To celebrate the 50th career anniversary of Mr. Jean Todt, the president of the FIA —Federation Internationale de l'Automobile—, Richard Mille released the RM 11-03 Jean Todt Limited Edition during the 3rd Edition of Chantilly Arts & Elegance Richard Mille Concours d’Élégance. The FIA is the governing body of motor sports and the organization that aims to safeguard the rights and promote the interests of motorists and motor sports.
The third watch released by Richard Mille in collaboration with Jean Todt —the first one the RM 036 Tourbillon G-Sensor Jean Todt, the second one the RM 58-01 World Timer Jean Todt, the fourth one the RM 056 Jean Todt Sapphire and the fifth one the RM 050 Jean Todt 50th Anniversary Tourbillon Split Seconds Chronograph we featured here—, the RM 11-03 Jean Todt available in a limited edition of only 150 pieces, features a striking blue case —a first for Richard Mille— with a redesigned vented black rubber strap, a flyback 12-hour chronograph, 60-minute countdown and annual calendar.
The Dial
Very similar in design to all other RM 11s, the Richard Mille RM 11-03 Jean Todt Limited Edition features a dial almost identical to most Felipe Massa's limited editions with the exception of the white writing between 8 and 7 o'clock that reads RM11-03 J. Todt. Fitted with a sapphire dial with a mere thickness of 0.4 mm, the Richard Mille Jean Todt features a flyback chronograph, a 60-minute countdown timer and an annual calendar in what we think is a relatively busy dial but that follows the unmistakable look of Richard Mille watches.
The dial layout features a running seconds indicator at 3 o'clock, a monocounter 12-hour chrono register at 6 with hour and minute indicator, a 60-minute countdown timer indicator at 9 o'clock, a double date window located at 12 o'clock that displays the date thanks to a double sapphire disc system located at 10 and 2 o'clock respectively and a clever numeric month indicator located between 4 and 5 o'clock. The dial features yellow and green accents throughout the tachymetric scale and the registers and the skeletonized hands with luminescent material have bright red contrasting tips.
The Case & Strap
Following the design principle of all other RM11-03s recalling the world of motor sports, the case of the Richard Mille RM11-03 Jean Todt features the same silhouette that first appeared with the RM 27-01 Rafael Nadal. Still maintaining a tripartite case construction, the case is made of NTPT Blue Carbon and NTPT Black Carbon. While we absolutely love the NTPT technology Richard Mille uses, we are not too fond of the blue washed off look on the bezel and case back of this new watch.
Equipped with the traditional oversized pullout crown, this time the crown features a design borrowed from competition wheel rims and tires with grooves and treading on its blue O-ring. The specially shaped and engraved pushers are fully in line with the highly recognizable design cues of the RM 011 collection with etched lines inspired by the pedal surfaces of racing cars.
The Richard Mille RM11-03 Jean Todt Limited Edition is equipped with a new redesigned vented black rubber strap with titanium DLC-coated double folding clasp. This newly redesigned strap features more prominent and angular vents opposed to the more rectangular vents on all the other Richard Mille rubber straps.
The Movement
The beating heart inside the Richard Mille RM11-03 Jean Todt Limited Editon is the new RMAC3 automatic calibre. Accentuated by an upper bridge in satin-brushed grade 5 titanium that contrasts with the rest of the movement —also crafted in titanium but with a PVD coating—, its two barrels mounted side by side, ensure stable coupling while providing a power reserve of around 55 hours. The 4 Hz free sprung balance is highly resistant to shocks and can be tuned more precisely than a traditional balance wheel. This new movement is also fitted with a new variable-geometry rotor in grade 5 titanium, inspired by the aerodynamic front spoiler wings seen in Formula 1 cars.
This special rotor, makes possible to adjust the automatic winding of the watch to the wearer’s activity level by varying the inertia of the rotor thanks to two microblasted and chamfered wings in 18K white gold. Offering six possible positions, the grade 5 satin-brushed and PVD-treated titanium rotor is mounted on ceramic ball bearings.
On the Wrist & Pricing
On the wrist, the Richard Mille RM11-03 Jean Todt Limited Edition wears true to its size and with impressive wrist presence. The watch wears loud due to its NTPT blue case construction but extremely comfortably. While we are not crazy about the blue hue on the case of this new Richard Mille, we can definitely see ourselves wearing this watch as one of those eye-catching timepieces that complement a very large and highly valuable watch collection.
The Richard Mille RM11-03 Jean Todt Limited Edition is perfect for filling that empty spot in a watch box full of other Richard Mille watches, but not necessarily to be your first Richard Mille timepiece. The good thing about Richard Mille’s design is that it is so special and avant-garde that is really hard to dislike them, despite the use of a crazy color combination like on this particular watch. The Richard Mille RM11-03 Jean Todt is available in a 150-piece limited edition.
Sticker Price $140,000 USD. For more info on Richard Mille click here.
