Time is one of our most precious commodities.
We can hold onto the precious moments we encounter briefly, but they inevitably float away into our memories as time continues to move forward.
It can be easy to lose track of time when lost in the moment.
When you come back to reality, you will need to regather your sense of time to get back on track with the rest of the world.
Get back on schedule with a Swiss Richard Mille watch.
These gorgeous timepieces not only keep you on time, but they also add a higher level of style to your ensemble.
However, you need to expect to pay such a significant amount of money.
Why are Richard Mille watches so expensive?
We will cover the top 10 reasons consumers should expect to pay a hefty price for a Richard Mille watch and whether it’s worth it to purchase a “billionaire’s handshake”.
Why Is Richard Mille So Expensive? (Top 10 Reasons)
1. Successful Launch
It’s extremely important to come out of the gate swinging when you launch a new brand.
Richard Mille did just that when he launched his first watch in 2001, the Richard Mille RM001, which didn’t have the precious stones one finds in other expensive watches but, instead, emphasized exceptional engineering.
The watch sold for $180,000.
The 80 watches sold out almost immediately at the launch.
Why did the launch produce such great results?
For starters, the team put out one heck of a product.
It took about two years for Richard Mille to make a watch different from what anyone had seen before.
Partnerships
Picking the right partners can make a huge difference in the successful launch of a business.
When Richard Mille wanted to bring his idea to somebody, he went to friend Dominique Guenat.
The two men then partnered with Guenat S.A. Montres Valine and APR&P to create the watch they launched.
Scarcity
As we mentioned, Richard Mille only released 80 watches when it launched.
With only 80 watches available, many people who wanted them couldn’t get them.
The watches people did have went up in value at auctions thanks to the scarcity.
To this day, Richard Mille still only makes 5,000 watches a year at a maximum, ensuring that it maintains control over the supply and demand of its watches.
For years, only the most knowledgeable people knew about Richard Mille watches, making the clientele feel as if they were in an exclusive club.
As with all good secrets, the word got out after a couple of years.
2. Design
Richard Mille watches have a unique design that you can’t find from any other manufacturer.
The bold style screams without apology, and it’s purposefully recognizable from a distance.
Mille himself explained that he wanted people to exclaim “wow” when they saw his watches.
He and his partner modeled the design after a sports car.
Some people have compared wearing a Richard Mille watch to wearing a sports car on the wrist, which makes sense since it sells for about the same cost as a luxury sports car!
The design combines both the engineering and mechanics of the watch.
However, it also incorporates a sleek and modern feel.
The gears inside the watch come in complex patterns that exude cool.
The tonneau-shaped cases also stand out from other watches and helped create a unique style that watch enthusiasts can identify.
The case takes a lot of time to create perfectly.
In fact, it takes about 960 hours to create just one case.
Since it takes that long to create, it’s no wonder they cost between five and seven figures each.
Colors
Never afraid to break the mold, Richard Mille watches come in a wide range of different colors.
Some watches stick to a black and grey or silver color scheme.
However, other watches pop with bright red, orange, blue, or pink.
These colors allow people to express a bold personality in a stylish way.
The colors also never clash since everything goes with a sports car, no matter what color scheme you have going on.
Lightweight Construction
A Richard Mille watch not only looks great, but it also feels great thanks to the lightweight construction.
The lightweight and comfortable feel of these watches may not seem logical due to their strong appearance.
However, Richard Mille worked with some of the top names in lightweight material science to ensure that their watches stood out when compared to the competition.
Prior to these innovations, most luxury watches, especially ones that used bulky technology, were heavy and rather cumbersome.
3. Variety
While you may notice similar style elements in different Richard Mille products, you will also notice that they have unique features that make each one special.
Some of the Richard Mille luxury watch collections include:
- RM 40-01: Automatic Winding Tourbillon McLaren Speedtail
- RM 74-02: Automatic Winding Tourbillon
- RM 74-01: Automatic Winding Tourbillon
- RM 72-01: Automatic Winding Lifestyle Flyback Chronograph
- RM 72-02: Automatic Winding Tourbillion Talisman
- RM 70-01: Manual Winding Tourbillion Alain Post
- RM 69: Manual Winding Tourbillion Erotic
- RM 67-02: Automatic Winding Extra Flat
- RM 65-01: Automatic Winding Split-seconds Chronograph
- RM 63-02: Automatic Winding Worldtimer
- RM 63-01: Automatic Winding Dizzy Hands
- RM 61-01: Manual Winding Yohan Blake
- RM 51-02: Manual Winding Tourbillion Diamond Twister
- RM 07-02: Automatic Winding Sapphire
Many of the watches can be worn by either gender.
However, many collections specifically target one gender over another based on color and style.
Another major factor that differentiates certain watches from others involves how it is wound: automatically or manually.
Most people prefer watches that wind themselves automatically, while some watch enthusiasts prefer to wind their watches manually.
4. Innovative Technology
Richard Mille stands out thanks to its innovative technology in several areas, which keeps it a leader in the industry.
Tourbillon Technology
One of the things that can affect even the most complicated watch creations is the impact of gravity.
Tourbillon technology moves the watch in a slightly different way that supposedly prevents gravity from affecting it, ensuring the most accurate timekeeping.
The main difference between watches that utilize tourbillon technology and ones that don’t involve the placement of the escapement.
It’s fixed in most watches.
However, watches with tourbillon technology place the escapement in a rotating cage.
New Materials
In order to make watches in a lightweight design, Richard Mille incorporated new materials.
The RM 002 Tourbillon features a “titanium movement baseplate combined with a torque and function indicator” that was unique for the time.
Several later models also used a carbon nanofiber baseplate.
