The fast-paced MT chronographs
run on the reliable ETA Valjoux Caliber 7753.
 Writing
instruments, too
As
an added bonus, Richards is once again branching into writing instruments. Only this time he is doing so under his own name. At BaselWorld 2006, visitors to the
BRM booth will be treated to the sight of Richards's robust, machine-oriented, limited-edition SCR 22 fountain pen (fifty pieces) as well as the unlimited ballpoint
and fountain pens made of aluminum and black PVD aluminum that enjoy the same amount of attention in the BRM factory as the timepieces.
The
barrels and all other metal parts, including the carbon and aluminum fibers, are formed, shaped and worked in the factory. Richards designed the high-tech titanium
nib of the SCR 22 and also created the tooling, though he actually has the nib manufactured by a specialist in Germany, to ensure complete writing pleasure. This
nib was in development for a complete year before it could be produced.
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All the metal parts on this unlimited ballpoint pen, made of black PVD aluminum and aluminum fiber, are manufactured in BRM's factory.
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“Gold
is not a material that is good for our company. Our materials need to be high-tech to harmonize with our concept,” explains Richards. (For the record, nibs
of fine writing instruments are generally made of gold or stainless steel.)
There
are no plastic parts on Richards's pens, and all metal parts have been milled from a solid block of material in the BRM factory. And also in line with the watches,
each pen will have its own serial and/or limitation number.
Exclusive production
Richards
does not plan on ever making more than 2,000 watches per year even if demand should rise above that.
“Our
clients don't mind waiting for their BRMs,” he reports. “This is not mass production; our products are not made in that spirit. If it were only about
business or money, I would not be interested. Our clients like our spirit. You see us as we are.”
He
explains that he is glad to have stepped out from behind the curtain to reveal his own face to the watch-buying public.
“For
me it has never been and never will be about money,” says the 47-year-old self-taught designer. “It's a real thrill for me to see my name and my products
in the windows of some of the best retail shops in the world.”
And
seven of these exclusive shops are in the United States, thanks to a man whom Richards refers to as “an integral part of the BRM family.” Frédéric
Gasser founded the U.S. subsidiary of BRM in Dallas a short twenty months ago. Sales through the above-mentioned doors, and at Neiman Marcus, account for an ample
amount of BRM's worldwide sales.
“It's
a story of passion more than anything,” says Gasser, who stumbled upon Richards and his products by seeing a story on him in a magazine. Gasser reports that
the chemistry between the men and the products was “just right” and that it took off from there. “It's just about passion and emotion,” he says,
and continues to check out the new motorbikes scattered around the factory that Richards has acquired since Gasser's last trip to Magnysur-Vexin from Texas.
“We
do our work for love, not money,” Richards confirms over the sound of the CNC machines that are always audible in the background.
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