Bal Harbour

BAL HARBOUR 55 BALHARBOURSHOPS.COM watch to a woman. "It wasn't a gentleman buying it for her. That was a big win for me." Not long after, headquarters reported that Richard Mille was first in women's sales worldwide. The most popular wom- en's watch is its smallest, the 07-01, but Mille's favorite model to wear and sell is the 037. "It's a bigger watch. In 2014, no one thought this would work, but I'm happy we kept it in the collection." Now, women's models account for 35 percent of total brand sales. With a booming women's market and an ever-growing stable of brand partners, Mille has kept the brand busy. Richard Mille is one of the few corporate sponsors that doesn't end a contract when an athlete or star's career falters or comes to an end. "We still have so much to do together," she says. Nadal, for example — one of the most particular players in tennis history—is ritualistic about the smallest details of his matches, including where he places his water bottle on the court and how he brushes his hair out of his face be- fore a serve. Yet he was willing to test-drive his first Richard Mille collaborat ion on the cour t at the French Open. He's worn his watches in competition ever since, sometimes exploding new pro- totypes mid-play. These acts of trust have helped facilitate some of the brand's biggest leaps in shock-resistance technolog y (Nadal's new RM 27-04 weighs only 30 grams including the strap and can resist 12,000 Gs of force). Richard Mille plans to show gratitude for Nadal's unparalleled contribution long after he steps o' the court. "It's a family for both good days and bad," says Mille. "I call them life partners because that's how I feel about them." Soon, they'll invite their collaborative "family" home to the brand's newest venture: a house in La Motte, France, near Draguignan, where her father grew up. After leaving the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (the annual invitation-only luxury watch trade show held in Geneva), the brand sees the new house as a more personal ap- proach to debuting new models, meeting with talent and building brand awareness. At the moment, Mille is producing the house's remodeling, with hopes to open in 2024. No doubt another beautiful rebellion is underway. P H OTO S CO U R T E S Y O F R I C H A R D M I L L E " RICHARD MILLE HAS UPENDED THE LUXURY WATCH MARKET WHILE SPOTLIGHTING TWO UNDERSERVED MARKETS: SPORTS AND WOMEN. " Margot Laffite above (and top), one of six athletes asked to wear the new RM 07-04 Automatic Sport, in order to help define and develop its unique attributes. BAL HARBOUR Richard Mille recently released the first women's sports watch, the RM 07-04 Automatic Sport, seen here.

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