Richard Mille RM 64-01 Tourbillon Colnago: The logo of the legendary frame builder on one of the world's most expensive watches testifies to the transformation of cycling over the last few decades. Whether one finds this playful luxury product interesting or not, it always serves as a welcome occasion for a discussion about the soul of cycling. To feel close to this traditional Italian brand, however, a simple pen will suffice.
Recently, an acquaintance from the local cycling scene told me about his old Eddy Merckx racing bike and the story behind it: His brother had ridden the bike first, and he had received it from Merckx himself at the Velo Schauff shop in Remagen, where the down-to-earth Belgian insisted on adjusting the racing machine to the young rider.
The greatest racing cyclist of all time, who, during a business visit to the Rhineland, finds time for the local up-and-coming cyclists – you can hardly get closer to the soul of cycling. I, too, have occasionally been quite close to him, for example, when Velomotion visited Ernesto Colnago 20 years ago. The junior boss led us through the production facilities and the company museum, where we stood reverently before the track bike that Colnago had built for Merckx's hour record attempt. And after a lengthy conversation, Ernesto Colnago, as a parting gift, pressed a ballpoint pen with the famous "asso di fiori" into the hand of each of his visitors, a pen I still treasure to this day.
Not everyone has the privilege of meeting Ernesto Colnago (or Eddy Merckx). However, becoming part of the bicycle manufacturer's legend is relatively easy. Complete Colnago bikes are available for under €5.000, and even those seeking something more exclusive don't necessarily have to save for years. With the recently introduced Steelnuovo, you get very close to the essence of Colnago: The sleek steel frame is handcrafted in Italy, combining the traditional material with state-of-the-art manufacturing processes such as 3D printing of the connecting parts. The Steelnuovo also boasts all the latest assembly standards and contemporary tire clearance of 35 mm, and the frameset isn't particularly expensive by today's standards: The manufacturer is asking just €5.500 for it.
This isn't exactly "sports luxury," but this is where the product that recently garnered attention from Colnago comes into play. It's a Richard Mille wristwatch, adorned with the "asso di fiori" logo, just like my pen, and decorated with components reminiscent of the typical shapes of a Colnago carbon frame. Richard Mille's unique selling points include its extensive in-house manufacturing capabilities and the extremely complex mechanism, which undoubtedly ensures high-precision timekeeping. And then there's the exorbitant price point, which clearly identifies the wearer as a member of the super-rich.
Richard Mille 64-01 Tourbillon Colnago: Luxury object on the arm of the stars
Richard Mille is also known for solving difficult technical problems – such as how cyclists can record their annual mileage on a mechanical watch. In cooperation with the cycling-enthusiast and racing driver Alain Prost, the watch brand developed a system of five number wheels (like those on a bicycle lock) visible on the dial, which can be controlled and switched using two pushers on the side of the case. This allows the wearer to enter kilometers in increments of one to ten thousand at the touch of a button, although, of course, some mental arithmetic is required after each ride to correctly add up the kilometers just covered.
This sounds a bit like a gimmick, of course, just as one of the key functional features of Richard Mille watches has no practical use: This refers to the so-called tourbillon, in which the watch's timing components, the balance wheel and the escapement, constantly rotate on their own axis. In pocket watches, which were permanently hung in one position, this was used to compensate for positional errors; however, the constantly moving wristwatch has no need for this complex technology. Rather, the tourbillon is about demonstrating what is technically possible and the watchmaking expertise that Richard Mille, of course, possesses in abundance.
Ultimately, the Colnago watch (unlike the racing bike) isn't about practical use anyway. What is it about then? That's hard to say, not least because the price of this limited edition of 50 pieces is around one million euros (officially 800.000 Swiss francs plus VAT). Some watch experts believe that one or two zeros could easily be removed from the seven-figure price tag. In the end, we're back to buzzwords like "attention economy" or "display of immense wealth," or we can take a more pragmatic view: The rule (which I established) that a wristwatch roughly represents a month's income for its wearer also applies to cycling stars like Tadej Pogačar or Mathieu van der Poel, who are among the most well-known Richard Mille fans in the peloton. While it can be assumed that they do not have to pay for their Richard Mille watches, they are contractually obligated to wear the timepiece while practicing their sport.
Still not closer to the soul of cycling
Focusing on the Colnago model from the exclusive watch brand doesn't bring you any closer to the soul of cycling. Because that soul is perhaps still as down-to-earth as Eddy Merckx adjusting a schoolboy's racing bike. And of course, there are watch manufacturers who represent this down-to-earth quality better than Richard Mille, while also maintaining a close connection to cycling. Tudor, for example, sponsor of the Swiss team and official timekeeper of the Giro d'Italia. There, you can find a functional and quite unusual timepieces which costs about as much as an Italian steel frame…
