There are times when, in order to determine the value of an object –obviously, a revolutionary one– it is necessary to point out other objects existing at the same time in the competition.

This is the case of the creations of Richard Mille.

True, the last decades have been characterized by an intense creativity in the field of the Haute Horlogerie and, though many insist that there are no important innovations in watchmaking after the 18th century, these last decades have seen wristwatches changing repeatedly.

Though the ‘90s were characterized by the emergence of the first wristwatches housing one or more complications till then reserved exclusively for pocket watches, it’s only in the beginning of this century that the complicated watch finds the way to settle on the modern man’s wrist leaving his strongbox behind.

Up to 2001, wristwatches were too delicate and of a style reserved exclusively for evening wear. That is the reason why, for the most part, the first tourbillon wristwatches were rarely worn or frequently sent back to the manufacturers to be repaired.

The market of the complicated wristwatch was waiting for someone to find a solution and bring along a new whiff of air that would make happy all the new aficionados of beautiful mechanical watches, those who wanted to wear a complicated watch without renouncing their motorcycles, their sport activities or their modern stylistic choices.

As it often happens in life, this new whiff did not come from one of the great names of the traditional Haute Horlogerie but from a new watchmaking brand, created by a passionate man who could see ahead of his time.

Obviously I am referring to Richard Mille. Born in Draguignan in the department of Var, he studied Marketing in Besançon and worked in watchmaking in France, before he became Director of the watchmaking department and General Manager of the Jewellery department of Mauboussin, Place Vendôme, Paris.

During the creation of his first watch, he took the advice of two of his invaluable collaborators, the expert in fabrication of movements Renaud & Papi and the French “guru” of the Haute Horlogerie, avant-garde owner of the Paris boutique “Chronopassion”, Laurent Piciotto. Both showed a great enthusiasm which encouraged Richard Mille to establish the Richard Mille brand with the collaboration of his old friend Dominique Guenat.

In 2001, Richard Mille presented us the marvelous RM 001, the watch of his dreams, the one we also dreamt about without even imagining how it would be!!!

Never before was there a watch combining in such a marvelous way all the inheritance of the Haute Horlogerie with a futurist air based both on aesthetics and optimal comfort.

For the first time, respect towards the tradition of Haute Horlogerie and its techniques coexisted with new materials and techniques coming straight from the world of Formula 1 and aerospace engineering. For the first time ever, the timeless values of Haute Horlogerie were rhyming with comfort and with structured and dynamic character of the greatest artistic value, to offer a watch without compromises or artifices.

The power of the RM 001 was so imposing that, in a record time, both collectors and specialized press greeted with enthusiasm the brand Richard Mille.

I remember that at the time I had decided to change the already programmed cover of my magazine just one minute after I had seen for the first time the photo of this futuristic and high tech watch. It was something revolutionary and, furthermore, it was something quite rare to have a product of such luxury without the up to then mandatory “glamorous” side.

Richard Mille’s RM 001 was more than a beautiful new watch. For the world of luxury, it was the messenger of a new conception.

The public price of the RM 001 which was quite high (around 200,000 euros) imposed a very limited production, but the watch was such a success that soon the preorders came pouring by hundreds!!!

I don’t want to list the different brands that followed the example of Richard Mille’s watch (that would be too long) but I think that the greatest retribution for Richard Mille was to see numerous historical brands (those who were daring enough, because there are also those who are still “sleeping”) being influenced (aesthetically or conceptually) by his creations.

Through the following years, numerous horological creations kept Richard Mille always on the front line, revealing his passion for the mechanical world and especially for automobiles and aeronautics.

Nowadays the Richard Mille collection includes around 60 models regarded as fetishes by the passionate lovers of the beautiful mechanical watchmaking.

The Richard Mille brand was very soon on the top of the Haute Horlogerie, among the most prestigious brands of the milieu, brands which already had centuries of tradition behind them. Its visual identity was largely influenced by the tonneau-shaped casing of these creations which offered ideal comfort. We can see the same ADN both in rectangular form models (RM 016 and RM 017) and circular ones (RM 025, RM 028, RM 032, RM 033, RM 36-01…).

New materials like titanium grade 5, ARCAP and LITAL© are put in the service of functionality; this dictates the final form of each and every detail, as it also happens in the world of racing cars, the example of which Richard Mille follows strictly.

Every tiny component – including the famous screws – is the fruit of a months-long development and of a very important investment, since more than twenty stages are necessary for its realization.

The specific needs of each model often require an even more specialized research which leads to very innovating developments. Such an example is the RM 012 with the architectural tubular movement composed by tiny tubes made of Pynox, as well as the famous RM 027-01, the tourbillon watch Richard Mille created for his friend Rafael Nadal, the world’s lightest tourbillon with a casing made also of carbon nanotubes.

