The Kid Who Invented Richard Mille: The Fastest Growing Luxury Watch Brand

If there is a luxury watch company you've never heard of, it's certainly Richard Mille. And there can be no doubt about it at all. Founded in 2001, the company is a serious name in the luxury watch market. Who is Richard Mille though? And how did he build the company into what it is today? Let's find out. Richard Mille was born in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur area of France in 1951. The Provence area, in particular in France, is still known for housing many of the world's rich and famous. And Mille seems to have grown in proximity to them. This is where we regret that further detailed information about his childhood is hard to find. It is not publicly known where he did his primary and secondary schooling years or what his parents were like. What is in fact known about him is that he would enroll at a technical affiliate of the University of Franche-Comté. It is unknown whether or not this was the IUT Besançon. He began working as an export manager for the French watchmaker Finhal. After graduating in 1974, it was rather a small company and it was soon acquired by Matra, a larger jewellery company. Mille moved on to the fashionable jewellery business Mousboussin to take over the timepiece branch a few years later. But his feet were still itching. They were itching to create something unique and different, not bound by what he was already working with. It would take a long time, however, and in 1999, he was finally able to take a risk and start his own firm. But it would be another two years before the first timepiece was released. Richard Mille met Griglio Papi, one of the current generation's most outstanding watchmakers and Director of Research and Development at Audemars Piguet's high-end watchmaking branch during these years. It would end up helping him design and create some of Mille's own first offerings. Audemars Piguet became a minority shareholder in the project as well. Audemars Piguet-Renaud et Papi became the technological partner for the Richard Mille collection's most sophisticated movements, including tourbillon and split-second chronographs since the beginning. A tourbillon, for those unaware, is a mechanical complication featured in some high-end mechanical timepieces' movements. Even on basic mechanical watches, the structure that governs timekeeping can be seen vibrating through display casebacks in a constant state of motion. The first timepiece was far from straightforward. The Richard Mille RM001 was in fact a tourbillon model, one of the most distinguished achievements in watchmaking. There were just 17 pieces made. It was billed as a wrist-mounted racing machine. The tourbillon movement was displayed in an intriguingly curved, tonneau-shaped case for all to appreciate. It merged ergonomic architectural design with modern technological breakthroughs and therefore calling it exclusive would be an understatement. It instantly caught on and made the waves. This story also marked the start of a long affiliation with the glittering world of A-listers, ranging from athletes to Hollywood celebrities. It was named after Philippe Massa, a Brazilian Formula One driver who wore it during races and even during his catastrophic crash at the 2004 Canadian Grand Prix. The watch, like the driver, miraculously survived the ordeal. The first timepiece for the carbon fibre baseplate was RM006. Carbon fibre changed the aviation and automotive industries because of its unique properties. It is strong, stiff, lightweight, and highly resistant to contraction and expansion when exposed to temperature changes. Richard Mille desired a black baseplate for this model, thus its dark appearance was a significant plus. Manufacturing such a baseplate, on the other hand, was incredibly difficult and expensive due to the difficulty of cutting and drilling with the precision required for watchmaking. The RM007 was the brand's first ladies' watch, debuted in 2005, and the business went on to manufacture special pieces for actress Natalie Portman and Michelle Yeoh. The nautical-themed RM014, created in conjunction with luxury sailing store Pirini Navi, would be followed by many collaborations with athletes and entertainers over the next few years, including tennis player Rafael Nadal and actor Jackie Chan, to mention a few. The RM012, a tubular tourbillon with a minimalist form and significant manufacturing complexity, was released in 2006. This platinum watch was produced in a limited edition of 30 pieces with the explicit goal of revolutionising the traditional concept of a plate on which wheels are positioned by replacing it with tubes to create a three-dimensional architecture ensemble that is both reliable and efficient while also being extremely light and aerial. But it wasn't simply the celebrities who were impressed by the brand. The ultimate prize was soon achieved. It had established its watchmaking credentials by joining the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie in 2007 and receiving the Golden Hand Award at the Grand Prix de la Haute Horlogerie