Few Richard Milles have achieved the following of the RM 011, and the Black Phantom is its most sought-after execution. The tonneau case measures 50mm by 40mm and is built from NTPT carbon, hundreds of layers of parallel carbon filaments impregnated with resin, machined so the layers surface as a fine woodgrain pattern unique to every single case. Front and back bezels are matte black TZP ceramic, and even the crown and pushers are carbon. The all-black treatment gives the watch its name and an effect that is genuinely unusual on the wrist: enormous in size, yet almost weightless, and light-absorbing rather than reflective.

Behind the skeletonised dial is the automatic calibre RMAC1, visible in its entirety through the openworked architecture that defines the model. It drives a flyback chronograph with a 60-minute countdown timer and 12-hour totaliser, along with an oversize date at twelve o'clock, the month display and an annual calendar that requires adjustment only once a year. The variable-geometry rotor can be tuned to the wearer's level of activity, and the movement holds roughly 55 hours of power reserve. It is engineered like a racing component, and it is finished to a standard that bears close inspection through the sapphire caseback.

The Black Phantom was released in 2014 in a run of just 50 pieces, allocated exclusively to the North and South American markets, and it has since become one of the most collectible RM 011 variants ever produced. Complete with its black rubber strap and black DLC titanium buckle, it remains the definitive expression of Richard Mille's carbon-era design language and a piece that rarely stays available for long.