In the luxury watch space, there are very few who are on par with the illustrious Richard Mille. Seen on the wrists of the world’s most famous and prestigious, it is truly an opportunity to even have the chance to see one in person. What makes these watches so special? The masterful craftsmanship behind each piece consists of countless hours of engineering at the highest level. The technical engineering that goes into making a Richard Mille is used in some of the most difficult engineering feats in the world. It is frequently used in the aerospace, aeronautics, and automotive industries. Here is a list of some of the most unique and rare Richard Mille watches on the market that are accompanied by a large price tag.
The RM 88 Automatic Winding Tourbillon Smiley
Price: $1,220,000
Quantity: 50
One of Richard Mille’s rarest pieces is the RM 88 Automatic Winding Tourbillon Smiley. A watch limited to only 50 with a globally distinguishable smiley face located in the face. Around the face itself is an array of miniature sculptures that enhances the overall essence of the smiley face. This watch is one of the more eccentric Richard Milles with a plethora of colors and a strong yellow band. It’s a light watch figuratively and literally, the creation of this ballet was a technical challenge of the highest order. It has a skeletonized automatic winding tourbillon movement with hours, minutes, and function indicators. Micro-blasted 5-grade titanium with PVD treatment lends great rigidity to the baseplate and the bridges.
Striking RM 52-01 Blue Sapphire Skull Tourbillon
Price: $2,625,000
Quantity: 10 or fewer
Considered the most sought and expensive Richard Mille, the Striking RM 52-01 Blue Sapphire Sull Tourbillon is a stunning watch featuring a skull in the center and blue sapphire along the casing. The amount created varies on who you ask but most say there are less than 10 floating around and some even say only 3 pieces are circulating the world and populating wrists. With these types of pieces where supply is so little, it is not only a great purchase at the time but also for the future. The value is destined to increase as time goes on, such as an art piece. An interesting feature of this watch is it is water-resistant which makes the sapphire blue even better. It went on sale in 2012 and has since been labeled as one of the most expensive watches in the world.
Limited Edition RM 11-03 2018 Mclaren
Price: $191,500
Quantity: 500
Next, there is the limited edition RM 11-03 2018 Mclaren which was limited to 500 pieces in making. This Calibre RMAC3 has a skeletonized automatic movement with hours, minutes, and seconds, a flyback chronograph, a 60-minute countdown timer at 9 o’clock, a 12-hour totalizer, oversize date, month indicator, and variable-geometry rotor. This collaboration with A-class sports car maker Mclaren is a dynamic duo centered around precision engineering and of the most popular Richard Milles. Debuted at the 2018 Geneva International Motor Show, this piece was created in close collaboration with McLaren design director Rob Melville. The case of RM 11-03 is made of Carbon TPT interlaced with Orange Quartz TPT resulting in a beautiful lightweight case that embodies the McLaren look.
Rafael Nadal Watch No. 4 (RM 027)
Price: $2,520,000
Quantity: 50
It is only fitting that one of the greatest stars to bless a tennis court has a series of Richard Mille collaborations. The 4th of his collaboration, the Rafael Nadal RM 27-04 Tourbillon TitaCarb is limited to 50 pieces worldwide. This watch was produced in 2021 and has a manual winding movement. What makes this watch so fascinating is the hours of work spent ensuring this watch would suffice the lightness and resistance to Rafael Nadal’s needs. The piece weighs in at 30 grams including the strap with a skeletonized base plate, and bridges in grade 5 titanium. It is a watch made for one of the greatest athletes to ever live, meaning it passes all strength requirements. The alloy is 90% titanium, 6% aluminum, and 4% vanadium. The case is also made from a brand new material exclusive to Richard Mill known as TitaCarb which is a high-performance polyamide that has been reinforced with up to 38.5% carbon fibers through the work of the team at Richard Mille and its partner, Biwi SA.
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