Quality Control
Richard Mille puts a lot of effort into establishing a specific level of quality for every product before it leaves the manufacturing plant.
In fact, each watch goes through about 50 processes that have been developed to ensure every watch holds up to the company’s high standards.
These quality control measures are referred to as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
Thanks to the strict standards, at least 30 to 40% of components are rejected throughout the manufacturing process.
While this ensures that all products work as expected, the strict regulation also means a lot of waste, which costs the company a lot of money.
5. Fierce Competition
Richard Mille isn’t the only name in luxury watches.
There’s quite a bit of competition out there, especially Rolex.
Richard Mille must spend money to keep up in technology and design in order to stay competitive.
Richard Mille Vs. Rolex
Richard Mille and Rolex are two of the biggest names in luxury watches.
They are both Swiss companies with durable and water-resistant designs.
Which watch is better?
Well, that depends on what you want in a watch.
Rolex has a much more established and recognizable brand.
It’s also been around for a lot longer (since 1905), and there is more variety when it comes to design.
It also offers more classic designs.
The popularity also means that there are a lot of fakes out there.
Richard Mille, on the other hand, is more innovative.
It also has a bold and distinct design.
That’s why these watches tend to cost more.
It also provides a better warranty of five years compared to the two-year warranty offered by Rolex.
You won’t find too many fake Richard Mille watches.
6. Luxury
People buy a Richard Mille watch to showcase their success.
It’s a status symbol that tells other people your place in the world.
The luxury of the brand was incorporated into the business plan from the very beginning.
Richard Mille wanted people to think of luxury anytime they saw the watch.
It spent a lot of time and money establishing the name as a luxury brand.
Anyone who knows anything about watches knows when they see a Richard Mille watch.
They also know that the owner paid a large amount of money to buy it.
Many people like to purchase a Richard Mille compared to other expensive watches thanks to its distinct style.
This helps others recognize the type of watch they have on their wrist since it looks so flashy.
Richard Mille even stated when he announced his brand’s launch, “My goal was to create a new, ultra-high-end luxury segment within the high-end watch business”.
From the very onset, he intended to create a watch that was extremely high-end, even when compared with other high-end watches.
7. Durability
A Richard Mille watch isn’t only made to look great. It’s made to last, too.
The high-quality materials ensure that a Richard Mille watch should work perfectly and look great for at least five years (according to the warranty).
Once the watch falls out of the warranty period, it still retains a large portion of its value.
In fact, most people find that their investment ultimately pays off in the long run (assuming they find the right auction/buyer).
The high return on the investment means that you can purchase the watch with a little less guilt since you know that you can resell it if it ever comes to that.
8. Celebrity Endorsement
A number of celebrities have shown their appreciation for Richard Mille watches.
As everyone knows, when celebrities start to enforce a particular product, it brings it into the limelight in a big way.
More and more people will want to buy the watch.
Natalie Portman
Natalie Portman and Richard Mille worked together to support the Free the Children Charity.
In the process, they also worked together to create a beautiful conflict-free diamond watch for the ladies’ collection.
Jay-Z
Jay-Z drips from head to toe, and you know that has to include his wrist.
Jay-Z has been seen proudly sporting his 027-model watch while out on the town with his wife Beyoncé.
Rafael Nadal
Tennis superstar Rafael Nadal had quite a scare when his borrowed watch was stolen.
It was made specifically for the athlete’s tournament against Novak Djokovic to test its shock resistance.
The watch design held up, even if the specific watch given to Nadal was never found.
Odell Beckham Jr.
When football player Odell Beckham hit the field wearing his $300,000 RM 11-03, search engine trends indicated just how much impact an athlete can have on fashion.
People searched to learn more about the watch (only to learn that they can’t afford one).
9. Marketing Tactics
You market yourself differently when you are selling a luxury brand, especially compared to an accessible brand designed for the masses.
If you want to sell a reasonably-priced candle, you will probably promote your company online to generate interest.
In order to promote your business online, you may pay for search engine optimization, email marketing, and online ads.
These tactics won’t work for such a high-end brand.
One of the main concepts of Richard Mille’s marketing campaign is exclusivity.
That means that it doesn’t necessarily want to get the attention of everyone online or on television.
Instead, Richard Mille knows to target people in exclusive, high-end circles.
Richard Mille Magazine
For people who know, Richard Mille puts out magazines available to everybody online at its website.
The magazine looks as high-end as the products and incorporates the concepts of luxury, exclusivity, and celebrity into it quite seamlessly.
Most magazines feature one main model.
The magazine also has numerous different articles about watch technology and new products coming out.
They even include stories about different travel destinations, making the magazine a luxury lifestyle magazine (with a heavy emphasis on watches).
10. Forward-Thinking Technology And Design
The established processes and design styles of Rolex and other luxury watch manufacturers may only hinder them, especially if they allow these traditions to block progress and forward trajectory that propels a brand into the new era and secures its place in the industry.
Richard Mille may be one of the newest names in luxury watches, but that doesn’t put them at a disadvantage.
In fact, it gives them an advantage thanks to the fresh ideas.
The brand doesn’t seem to want to stop when it comes to progress, either.
They continue to work to create new technology and designs.
We have the honor of seeing what comes next.
Conclusion
When you buy a Richard Mille watch, you are not buying something that will go bad one day.
You are buying the absolute best of the best.
The design, technology, and brand strategy cannot and will not be beaten, even by watch manufacturers with a much more established reputation.
While the price tag far exceeds anything the average person can afford, the lucky few who can are in an exclusive club that puts them in the same category as numerous celebrities and athletes.
If the price tag ends up putting you into the poor house after you buy a Richard Mille watch, you can rest assured that the resale value will hold up for years to come.
NEXT: Are Potatoes Vegetables Or Fruits? (Explained)