Richard Mille is a Swiss luxury watch company founded in 2001[1] by Dominique Guenat and Richard Mille, based in Les Breuleux, Switzerland. The brand specialises in high-priced clockwork watches,[2] which have been criticised by some as "ridiculous"[3] and "unnecessarily extravagant".[4]
Company history
After studying marketing in Besançon, Richard Mille (born 13 February 1951, Draguignan, France) started work at Finhor, a local watchmaking company in 1974.[5][6] The company was bought by Matra in 1981, and Mille rose to manage Matra's watchmaking business, which then included the brands Yema and Cupillard Rième.[7] Matra's watchmaking activities were sold to Seiko; Mille left in 1992 to start a watchmaking business for jewellery firm Mauboussin.[8][9]
Development
Following a disagreement about commercial strategy at Mauboussin, where he was a shareholder, Richard Mille left his position as general manager to launch a range of watches. In late 1998, Mille presented his plans to his friend Dominique Guenat, owner of watchmaker Montres Valgine,[10] whom he met in 1988 while working in Besançon for Compagnie Générale Horlogère and with whom he worked at Mauboussin.
In early 1999, Richard Mille and Dominique Guenat drew up their plans for the Richard Mille brand in partnership with Montres Valgine and Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet.[11] Over the next two years, they defined their brand concept and began designing watches. They then founded Horométrie, their operating company for the new Richard Mille brand as equal partners, which was registered in Switzerland by October 2001,[12] and created the Richard Mille watchmaking brand in collaboration with Audemars Piguet, which then owned a stake in Richard Mille brand in 2007.[13]
The Richard Mille Group
The Richard Mille Group comprises the following companies: Horométrie SA (distribution),[23] Guenat SA Montres Valgine (conception and assembly), ProArt (components),[24] VMDH (decoration)[25] and Cercle d'Art (publishing).
In 2018, the Group employed 148 people.
Guenat SA - Montres Valgine
Dominique Guenat joined the Guenat SA - Montres Valgine (GMV) company in 1986 and took to the helm in 1991. In 1999, he teamed up with Richard Mille to create the “Richard Mille” watch brand.
All Richard Mille watches are developed and produced in Switzerland by the Guenat SA - Montres Valgine (GMV) Manufacture in Les Breuleux. Design and development are carried out in the old 1950s building in Les Breuleux, which was renovated in 1972, while assembly and quality control are performed in a building built in 2007.
ProArt
Technologies
Richard Mille watches are advertised to be shock-resistant and accurate. They are light in weight, using materials including grade 5 titanium, LITAL, Carbon TPT, and graphene.
Richard Mille teamed up with North Thin Ply Technology (NTPT),[27] producer of lightweight pre-impregnated materials used in sailing and Formula 1, to produce the RM 27-02 Rafael Nadal in Carbon NTPT and Quartz TPT, and the RM 11-03 McLaren.
Records
Accuracy of RM 031
The RM 031 escapement beats at a frequency of 36,000 vibrations per hour, accurate to within 30 seconds per month.[44] The RM 031 was limited to just 10 pieces.[45]
Weight
In 2004, Richard Mille launched the RM 006 Felipe Massa Tourbillon, which weighed 48 grams excluding the strap,[46] in 2005 the 29 g RM 009 Felipe Massa Tourbillon,[47] and in 2007 the 20 g (including strap) RM 027 Rafael Nadal, with movement made from titanium and LITAL, a lithium alloy used in aeronautics that contains aluminium, copper, magnesium and zirconium.[48]
Projects
Quebec City Clock
The Porte-Bonheur Clock was presented to Quebec City by the Republic and Canton of Jura and the Richard Mille brand in 2014 to celebrate its 400th anniversary.[55][56] From 2008 to 2014, the Richard Mille company, the technical college of Porrentruy (École des métiers techniques in Porrentruy), and the Neuchâtel Haute Ecole Arc developed and built the clock, which is 3.5 metres tall, 2.5 metres wide and 1.3 metres deep, and weighs 1,913 kg. It required:[57]
- 6,571 hours of development,
- 5,451 components,
- 3,952 hours of assembly and adjusting.
Starck and Only Watch
Sponsorship and endorsements
The brand sponsors various sportspeople and sports events, including the Le Mans Classic and Grand Prix de Pau auto races and the 'Voiles de Saint Barth' regatta.
Aircraft
In 2016 Richard Mille produced the "RM-50-02 ACJ Tourbillon Split Seconds Chronograph" in a 30-piece limited edition in collaboration with manufacturer Airbus Corporate Jets.[64]
Sailing
In 2006, Richard Mille launched a partnership with Italian yacht manufacturer Perini Navi. The watch brand became the official timekeeper of the Perini Navi Cup. To mark this collaboration, it launched the RM 014 Tourbillon Perini Navi watch in 2006 and the RM 015 Tourbillon Perini Navi in 2007.
Richard Mille has been the main partner of «Les Voiles de Saint Barth» since 2010, with the "Richard Mille Maxi Cup".[65]
Sales results
Sales of Richard Mille watches have grown by 15% on average per year since the brand was launched, with 32,000 watches sold between 2001 and 2017,[80][81][82]
- Number of watches sold by year
Criticism
Richard Mille has been criticised for creating "tasteless" watches and following the ugly sneaker trend.[4] In 2021, American rapper Sean Combs described Richard Mille watches as "ugly" and likened them to Timex watches, saying he had two or three but never wore them.[84][85][86][87]
In 2021, the magazine of watch reseller Chrono24 labelled Richard Mille watches as "not worth the hype," noting that one such wearer was robbed in Beverly Hills of the watch and suffered four gunshots and a trip to the hospital, and while such incidences were rare, they were another "unwanted aspect" of the watches.[4]
Bibliography
External links
References
- Richard Mille : The man who puts soul into watches Luxe Magazine, Katya Pellegrino, May 2008^
- Nazanin Lankarani. Richard Mille: The Watchmaker Who Says He Isn't One March 23, 2017^
- Robert Farago. Richard Mille Watches Are Ridiculous