Richard Mille RM 88 Automatic Tourbillon Smiley

The smile, universal and multivalent, is fundamental to our social interactions; an expression of our innate desire to connect with others. Like the little yellow face that appeared in 1972 in the pages of the French newspaper, France Soir which rapidly went viral, the Smiley conveys positive energy. It is a symbol of communication that comes to life today in the effervescent world of the RM 88 Automatic Tourbillon Smiley.

This new in-house automatic tourbillon calibre is highly technical and creative and took three years to develop. Each of its decorative elements are cheerful emanations of the Smiley world: a blossoming flower, the warm rays of the sun, a delicious pineapple, a blooming cactus, a pink flamingo and a brightly-coloured rainbow. A festive cocktail to be savoured drop by drop, as the drinking glass in this neon pop scene suggests.

The RM 88 Smiley bears witness to a succession of technical and aesthetic challenges that were successfully overcome. The dimensions and weight of the gold micro-sculptures created by the engraver Olivier Kuhn required particular care, as the assembled parts, each weighing less than a gram, must withstand every type of shock. It was then necessary to determine how to arrange the objects in the three-dimensional space around the central motif, the Smiley, not only to maximise their effect but also to facilitate their insertion by the watchmaker. The solution was to equip the RM 88 with two baseplates: one technical, to support the movement, and the other auxiliary, to secure the ornamentation on the left-hand side of the dial. This second baseplate was subsequently mounted onto the movement and serves to present the objects on an inclined plane for added volumetric effect.