Richard Mille

After spearheading the watchmaking department for numerous companies including the legendary fine jeweler Mauboussin, industry veteran Richard Mille launched his eponymous brand in 2001. Since its inception, Richard Mille has been dedicated to utilizing the latest technical innovations and exotic materials to produce timepieces that are unmistakably modern in look and at the forefront of horological achievements.

The RM27-03 Tourbillon Rafael Nadal is very much an expression of this. Made of Quartz TPT, a carbon composite, the case gets its color from the resins used to bind the carbon fibers inside the material and the red and yellow color palette, a nod to Nadal’s home country, while the spherical yellow crown is modelled on a tennis ball. The movement base is made from a matching composite material, being an novel “unibody” structure where the base plate and case band are one piece, a construction first used in the RM 27-02. The angular titanium bridge on the front is a stylized bull’s head, Rafael Nadal’s personal emblem and also an animal symbolic of Spain. Not just a symbol of Nadal, the Titanium V is actually part “pendulum impact device” that makes the watch shock resistant and capable of withstanding 10,000g’s (as in 10,000 units of g-force). For context, a fighter pilot with g-suits and withstand about 0.1% and a Formula 1 driver corners with circa 3 g’s.

The Richard Mille RM 27-03 Ultra-Light “Rafael Nadal” Tourbillon was made in a limited edition of just 50 examples of which this is number 12, and is complete with all its accessories, this example is presented in new condition.