What makes Richard Mille tick? We find out on a visit to its watch manufacture in Switzerland

In a car winding through the scenic roads of Switzerland, I watched as quaint villages, seemingly endless greenery and snow-capped mountains whizz by. I was on a drive from Geneva to Les Breuleux, a municipality in the district of Franches-Montagnes, in the canton of Jura.

The purpose of this visit? I was part of a small group of journalists from Singapore and Malaysia, here to tour the watchmaking facilities of Richard Mille, where their extraordinary timepieces are crafted.

Launching its first watch in the early 2000s, Richard Mille is considered a relative newcomer in the watchmaking world compared to other brands that boast about their centuries of traditions.   

Yet despite its young age, Richard Mille has managed to rise through the ranks to become a serious contender. According to Morgan Stanley and Luxe Consult’s annual Swiss luxury watch report, Richard Mille is listed as the industry’s sixth highest watch brand in terms of sales revenue. Taking the top five positions are big name brands Rolex, Cartier Watches, Omega, Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe respectively.

Curiously, Richard Mille has achieved its position with conservative production numbers – in 2023, the brand produced only 5,600 watches, followed by 5,900 in 2024.

And with an average price point of CHF 290,000 (US$354,405; S$455,794), it operates in the ultra-high-end segment, making watches for only a select few. Its clientele includes billionaire collectors, and its watches have been spotted on the wrists of high-profile athletes and celebrities such as Pharrell Williams, Michelle Yeoh, Rafael Nadal, Jackie Chan and more.

The Richard Mille name has also become synonymous with innovation in watchmaking, having introduced unconventional materials such as Carbon TPT and graphene into the industry. In terms of design, the brand is known for its bold, avant-garde aesthetic.

What accounts for its success in such a short amount of time? How has the brand managed to distinguish itself from other players in the watchmaking world? On our visit to its watchmaking facilities, we got a behind-the-scenes look at the elaborate methods, expert artisanship and relentless pursuit of perfection that brings Richard Mille’s timepieces to life.

A GENERATIONAL LEGACY

So scenic was the view from the car that the two-and-a-half-hour journey flew by. A short nap later (our drive started early in the morning), we arrived at our first stop, Horometrie SA, which produces the watch cases, including the iconic tonneau-shaped cases, and other components such as baseplates and bridges.

But first, a quick history lesson on how Richard Mille was born. In 1999, Frenchman Richard Mille joined forces with his longtime friend, Dominique Guenat, to build the eponymous watch brand. Mille, a watch and jewellery industry veteran, wanted to create a brand that would break away from traditional watchmaking conventions and redefine all the rules.

The Guenat family’s involvement in watchmaking goes back generations to Dominique’s grandfather Ali Guenat, who became the owner of a small watchmaking enterprise in 1900. Today, this company is Guenat SA Montres Valgine, and its building is where Richard Mille’s in-house movements are today assembled, and its watches serviced.

In 2001, the pair launched the RM 001 behind the scenes at watchmaking fair Baselworld. It shook the industry with its futuristic tonneau-shaped case and its many technical innovations, such as the world’s first torque indicator and titanium baseplates. Mille famously hurled the watch onto the ground, showcasing the watch's exceptional durability and shock resistance, challenging the traditional perception of tourbillon watches as delicate instruments.

More than 20 years after the launch of the RM 001, the brand continues to craft timepieces that are both technically advanced and visually distinctive. This commitment to innovation and artistry is now being carried forward by the next generation of leadership.

The Mille and Guenat children today hold key positions within the company – Alexandre Mille serves as commercial director, while Amanda Mille oversees brand and partnership initiatives. Cecile Guenat leads as creative director, and the youngest of the children, Maxime Guenat, has taken on the role of general director of the manufacture.

THE PURSUIT OF PERFECTION

Across both Horometrie SA and Guenat SA Montres Valgine (the latter was our second stop of the day), a total of 245 employees work on the ideation, development, manufacturing, assembling and testing of Richard Mille watches. Handling the conceptualising and creation of new movements and cases is a team of 36.

For Richard Mille, the movement is the core of every watch and drives the entire design process. The brand has developed a total of 15 in-house movements, which make up 55 per cent of its production. The remaining 45 per cent of movements are developed by its suppliers and partners, Manufacture Vaucher and Audemars Piguet Le Locle (APLL).

In Switzerland, watchmaking is a prestigious affair. This was clearly evident at the Richard Mille premises, where the watchmakers were notably young. Some had even begun their careers in their teenage years, starting out as interns under the watchful supervision of seasoned professionals.

Observing the entire watchmaking process, one gets the sense that Richard Mille strives for perfection. Although machines play an integral role throughout the process, a dedicated quality control team constantly oversees every step. Synergy between departments is evident. In fact, watches can be sent up and down departments several times before getting the final stamp of approval.  

Many tasks are done by hand, including the meticulous polishing of cases, the delicate setting of gemstones, and, naturally, the precise assembly of movements. In one room, watchmakers sit side by side in silent concentration, carefully assembling the tiny components of the movements as they peer through microscopes and loupes.

So intricate is the process that a tourbillon watch is assembled from start to finish by a single watchmaker – a feat that can take up to three months to complete.

NO COMPROMISE

As a cycling fan, I’ve always wondered how Richard Mille watches hold up in a sport where crashes are par for the course. Despite cyclists like Tadej Pogacar and Mathieu Van der Poel pushing their limits and narrowly avoiding crashes – or even taking some tumbles in the case of Pogacar recently at the unforgiving Paris-Roubaix race – their Richard Mille watches remain unscathed at the finish line, a testament to the timepieces' rugged durability.

