The magic begins at Donze Baum as the Richard Mille case arrives as a cast and stamped blank (see first picture above). This is done by a separate company, since this work has not only become a specialization, but is of a different nature: noisy and somewhat dirty! So it is kept far away from the cutting and drilling machines as possible. If the blanks are of precious metal, they will have come from only one of six foundries in Switzerland that are licensed to smelt from precious metal. (These smelters also supply several variations in the content of precious metal alloy to each client as requested). The blanks are fairly crude and only vaguely resemble the final shape and form of the Richard Mille case. Visible, in basic form, are the pedestals to hold the movement (once the case has been finished).
Richard Mille cases only use the finest forms of metal. Ingots either arrive in grade 2 titanium, 18-carat red gold (5N), white gold, or platinum. In terms of pricing his watches, collectors have wondered why the titanium watch is the same price as the 18-carat red gold case watch. Some pricing economics will hopefully clear this up. The basic blank of titanium is definitely less expensive than the equivalent in gold or platinum, but the difference becomes minimal when the costs of machining and finishing the complex case are included.