Richard Mille has borrowed the notion of security and shock resistance from the world of racing cars and has introduced it in the Haute Horlogerie. He also improved the plate’s rigidity, reduced abrasions and offered a great resistance to shocks, as well as system suppression.

The company Horometrie S.A. was founded in 2001 by Richard Mille and Dominique Guenat at Breuleux, a village near the watchmaking cities of La-Chaux-de-Fonds and Locle. Together with Dominique Guenat’s family firm, Montres Valgin, which dates more than a century back, they are responsible for the development, the fabrication, the distribution and the after sales service of Richard Mille watches.

Since April 2013, Proart, a new building of 3,000 m2 characterized by a very contemporary conception and created by Chavanne architects office, hosts the activities of the brand.

The Richard Mille watches are equally “champions” in finishing! As if they could be anything else! Just like the seats of a Bugatti Veyron, a car designed and created according to the top automobile technology, are hand-crafted by the most skilled craftsmen of the field with perfect respect to the art of leather, all the components of Richard Mille creations demand a very meticulous finishing and decoration by hand.

The screws, the bridges, the tourbillon cages, the barrels’ covers. the springs, the hands, even the casing of every watch are thus personalized and stamped by tradition which is the highest added value of the Haute Horlogerie both for collectors and connoisseurs of beautiful watches.

This hand-made finishing is also designated for the new – and first ever – metal bracelet of the brand.

The bracelet made of red gold 5N or white gold requires 65 hours of finishing and assemblage and several hours of machine tooling. Each of its dozens of links is microblasted, satin finished and polished. The links are held in place by 36 titanium grade 5 screws and the bracelet is completed by an elegant folding buckle. For the time being, it can be found only in the two feminine models RM 07-01 and RM 037.

EVENTS

Being a firm whose creations are inspired by the world of cars and aeronautics, as well as the world of sports in general, Richard Mille is closely associated with the most prestigious sporting events.

Principal Partner and Official Timekeeper of the Mans Classic since its first edition in 2002, Richard Mille keeps his biannual prestigious appointment with the passionate lovers of beautiful collection cars.

His presence in “Les Voiles de Saint Barth”, always as Principal Partner, even from its first edition in 2010, was the inspiration for the diving watch RM 028 Les Voiles de Saint Barth.

In the field of women’s golf, Richard Mille’s presence is confirmed by his participation as Major Partner in “Lacoste Ladies Open” and his association with the Italian champion Diana Luna. Golf demands precision, technique, concentration and stamina, primordial values shared by the creations of Richard Mille. The winner of the 2013 edition has been offered the unique RM 027 Titane with white crown, bracelet in white rubber and the name of the tournament “Lacoste Ladies Open 2013” on its caseband.

In the field of men’s golf, the “Le Richard Mille Invitational” is a competition which took place in November 2013 having as participants the best French golfers, as well as a prestigious guest, the American golfer Bubba Watson, partner of the Richard Mille firm.

The second edition of the event will take place next October, from the 13th to the 19th, on the golf cours of “Terre Blanche”.

PARTNERS

The list of the partners of Richard Mille, including all the personalities associated with the brand is long and very impressive.

The Jamaican Yohan Blake, born in 1990, is one of the fastest sprinters in the world. Winner of many medals in London 2012 and world champion at the 100m dash in Lausanne during the same year, he is partner to Richard Mille since July 2012. The RM 59-01 Yohan Blake model was created to respond to the latter’s needs during the race and it was followed in 2014 by the RM 61-01. Both are characterized by aerodynamics, optimal ergonomics, an original architectural structure, as well as a performance guaranteed by a specially developed tourbillon calibre.

Pablo Mac Donough is Richard Mille’s partner since 2012. The Argentine polo player, member of the L’Ellerstina e La Dolfina teams successively, started playing polo at the age of 6 and became Number 1 in the World Polo Tour in 2010, having won the “Camara de Diputados” Cup in Buenos Aires in 2001, the Argentine Triple Crown in 2010, the prestigious Argentine Open in 2011 with the team La Dolfina and many other awards. Richard Mille has developed exclusively for this great player the RM 053 Pablo Mac Donough, in a limited edition of 15 pieces in microblasted titanium and titanium carbide, a champion in shock resistance that could satisfy the imperative demands of a polo match!

The Brazilian pilot Felipe Massa was Richard Mille’s first ambassador and, as such, the first one seen piloting his F1 with a tourbillon wristwatch, that is, the splendid RM 006 that bore his name. To this purpose, Richard Mille invented and created a special plate from carbon nanofibers, inaugurating a series of high-tech watches that offered extreme resistance to the vibrations inflicted during a F1 Grand Prix.

Felipe Massa might have been the first F1 pilot to wear his wristwatch during a racing circuit, but soon he was followed by Sébastien Loeb, Jules Bianchi, Romain Dumas, Charles Leclerc, Adrien Tambay, James Calado and recently, Romain Grosjean.

