Simply Abu Dhabi Magazine XXI

8 5 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I TheCEOofAirbusCorporateJets,BenoîtDefforge,alsocommentedonthenaturalharmony of the partnership, saying, “In determining the most appropriate partner for ACJ, luxury watchmaking was a clear choice, with none better suited than Richard Mille. Richard was excited by our aircraft, just as we were by his exceptional watches. At the beginning, nothing was decided but aswe talkedmore, we realised that our products and philosophieswere truly aligned and importantly, that we had a goodworking relationship.” Reflectingontheharmoniousaffiliationbetweenthebrands,Defforgeadded,“Ithinkwhatis interesting is that both brands are pioneering.When designing a newwatch or aircraft, we are constantly setting new standards in production and innovation, as well as improving performance, reliability and comfort. Bothbrands create unique products that are designed to work under extreme conditions, using advanced technology to ensure their mechanisms are utterly accurate.” RichardMilleexplainshispersonalinspirationforthetimepiecesaying,“ForthiswatchIreally wanted to capture the aura of the ACJ aircraft, its spirit if you will, on several different levels. This involved a combination of allusions to thematerials, shapes, colours and visual aspect of theaircraft,andofcourse,mostimportantly,theverymechanicalcomplexityofthemovement, which echoes the complexity of the aircraft’smechanical design.” As regards the challenge of the micro-mechanics in this watch Mille adds, “A tourbillon combined with a split seconds chronograph remains one of the most difficult horological devicestocreate;infact,theyaresodifficulttoproducethatveryfewcompaniesevenconsider facing the challenge. That is where ACJ and RM are perfectly connected: we both strive to make the impossible available to our clients.” TheRichardMilleRM50-02ACJ Tourbillon Split SecondsChronographwatch is a limited editionof30piecesandispricedat$1,050,000.Ifyoucanaffordtheplane,whynotcompliment it with the perfect timepiece?