Richard Mille brings its sweet tooth to SIHH 2019

Richard Mille took the wraps off an entirely new collection at this year’s SIHH. And it appears to have traded in its usual tagline of “a racing machine for the wrist” for something a little sweeter.

The new Bonbon Collection includes ten references across two distinct families (the Sweets and the Fruits). Most of the collection is aimed at feminine wrists, however, there are two watches in the rectangular RM 16 family designed to be unisex.

Taken at face value, these new watches appear far simpler than a stereotypical Richard Mille watch; gone are the skeleton faces that let you see the grand complications below. However, in truth, these watches are just as hard to manufacture as RM’s trademark timepieces.

For starters, each case is machined out of the same materials that make up Richard Mille’s other hard-wearing watches, including Carbon TPT, TZP and ATZ ceramic. As to be expected, the movements are all in-house, and most are skeletonized – letting you see beyond the candied-dial to the movement below. And it is those dials that are most impressive.

Each of the candied citrus fruits, liquorice pieces, marshmallows and more are serious works of miniature art, produced by hand using brushes that are just a single hair thick. The enamel work is nothing short of spectacular, with each piece candy or fruit slice seemingly jumping off the dial.

While the Bonbon collection might seem like a departure from Richard Mille’s token high-end timepieces, they share many of the same characteristics; chiefly the brand’s exacting attention to detail.

Richard Mille watches have always been a guilty pleasure, and the Bonbon collection is a literal representation of that.