When French skier Alexis Pinturault lifted the Crystal Globe of the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup into the air last March 20th in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, it was a prophetic moment. He turned 30 that day and became only the third Frenchman to take home the trophy and the first to take home the trophy in 24 years following in the footsteps of Luc Alphand in 1997 and the skiing legend Jean-Claude Killy in the 1960s.

The exceptional athlete was sporting an exceptional watch on his wrist, the automatic winding extra flat RM 67-02 from the house of Richard Mille. It is the lightest of all of the Richard Mille automatic watches weighing in at only 32 grams thanks to a combination of exceptional materials like the TPT Quartz and TPT Carbon and the Grade 5 titanium and a non-slip elastic strap. The watch was designed to be adapted to various sporting disciplines and so is also worn by Formula 1 racing car drivers Kimi Räikkonönen and Fernando Alonso. The watches are customized for each athlete often with national colors so the bridges of the Alexis Pinturault RM67-02, for example, are hand painted in the colors of the French flag.

The timepiece is showcases a racy and handsome skeleton movement and is outfitted with a power reserve of 50 hours. The skeletonized baseplate and bridges were subjected to separate and extensive validation tests to make sure they met the rigorous strength requirements of the house. The case is made from TPT Quartz and TPT Carbon while the dial is made of titanium and hand-painted in the colors of the Richard Mille partner’s flag. TPT stands for thin ply technology and accounts for the lightness of the watch.
© Trish Valicenti for The Gourmet Gazette
http://www.richardmille.com/