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RM027 Tourbillon FIRST THOUGHTS

_DC_

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This is barely a rep, it’s more a sort of “owed to” the RM027. It’s not accurate, at all, so if you were hoping for a blow by blow account of how many millimetres larger all the case dimensions are or how the jewels are slightly the wrong shade of pink then I’m sorry to disappoint you but that would be missing the point of this watch entirely. Instead let’s discuss the less obvious things about this watch!

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The first thing to note is that I can barely hear myself think right now because this thing is ticking so loudly in my ear. I’ve had some loud watches in my time, the ST19 vintage Daytonas are famously rather noisy, but this takes it to a whole new level!!!

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That said, once you get past the fact that it’s basically shouting at you constantly, you start to appreciate its looks. The interplay of matt and polished black surfaces on the case immediately catches your eye, and is both sharp and crisp. Then you notice the chamfered polished recesses for the bezel and strap screws.

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After seven years of this hobby I’ve come to accept that such details rarely appear on reps, and if they do they are generally sloppy and rough, and you just have to kind of live with it. But not here, this case, as black and ominous as it is, has been superbly executed.

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It doesn’t take long for your attention to shift to the shiny insides though, where you can get lost in its sheer depth. The movement is dominated by the two chevron bridges, which are also well finished with drawn brushed faces and polished chamfers. They are secured with tiny RM style spline screws, which means the factory has gone to the lengths of manufacturing a specific tool just for the purpose of attaching these four screws to this watch... that’s attention to detail that impresses me and goes some way to justifying the astronomical price!

The upper bridge sits over the mainspring barrel, which is also skeletonised allowing you to see the mainspring itself and check the state of the wind. The lower bridge houses the tourbillon, which at first appears to be completely un-related to the rest of the movement which is a neat illusion. After some inspection, however, you spot the gears nestled in the depths of the case and realise they aren’t faux gears (like we’ve come to expect these days) but actual real moving gears, albeit very slowly of course... well ok there is one faux gear, but come on it is a rep, what did you expect?

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As previously mentioned the movement is loud, I’d guess because there’s such a lot of room in the case for the sound to amplify, but the winding is also satisfyingly loud and clicky with nice resistance (this is what everyone wants from a manual wind watch... fact! A quiet and loose winding crown is like a limp wristed handshake, it’s no fun at all) but best of all you can see the keyless works and the winding gear turn as you wind. Then you pull the crown and again watch the keyless works click into action, followed by more moving gears as you set the time. This does have its drawbacks, namely the fact that it’s so much fun compared to every other watch that you find yourself constantly changing the time, which is rather impractical!

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So if this isn’t really a “good rep” in terms of being accurate to gen, then why spend $1,300 on it?! Well it’s simple really. It might not be a good rep but given the number of times I see people saying “I will wait for the V2” every time a new rep is released it seems there really isn’t such a thing as a good enough rep in any case these days, and certainly if you’re someone who likes the RM027 aesthetic then you’re not ever expecting there to be an accurate rep of it. But if you are that person, and black tonneau shaped tourbillon watches is your jam, then what this rep is exceptional at is being a watch. It’s easily the best, coolest, most contemporary, most technical, most eye catching and of course loudest watch I’ve ever owned! It’s bloody brilliant!!!

Like RM and can afford one? Buy it! You won’t be disappointed!!

DC
 

GingerBubba

SUPERLATIVE SUPPORTER I'm an angel
24/10/17
3,385
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Oh man!!!!! I wanted one when I saw that single pic you posted yesterday (next door), but these are just :w00t::dribble::drool:

Stunning pics, stunning watch, thanks for doing it - I really need to go to a G2G with you so I can see this beauty irl!!!

Gorgeous!
 
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pip72

Active Member
21/2/19
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I have a Richard Mille RM 011 forged carbon Chronograph replica, It looks amazing and is very curate.
 

Glaude

Tech Admin
Staff member
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11/8/17
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Splendid watch !

GingerBubba As agreed, once you came back with it without him knowing, 70% it's yours, the remaining time, it's mine !
 

gclass

You're Saying I Can Sell?
2/9/16
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Thanks for the review DC. You took the rep game to the next level.
I am going through the phase of downsizing my collection. I think the is definitely a grail.
I fortunately had the opportunity to try out a real RM. The way it sits on the wrist and the aesthetics seem to be great when compared the kvf models.
What's funny is that when I tried the gen in the boutique, the tourbillon wasn't working. I think they don't want clients to screw it up!!

