There are yet many more individuals who perhaps have "merely" hundreds of millions. Us regular folks can sometimes forget how much money exists in the world, but according to Forbes, there were 2,668 billionaires in the world as of 2022. The world of vintage watches and auctions can get even crazier. But there are regularly watches with an official price over $1 million, and even those over $2.5 million.Įven within the realm of prestigious Swiss brands' most elevated and impressive watchmaking, Richard Mille's retail prices are at the high end. Many pieces are produced in very small production batches and are sold before they're even publicly available. The upper ranges of Richard Mille prices can be tougher to pin down. So, how expensive are we talking? Richard Mille watches start with a few examples in upper five-figure territory but the majority cost somewhere within six figures - and there are other watchmakers operating in this range, from independent artisans to big, historic brands. Zen Love How much do Richard Mille watches cost? "We have less than one watch per boutique in stock," he complains, "so that's an issue." The brand makes around 5,000 watches per year and estimates around 54,000 are in existence across 140 references as of 2022.Īlex Mille doesn't wear a Richard Mille watch himself, as they've got clients waiting to get their hands on them. Any brand will set prices based on what the market will bear, and Richard Mille largely serves an I've-got-millions-to-burn-and-want-to-make-it-known demographic - the mere fact of the brand being synonymous with "expensive" is no doubt part of the attraction to many. Richard Mille watch prices aren't merely the sum of its costs, as the company naturally has to make money, too. There are also other factors and expenses, of course, so you can see how it would all add up. Then, there's the matter of actually producing, hand-finishing and assembling the hundreds of tiny components that comprise each watch. A tourbillon on any watch often means a six-figure price, and many Richard Mille watches feature them. Alex Mille explains that many elements are developed from the ground up for each reference rather than building on existing models, as would be expected from most manufacturers.Ī watch will be prototyped a number of times many components have a high rejection rate a small change can mean another year before production many models are in development for years. What exactly does that mean? In a country with a high cost of living like Switzerland, where Richard Mille watches are made, highly trained and specialized technicians and craftspeople don't come cheap. We put absolutely no limits in the time that it will take to develop a watch, and when you are doing everything in Switzerland with Swiss people, each day has a cost." Luxury watch pricing is a complicated topic, but Alex Mille points to one primary factor (that entails other factors): "The reason has, for me, always been very easy to explain: it's time, the time that it takes to develop those pieces. Why are Richard Mille Watches so expensive? There's relatively traditional watchmaking at this level for the classical-at-heart, but much of Richard Mille's designs, engineering and clientele are, fittingly, connected to the world of supercars. In terms of watchmaking, the brand falls within a realm typically known by a French term: haute horlogerie, or "high watchmaking." Avant-garde designs with skeletonized (or openworked) dials and movements are common at this level, and so is expert hand finishing down to the complicated clockwork's last tiny component - and this is exactly what you can expect from a Richard Mille watch.Īll that combined with the brand's technical (often colorful and extremely lightweight) materials and over-the-top designs results in an unmistakable look: Richard Mille's core DNA including its signature tonneau case shape was firmly established with its debut model from 2001, the RM-001 Tourbillon. And though it isn't alone in its price range or in its ultra-modern approach to watchmaking, it's come to represent ostentatious lifestyles of the superrich and famous more than almost any other watch company. ![]() Richard Mille spares no expense, effort or imagination in making some of the world's most impressive, complicated and wildly technical watches. "If I have to describe our watches," says Alex Mille, the brand's Commercial Director and the founder's son, "I would say that we stop at no limit.
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