Richard Mille RM 26-02 Tourbillon Evil Eye One Of 25 Pieces Ever Made

The concept of the Evil Eye is recorded in every culture from early history. This universal symbol of foreboding summons suffering and misfortune to whoever is exposed to its power. The Evil Eye knows no bounds except those imposed on it by various protective talismans, such as the Eye of Horus amulet or the Irish four leaf clover, to name just a few.

Nonconformist by nature, Richard Mille seized on this imagery as inspiration for the new RM 26-02 Tourbillon Evil Eye in much the same way as he did when creating the earlier RM 052 skull timepiece, recalling the spirit of Memento Mori with its remembrance of our personal mortality. Both of these technical masterpieces, born in the Swiss Jura, go far beyond the norm to bring timekeeping to inspirational and intriguing levels of expression.

The Evil Eye RM 26-02 Tourbillon was designed and brought to life by Olivier Vaucher, a renowned craftsman from Geneva. Fashioned from 3N red gold, the flames and eye have been hand-carved using chisels made specifically to perfect the tiniest details. The art of grand feu enameling is what gives the eye its striking depth and realism. In grand feu enameling, the motif is painted onto the gold dial using various rare oxides before it is fired at a high temperature between 800°C and 900°C several times under the extremely attentive eye of the enameler in a process that leaves no room for mistakes. It is then finished with several more layers of transparent lacquer which are also fired in the identical manner. These multiple layers collectively create an exquisite visual depth impossible to achieve by any other means. To further enhance the realism of this piece, painstaking micro-lacquerwork is carried out by hand on the flames.

The Evil Eye is nestled at the heart of the calibre, a RM26-02 manual winding movement with a power reserve of circa 50 hours.