
- 2001 · 2000s — modern production
- Complication
- Time only
- Movement
- In-house tourbillon, manual-winding
- Case material
- Stainless steel
- Dial type
- Meteorite
- Strap / bracelet
- Integrated steel bracelet
- Water resistance
- 150 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 38 mm
- Case thickness
- 12.6 mm
- Case material
- Stainless steel
- Bezel
- Bidirectional 24-hour Cerachrom
- Crystal
- Sapphire with internal AR treatment
- Dial
- Meteorite
- Hands
- Rhodium-plated baton hands with luminous fill
- Indexes
- Applied Roman numerals
- Bracelet / strap
- Integrated steel bracelet
- Clasp / buckle
- Titanium deployant clasp
- Water resistance
- 150 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 48D — In-house tourbillon, manual-winding
- Movement type
- Manual-winding
- Frequency
- 36,000 vph (5 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 55 hours
- Number of jewels
- 31 jewels
- Complications
- Time only
- Functions
- GMT second time zone, date
- Watchmaker
- Finishing, assembly and timing are carried out in the manufacture's own atelier.
Production & market
- Production period
- 2001 – 2005
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Consistently trades above retail; waiting lists at authorised dealers remain long.
Designer
Jörg Hysek
Jörg Hysek left Rolex and Seiko's European studios to build a design practice in Geneva, giving houses such as Vacheron Constantin, Breguet, Seiko and TAG Heuer their sculptural, architecture-led cases before founding his own brand, HD3.
Historical significance
Richard Mille RM 055 38 mm Meteorite Stainless sits within Richard Mille's RM 055 line, introduced in 2001. It carries the house codes established since 2001 — stainless steel case, meteorite 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 case is finished by hand, alternating polished and satin-brushed surfaces in a single pass so the edges stay razor sharp.
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.