Richard Mille

Freeman's New York, Time & Space: Watches from the Collection of Glen de Vries, Oct 18, 2023, Lot 39

Conceived in collaboration with Jamaican sprint legend Yohan Blake, the Richard Mille RM 61‑01 stands as one of the manufacture’s most distinctive athlete‑driven creations. Introduced in 2014, the model translates Blake’s explosive track presence into horological form, pairing a boldly asymmetrical case—engineered to prevent wrist contact during high‑velocity arm movement—with the brand’s signature skeletonized architecture. The present example, executed in TZP black ceramic and grade 5 titanium, exemplifies Richard Mille’s pursuit of extreme lightness and resilience; TZP’s ultra‑fine grain structure allows for deep matte finishing while offering exceptional scratch resistance, a material choice typically reserved for the brand’s most technically demanding references.

At its core lies the Caliber RMUL2, a manually wound movement suspended within the case by Richard Mille’s hallmark shock‑resistant architecture, tested to withstand accelerations exceeding those encountered in elite sprint competition. The vivid green accents—an homage to Blake’s Jamaican colors—underscore the model’s athletic provenance and have become a defining aesthetic of the reference. Produced in limited quantities and seldom appearing at auction, the RM 61‑01 has emerged as a sought‑after expression of the brand’s partnership with world‑class athletes, embodying the fusion of avant‑garde materials, ergonomic innovation, and sculptural design that has come to define Richard Mille’s modern era.