The young pilot Romain Grosjean joined the pilot partners of Richard Mille in 2014. After several victories in F3, as well as the championship of GP2, he is now the official pilot of the Lotus F1 Team. Richard Mille designed especially for him the RM 011 Lotus F1 Team Romain Grosjean, an automatic flyback chronograph with the colors of the British team, case and bracelet in carbon NTPT especially light and resistant. Romain Grosjean will wear it throughout the Grands Prix of the season on the cuff of his suit reminding thus its qualities of resistance to shocks, vibrations and extreme speed.

Sebastian Loeb, in the age of 40, is a legend in the world of racing cars: 9 world titles, 78 victories and 116 podiums in the WRC Championship, as well as a new world record at Pikes Peak in 2013! Richard Mille created for him – and with his personal collaboration – the new tourbillon RM 36-01 Compétition G-Sensor Sébastien Loeb in a limited edition of 30. The rotating G-Sensor is a world premiere in horology.

Roberto Mancini, an Italian former football player has been acclaimed 6 times as champion of Italy, 2 times as Best Player of the Italian Championship, 2 times as winner of the European Cup Winner’s Cup and as winner of the UEFA Super Cup! In 2009, he took the great team of Manchester City under his wing leading it to the top of the English Championship in 2011. Since 2013, he is the new manager of the Turkish team Galatasaray winner this year the Turkish Cup.

His personality makes him a perfect representative of the Richard Mille brand. His watch? The RM 11-01 Roberto Mancini.

If Richard Mille’s watches have drawn men’s attention very rapidly, very soon it was the turn of the women to follow and the elegant side of Richard Mille’s casing proved in a very short time that it could also be very feminine! Richard Mille choose his first female athlete ambassador, the Italian Diana Luna, number 1 in Italian golf in 2013, with an international career. In her credit, Diana Luna has 32 participations in the Top-10, 5 victories in the European Tour and 6 victories in the Italian PGA, which is a national record. On her wrist, the RM 007 in titanium.

The question “Who is the most famous partner of Richard Mille?” will usually have as an answer the name of Rafael Nadal. The young Majorcan player has a record of 8 consecutive victories in the Roland Garros, a score never achieved before by any other player in the history of tennis in all the tournaments of the Grand Slam. In 2013, the milestone year of his career, Rafa won 10 titles! His watch, the RM 027-01 traveled around the world through the photos of Rafael Nadal playing tennis with his tourbillon on his wrist. Its weight makes the RM 027-01 the lightest watch in the world: just 19 grams together with the strap!!!

One could say that Richard Mille, through his different partners practicing the majority of sports in the extreme, is able to test his watches within a nature-sized laboratory. His new partner, the young French-Norwegian skier Alexis Pinturault, offers him the possibility to test his watches in high altitudes and low temperatures. World junior champion 2009 in giant slalom at the age of 18 in Garmisch Partenkirchen, he has 7 victories and 22 podiums by the beginning of 2014 in all the challenges of Alpine skiing (from the giant slalom to downhill ski), which ensured him the 3rd position in the world in the Crystal Globe at the age of 22!

The next ambassador of Richard Mille is not famous for her sporting activities. The American actress Natalie Portman is a woman of great distinction, awarded by the Academy, who has also studied Psychology in Harvard University and has supported numerous charities. Richard Mille has created for her the RM 019-01, a tourbillon watch decorated in the centre of its dial with a checkered pattern of diamonds and interlaced lines that form the image of a spider.

Bubba Watson is a great personality in the world of golf. He is one of the rare left-handed players of the golf circuit and he loves wearing his Richard Mille on his wrist when playing. Richard Mille has designed and created three models for him: the tourbillon RM 038, the tourbillon RM 055 and, recently the tourbillon RM 38-01 G-Sensor. All of them are champions in shock resistance. Otherwise, Bubba would have destroyed them with his forceful shots.

The Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh was Richard Mille’s inspiration for two of the most artistic creations in his watch collection: the tourbillon RM 051 Phoenix Michelle Yeoh, presented in 2011, and the tourbillon RM 51-01 Tigre et Dragon, presented in 2014 and inspired by the film Tiger and Dragon 2, where Michelle comes back to her fetish role of Yu Shu Lien (the film premieres in 2014).

RICHARD MILLE BOUTIQUES

Since the creation of the Richard Mille brand in 2001, Richard Mille watches have been offered for sale at the most respected retailers of the world.

Furthermore, Richard Mille sets up boutiques of its own brand in the most important markets of the world: Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, Geneva, Beverly Hills, London, Paris, Abu Dhabi, Jakarta, Seoul and Kuala Lumpur.

During the next two years, ten more new Richard Mille boutiques saw the light, trying to respond in the best possible way to the passion of the connoisseurs of the Haute Horlogerie for Richard Mille’s creations all over the world.

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