Yohan Blake, a Jamaican sprinter, who is also known by the nickname, “The Beast” ,won a gold medal at the 100 m at the 2011 world championships and a silver medal in the 2012 Olympic Games in London in the 100-m and 200-m races for the Jamaican team. His 100 m personal best of 9.69 seconds makes him the equal second fastest man ever with Tyson Gay, and after Usain Bolt, while his personal best for the 200 m (19.26 seconds) is the second fastest ever after Bolt. Blake’s partnership with Richard Mille started in 2012 London Olympics‘ 100-meter event, where he was the only sprinter who ran with an ultra-lightweight Richard Mille tourbillion prototype in obvious green, black, and gold color of Jamaican flagon his wrist, and became Richard Mille’s newest sporting ambassador. Their partnership continues to this day, since Yohan Blake has developed a specific calibre with Richard Mille: a watch designed for sprinters the world over. Premiered at the 2013 SIHH, the RM 59-01 Yohan Blake is an ergonomic, high-performance tourbillon watch that features a unique architectural structure.
A new interpretation of the tonneau shaped design favoured by Richard Mille is visible on the case, with dimensions 50.24mm x 42.7mm x 15.84 mm, but with an asymmetrical shape to be aerodynamic for a sprinter like Blake. At first glance, you’ll notice extremely dynamic bridges that span the movement and evoke the claws that refer to the man they call “The Beast.” Aside from hand-painted green and yellow, two colors that also appear on the aluminum flange in tribute to the Jamaican flag – and in honor of Yohan Blake, the RM 59-01 features a surprising thickness and tapering extension between 2 and 5 o’clock, which prevents any rubbing of the torque-limiting crown against Yohan Blake’s wrist, making it extremely comfortable to wear.
The RM 59-01 is equipped with a skeletonised, manually wound tourbillon movement, with an oscillating rate of 21,600 vibrations per hour and a power reserve of circa 48 hours. It offers an optimal performance/ regularity/power reserve ratio, provided by the combination of grade 5 titanium with anticorodal aluminium Pb109, optimised going train and a variable inertia balance.
The RM 59-01 for Yohan Blake is limited to 50 pieces with a price of $620,000.
RM 59-01 for Yohan Blake
RM 59-01 for Yohan Blake
