Here’s a bit of a riddle for you: what does Richard Mille’s new RM 11-05 automatic winding flyback chronograph GMT have in common with the aerospace, automotive, and ballistics industries? If you answered cermet, then you were correct. If you have no idea what cermet is, then you soon will.

Ceramics have been around since primitive times, but it as in the 1980s that these artificial materials made their way into the watch world. Used for their scratch-resistant qualities, high tech ceramics are nonmetallic and inorganic, and they boast some seriously strong molecular bonds. This grants the material a high melting point and an extreme hardness—hardness that rivals diamonds. Certme is a ceramic-metal composite that is as light as titanium and as hard as a diamond. The aerospace, automotive and ballistics industries for high-performance ceramic inserts. Richard Mille used the material for the case and bezel of the RM 11-05. Richard Mille partnered with the IMI Group, a microtechnology solutions company that services the luxury goods market, to perfect the material.

The watch has a lot more going for it than just a revolutionary ceramic. It boasts a skeletonised automatic winding movement that is made of titanium. The movement also includes a flyback chronograph that displays minutes and countdown counters at the 9 o’clock position, an hour counter at 6 o’clock, and UTC functionality. It also has a variable geometry rotor and offers 55 hours of power reserve. The watch comes on a Carbon TPT band.

As you might imagine, putting a watch like this together is no easy feat. Just to make the case, RM and IMI had to pioneer a new process called “flash sintering.” With that in mind, only 140 pieces will be made.