the same year. It is the watchmaking equivalent of the Academy Award. The brand's success would eventually allow Richard Mille to open up a second factory. The second factory, the ultra-modern ProArt SA, debuted in April 2013 and is dedicated to the production of Richard Mille watch cases and other components in precious metals, titaniums and composites such as baseplates, pushers, bridges and bracelet parts. The building was the first in the Canton Auxure in Switzerland to use geothermal heating and cooling systems and it was constructed using environmentally friendly materials. Richard Mille continued to push the boundaries of the invention in the years after, employing unusual and often unheard-of materials as well as innovative production processes. The Tourbillon RM2702 is an example of the never-ending search for new challenges. It was introduced with Raphael Nadal at the Stade Roland-Garros during the 2015 edition of the French Tennis Open. This watch featured the first skeletonised unibody baseplate in which the caseband and baseplate were fused into a single piece, eliminating the need to join the two components, a solution that necessitated a high level of expertise and experience This structure, which was inspired by race car chassis, greatly improves rigidity and impact resistance. The RM5003 McLaren F1, a masterpiece created in conjunction with the renowned McLaren Formula One constructor, set a new record as the lightest mechanical chronograph ever constructed at the beginning of 2017. The RM5003, which combines a tourbillon with a split-seconds chronograph, weighs less than 40g with a strap included. Richard Mille debuted the RM6501 automated split-seconds chronograph, an automatic split-seconds chronograph that became the most sophisticated watch ever to depart the Richard Mille factories at the end of 2020, after five years of development. This model is driven by a high-frequency balance with variable inertia bumping at a frequency of 5Hz to assure stopwatch computations to one of one-tenth of a second. The RM6501 is the most recent model available. Richard Mille was elevated from 8th to 7th place in Morgan Stanley's annual assessment on the condition of the Swiss watch industry in 2020. It was 10th in 2018, with annual revenue estimated at US$840 million by the research writers. The six corporations ahead of Mille, on the other hand, all have one thing in common, the average age of 163 years. Mille's targeting of the high-end has paid off, with US$840 million in the income generated from the sales of just 4,300 watches over the course of a year, with an average retail price of US$195,000. Cartier, which came in third place in the report's top 50 brands, was estimated to have made US$1.73 billion in 2020, although that figure was based on the sales of 490,000 watches, with an average sale price US$4,675. Mille also took a stand against the traditional distribution paradigm of collaborating with merchants, opting to sell each and every watch it produces through stores it owns and runs. Rolex, for example, which ranks first with yearly revenue of US$4.7 billion, does not own a single store, and even monobrand Rolex boutiques are run as franchises by retail partners. Mille's technique is more expensive to implement, but ensures that the brand receives 100% of its revenues. According to the report, Richard Mille has amassed a 2.5% market share of a centuries-old business in just over two decades, which may not seem like much until you consider that it's a tenth of the market share owned by the industry's largest player Rolex and is constantly rising. Richard Mille watches cost roughly €150,000 on average, which puts them right in the midst of Patek Philippe and A. Lange & Söhne territory. But what is it about these timepieces that makes them so pricey? One kilogram of the rare titanium Torx screws that embellish the bezels of the timepieces alone costs roughly 2 million Swiss francs, which is roughly the same in US dollars, according to Theodore Diehl, the brand's press officer, and one of its first employees. Finally, it is this extra-mile attitude that runs through all watches and components like a thread, resulting in enormous additional expenditures. Then there's the high-end watchmaking art, which is frequently sideswiped. Due to the aforementioned relationship with Audemars Pigot-Renault-E.P.P., the firm also runs to the absolute top level of watchmaking in addition to colorful rubber straps and spectacular dials. Vibration alarms, acceleration sensors, tourbillons, ratapont chronographs, you name it, the complexities encompass practically everything that is technically conceivable nowadays. Finally, there's marketing. Aside from high-profile brand ambassadors, the brand may be found anywhere elite athletes and well-heeled buyers congregate on the planet. Formula One, superyacht regattas, grand slams, and so on. Have you ever heard of Richard Mille? Are there any other details that you would like to add to this video? Share it in the comments, and if you'd like to see more inspiring business videos, then make sure to check out our channel.