Richard Mille’s sporty DNA extends beyond cycling and is showcased in other arenas like tennis, where brand partner Rafael Nadal wore million-dollar timepieces on the court during his career. Similarly, in the world of Formula 1, the brand has forged partnerships with elite drivers and teams including Ferrari, McLaren and Charles Leclerc.

In fact, much of Richard Mille’s success story can be attributed to strategic athlete partnerships that have bolstered its image. But how does the brand guarantee performance and durability of its watches under extreme conditions?  

My question was answered at a testing lab, where the team has developed a total of 140 rigorous tests, including shock tests, drop tests, and ageing tests. In one demonstration, we watched as a Richard Mille watch was nonchalantly dropped from a height, emerging without nary a scratch. In another test, I flinched when a 4.5kg weight was mercilessly swung at a watch for a pendulum impact test, sending it flying into a catcher. Of course, the watch sustained no damage.  

After witnessing firsthand the meticulous processes involved in crafting a Richard Mille watch, it became clear why production numbers remain low – perfection simply takes time.

Commercial director Alexandre Mille acknowledges the brand’s conundrum. “Obviously, we want to increase our production numbers because demand has increased. But that cannot be done if it’s not done the proper way. So as of now, I would say we are where we are, and we are going to keep it at this level. There might not be an increase for some years,” he said.

So that Richard Mille watch you’ve been dreaming of? It will remain just as elusive, rare, and coveted as ever.

5 ACCLAIMED RICHARD MILLE WATCHES

Take a closer look at five celebrated Richard Mille watches through the course of its history that have redefined the standards of haute horology.

RM 001

One can’t speak about Richard Mille without mentioning the timepiece that started it all – the RM 001. The watch, launched in 2001, established Richard Mille’s design philosophy and marked a new era in watchmaking with its ergonomic tonneau case, titanium bridges and many other technical innovations, such as the world’s first torque indicator and titanium baseplate.

The watch also made jaws drop with its audacious price tag, which at US$135,000, was double the next most expensive tourbillon at the time. The bold pricing was considered a daring move for a fledging brand, but it captured the attention of collectors and the industry at large.

RM 88 AUTOMATIC TOURBILLON SMILEY

Richard Mille has a knack for doing the unexpected, and the RM 88 Automatic Tourbillon Smiley, launched in 2022, perfectly captures this spirit. 

This highly technical timepiece took three years to develop. Surrounding the tourbillon carriage is a cheerful explosion of decorative elements – a blossoming flower, the warm rays of the sun, a delicious pineapple, a blooming cactus, a pink flamingo, and a brightly coloured rainbow. These gold micro-sculptures, created by engraver Olivier Kuhn, weigh less than a gram and are engineered to withstand any type of shock.

The in-house CRMT7 calibre – a skeletonised automatic tourbillon movement with hours, minutes, and a function indicator – is crafted from grade 5 titanium with a complex PVD coating.

RM UP-01 ULTRA FLAT FERRARI

The RM UP-01 Ultra Flat Ferrari is arguably the most talked about Richard Mille watch in recent years. At just 1.75mm thick, it set a world record as the thinnest mechanical wristwatch upon its release in 2022. While the watch breaks away from the brand’s established stylistic codes, it remains faithful to its spirit of balancing technical innovation with radical design.

The movement, measuring just 1.18mm, is assembled into the case itself. Despite its impossibly thin profile, the case also houses the hours, minutes, seconds and function selector.

The UP-01 was the brand’s debut timepiece created in partnership with Ferrari. In March 2025, Richard Mille launched its second collaboration watch with Ferrari – the RM 43-01 Tourbillon Split-Second Chronograph Ferrari, an engineering masterpiece comprising a staggering 514 components.

RM 07-01 AUTOMATIC

Richard Mille is known for its bold, masculine watches, but the brand remains thoughtfully in tune with the tastes of the female audience. This is largely thanks to creative director Cecile Guenat, who brings her background in jewellery design into crafting distinctive pieces for the brand.

The RM 07-01 is a core collection dedicated to women, proving that fashionable timepieces can be functional too. At the heart of the collection is the powerful CRMA2, an automatic self-winding calibre developed in-house. The RM 07-01 comes in a range of materials, including red gold, white gold, Carbon TPT, Gold Carbon TPT and more.

The white and red gold versions in particular are a sparkling wonderland for the wrist – set with countless diamonds in a captivating “snow setting” technique, which involves intricately arranging gemstones of varying sizes onto the case and dial, creating a shimmering effect akin to falling snow.

RM 07-01 also features an open-link bracelet exclusive to the collection. Richard Mille's open-link bracelets are crafted with meticulous attention to detail, with each link hand-finished, micro-blasted, satin-brushed, and polished. In the case of the white gold and red gold version, diamonds are set into the bracelet too.

BON BON COLLECTION

When the Bon Bon collection was launched in 2019, it started a new design language for the brand’s line of female watches. The collection comprises 10 models across two lines – Sweets and Fruits. In the pastel-coloured Sweets line, everything from cupcakes, to marshmallows, lollipops and liquorice are represented on the dial.

The Fruits line pays homage to six fruity flavours – lemon, strawberry, blueberry, litchi, kiwi and cherry. The miniature sculptures integrated in the dial of the watch are designed to resemble a sachet full of tiny candies, turning the watch into a joyful, colourful treat. After all, serious watchmaking can be seriously fun too.