Could you please tell us more about:
- the weight in comparison with the rm001 and the crystal reflection?

best regards,
 

Suux88

Active Member
22/4/12
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Great pictures, good review
how are dimensions on wrist

i hated other RM reps for being “boxy”
 

aquamac

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‘‘This looks like the nicest RM rep ever, I have seen it on Trusty, but I have a bit of an issue at the moment with them. Love that (some of the) the gears work, this has always let past RM’s down. Definitely have to order, DC, thanks for the great insight, one question, any idea how the strap attaches, although a bit irrelevant as the std one is so nice!
 

_DC_

I'm Pretty Popular
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I have a Richard Mille RM 011 forged carbon Chronograph replica, It looks amazing and is very curate.

Lol, oooookaaaay, not sure what your point is but fair enough!

For the record I’ve owned that same watch (the Felipe Massa Anniversary model) and it’s a great rep. Not quite on the same level as this in terms of quality but certainly closer to gen!!

DC
 

_DC_

I'm Pretty Popular
3/1/13
1,387
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Thanks for the review DC. You took the rep game to the next level.
I am going through the phase of downsizing my collection. I think the is definitely a grail.
I fortunately had the opportunity to try out a real RM. The way it sits on the wrist and the aesthetics seem to be great when compared the kvf models.
What's funny is that when I tried the gen in the boutique, the tourbillon wasn't working. I think they don't want clients to screw it up!!

Could you please tell us more about:
- the weight in comparison with the rm001 and the crystal reflection?

best regards,

The RM001 is just over 150g, this is 104g. So not quite as feather-like as the gen but very light compared with its replica sibling!!

The crystal is very clear and has decent AR, better than the RM001 but that does have two crystals which doesn’t help. I’m no AR expert but to me the RM027 is as good as you’d need/want/expect!

DC
 
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_DC_

I'm Pretty Popular
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Great pictures, good review
how are dimensions on wrist

i hated other RM reps for being “boxy”

Yeah I know what you mean, I think that’s ultimately the reason I sold my RM011 and several RM055s. The last RM055 I had was 16mm and definitely felt a bit boxy, at 15mm this is kinda just the right side of it, I’d say this is the limit before they start feeling boxy. The RM001 is the one to go for if you don’t want to feel boxy at all, that’s 14mm and looks and feels great, actually looks slim, relatively speaking!!

DC
 

_DC_

I'm Pretty Popular
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‘‘This looks like the nicest RM rep ever, I have seen it on Trusty, but I have a bit of an issue at the moment with them. Love that (some of the) the gears work, this has always let past RM’s down. Definitely have to order, DC, thanks for the great insight, one question, any idea how the strap attaches, although a bit irrelevant as the std one is so nice!

Yeah, when it arrived there was a bit of white stuff on the inside of the crystal so I’ve taken it apart to sort that out, and in the process I discovered the strap attaches in the same was at the KVF and similar models, with a “tongue” that inserts into the case. So I tried my KVF white rubber strap and... it doesn’t fit. Tongue was too big and width was different too, the strap itself was also thicker at the case than this, demonstrating how thin this rep is at the lugs (which is why it doesn’t feel boxy, same as RM001 which is also nicely tapered)!

DC
 

aquamac

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I have a gen RM 011 red strap which has the same tongue but slightly narrower in width than the KVF’s, I wonder if your watch is a similar fit to gen.. More academic than anything as I said before, the supplied strap looks really nice.
DC, where did you get yours from, as far as I can see, Puretime and Intime don’t have these yet.
 

_DC_

I'm Pretty Popular
3/1/13
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I have a gen RM 011 red strap which has the same tongue but slightly narrower in width than the KVF’s, I wonder if your watch is a similar fit to gen.. More academic than anything as I said before, the supplied strap looks really nice.
DC, where did you get yours from, as far as I can see, Puretime and Intime don’t have these yet.

Don’t be fooled by what is or isn’t on TD websites, chances are they can get it if asked, they just haven’t had sample photos from their supplier or something. I got mine from WatchFinder who don’t even have a website that they update!! Just email them and ask for it!

DC
 

SuperLory

Well-Known Repist
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Great review ! Thanks a lot
On a side note, did you do one for that rm001 ? Cos the more i look at it...