Quartz TPT consists of a huge number of interlocking layers of microscopically thin carbon – measuring just 45 microns thick, less than a twentieth of a millimetre – which are heated to 120 degrees Celsius to create the material’s unique texture and grain. Inspired by a type of carbon used to make yachts, the material is lightweight and tough, as well as non-allergenic and resistant to UV rays, and achieves its brilliant white colour without the use of dyes.

The RM 17-02 lets it all hang out with a collection of motorsport references that adorn the sort of wildly skeletonised dial typical of Richard Mille. As we’ve come to expect from this innovative manufacturer, it shows off a dramatic, multilevel display of wheels, gears and hands, alongside a baseplate and bridges made from grade 5 titanium alloy for extra strength, rigidity and corrosion resistance.

The impressive 70-hour power reserve, fed by a fast rotating barrel, is indicated on a scale that resembles a speedometer and that intersects one of the movement’s gears at 2 o’clock on the dial. It appears above another visual touch that takes its cues from the automotive world: the function indicator located at 4 o’clock, which is styled like a car’s gearbox. The indicator displays which hand-setting mode the watch is in at the time, with one of the letters – W (winding), N (neutral) and H (hands) – pointed to by a descending hand.

The watch is based on the manufacturer’s manual winding calibre RM 17-02, which is slimline enough that it allows the case to measure in at just 13.08mm thick. Water resistant to 50 metres, it is limited to just 30 pieces, and joins two previous versions of the RM 17-02 Manual Winding Tourbillon, in ATZ ceramic, which were released in 2022 in another limited edition of 30 pieces each in white and blue.