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 39 mm Blue Carbon
Reference 25521OR.80
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Richard Mille
- Collection
- RM 072
- Model
- Richard Mille RM 072 39 mm Blue Carbon
- Reference number
- 25521OR.80
- Year / era
- 2001 · 2000s — modern production
- Complication
- Perpetual calendar
- Movement
- In-house automatic with 22k gold rotor
- Case material
- Carbon TPT
- Dial type
- Blue "Grande Tapisserie"
- Strap / bracelet
- Oyster bracelet
- Water resistance
- 50 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 39 mm
- Case thickness
- 12.6 mm
- Case material
- Carbon TPT
- Bezel
- Smooth polished
- Crystal
- Sapphire with internal AR treatment
- Dial
- Blue "Grande Tapisserie"
- Hands
- Faceted dauphine hands, polished by hand
- Indexes
- Applied faceted white-gold indexes
- Bracelet / strap
- Oyster bracelet
- Clasp / buckle
- Folding clasp in matching case metal
- Water resistance
- 50 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 9B — In-house automatic with 22k gold rotor
- Movement type
- Automatic, self-winding
- Frequency
- 36,000 vph (5 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 38 hours
- Number of jewels
- 37 jewels
- Complications
- Perpetual calendar
- Functions
- GMT second time zone, date
- Watchmaker
- Assembled and regulated by a single watchmaker, who signs off the piece before casing.
Production & market
- Production period
- 2001 – 2013
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Values have stabilised after the 2022 correction; condition and box-and-papers drive the premium.
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 072 39 mm Blue Carbon sits within Richard Mille's RM 072 line, introduced in 2001. It carries the house codes established since 2001 — carbon tpt case, blue "grande tapisserie" dial and in-house automatic with 22k gold rotor — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- The reference was originally planned as a one-year run and stayed in the catalogue for well over a decade.
- The case is finished by hand, alternating polished and satin-brushed surfaces in a single pass so the edges stay razor sharp.
- Early production dials show a slightly different minute track, and collectors pay a premium for them.
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.