The Luxury Watches of Richard Mille

When tennis superstar Rafael Nadal walks onto the court for a big match, he carries with him just a few important pieces of equipment to help ensure success: his racquet, a sturdy and flexible pair of tennis shoes and his watch. Not just any watch, but a fabulously intricate and stylistic timepiece that Nadal himself co–designed with renowned Swiss designer Richard Mille.

"Anything on my hand bothers me," says Nadal, the first player to ever win three consecutive Grand Slam titles on three different court surfaces. "I thought it would be really difficult to accept the challenge and play with a watch on. But when I understood what the watch was all about, I didn’t hesitate."

What the watch is about is much more than just telling time. It’s a fashion piece that stands out from the crowd as an extremely rare and highly complex design that makes a subtle statement of Nadal’s personality, perseverance and confidence in being the best player, both on the court and off. 

"There was a connection right away," Nadal says of the first time that he met Richard Mille on the Spanish Island of Majorca. "He is a very positive person and we started working together; the timepiece they provided me is a marvel, it weighs practically nothing and makes me feel extremely comfortable. But at the same time, if I play without it I feel something is definitely missing."

The original timepiece on Nadal’s wrist was the RM027 Tourbillon, a traditional mechanical watch taken to the extreme with NASA–like technology. It’s a 20–gram timepiece created with carbon nanotube with manual winding movement and a cable suspension mechanism for the baseplate that is designed to endure the brutal physicality of Nadal’s violent game. It is one of only 50 such pieces produced and each is inscribed on the back with Nadal’s name and the model and piece number, in the same fashion as a work of fine art.

And the price tag—should you be so inclined to ask—is just a few ticks under $700,000. 

"Some people buy houses or apartments as an investment and not just for personal use," Nadal says. "It’s the same with this watch. It’s a special watch with avant–garde technology."

In fact, several of the 200–plus Richard Mille models on the market today are priced north of $1 million, including the recently released RM 19–02 Tourbillon Fleur, with a white gold case set with diamonds, priced at $1.09 million and the RM 51–02 Tourbillon Diamond Twister retailing for $935,000. All Richard Mille models are limited editions, from 30 to 100 produced, and most, but not all, retain the hallmark rectangular design that is transparent, showing the tourbillon technology all the way through the watch. 

"Richard’s watches are not just time pieces, they are wearable collector’s items," explains Laura Hughes, director of communications, who is based in the company’s Beverly Hills boutique on South Rodeo Drive, just one of two Richard Mille stores in the U.S. "You can buy an exotic car or custom home, but you can’t take that with you to a business meeting, restaurant or cocktail party. When you wear a Richard Mille watch, people will see it from across the room; it’s very recognizable."

But not all of the company’s models carry such a lofty price tag. In fact, the designer recently released a new, 50–piece limited edition model called the RM 011 Yellow Storm which retails for only $170,000, and a brand new limited edition "all black" RM 61–01 model, carrying the endorsement of Jamaican sprinter Yohan Blake, available for just $130,000. Speaking of endorsements, there’s a long list of high–profile celebrities and sports stars who have collaborated on the design of a Richard Mille model. They include golfer Bubba Watson; Brazilian Formula One racer Felipe Massa; actor Jackie Chan; Academy Award–winning actress Natalie Portman; Grammy Award winner Pharrell Williams; and international polo star Pablo Mac Donough, to name just a few. 

For more information about the exclusive Richard Mille model lineup, visit richardmille.com.