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 072
Richard Mille RM 072 40 mm Mother-of-pearl 18k
Reference 20310OR.24
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Richard Mille
- Collection
- RM 072
- Model
- Richard Mille RM 072 40 mm Mother-of-pearl 18k
- Reference number
- 20310OR.24
- Year / era
- 2001 · 2000s — modern production
- Complication
- Flyback chronograph
- Movement
- In-house tourbillon, manual-winding
- Case material
- 18k yellow gold
- Dial type
- Mother-of-pearl
- Strap / bracelet
- Jubilee bracelet
- Water resistance
- 500 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 40 mm
- Case thickness
- 11.3 mm
- Case material
- 18k yellow gold
- Bezel
- Fluted 18k gold
- Crystal
- Anti-reflective sapphire, double-domed
- Dial
- Mother-of-pearl
- Hands
- Rhodium-plated baton hands with luminous fill
- Indexes
- Applied faceted white-gold indexes
- Bracelet / strap
- Jubilee bracelet
- Clasp / buckle
- Titanium deployant clasp
- Water resistance
- 500 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 44E — In-house tourbillon, manual-winding
- Movement type
- Manual-winding
- Frequency
- 36,000 vph (5 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 45 hours
- Number of jewels
- 31 jewels
- Complications
- Flyback chronograph
- Functions
- Annual calendar, moon phase
- Watchmaker
- The calibre is built in-house and adjusted in five positions before delivery.
Production & market
- Production period
- 2001 – 2014
- 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 072 40 mm Mother-of-pearl 18k sits within Richard Mille's RM 072 line, introduced in 2001. It carries the house codes established since 2001 — 18k yellow gold 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
- Early production dials show a slightly different minute track, and collectors pay a premium for them.
- The bracelet tapers across its length, which is why the profile looks thinner on the wrist than the specification suggests.
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.