Airbus corporate jets
‘I am interested in aviation for several reasons. Firstly because it is a sector that is constantly seeking new materials and technologies and because it deals simultaneously with the infinitely small and the infinitely big, like the field of watchmaking.’
Richard Mille
Technology geared to the conquest of space and time. If ever two worlds were destined to come together, at the cutting edge of innovation, it was always going to be aviation and watchmaking.
Airbus, throughout its long history, has always had one mission : to provide ever new and efficient ways of moving through the air. Its technicians place themselves at the forefront of crafting the very latest in aeronautical design, allowing passengers to fly ever more efficiently and comfortably to their destination.
Airbus Corporate Jets (ACJ) is the high-end division of Airbus Group. This specialist department applies the very latest technological know-how to custom-made aircraft created for a wide range of personal clients, company executives and governmental leaders.
Customers are offered the greatest choice of wide and spacious cabins. With each client’s unique needs in mind, the possibilities are infinite, meeting often very complex needs for people who fly high, who fly fast - people who need to go where they want, how they want.
The first collaboration between the two brands started in 2016 with the creation of the RM 50-02 Tourbillon ACJ. The technical complexity of this model mirrors the ethos and exceptional engineering that characterize aircraft designed by ACJ.
‘We wanted to create a piece of architecture that struck the balance between solidity and technicity. The robust but beautifully designed Titanium-Aluminum casing had to perfectly match the intricacies of the watch mechanism, whilst at the same time capturing the inspiring design of the ACJ cabins and modern cockpits.’
This sums up the approach that guided Sylvain Mariat, Head of ACJ’s Creative Design Studio, when he drafted the designs for the RM 50-02. The result – a watch which reaches its destination, effortlessly, as quickly and comfortably as possibly, wherever that may be across the globe.
‘Bringing two different working cultures together is always productive. The sky's the limit.’
Richard Mille