5 reasons why Richard Mille watches are so expensive
Although Richard Mille replica has only existed for a few decades, they have taken the world of high-end luxury watches by storm due to their craftsmanship, originality and overall characteristics. Richard Mille quickly became the most unique brand in the game. Everyone respects this name, but it is rare to find one in the wild. Most people will only see Richard Mille watches while browsing the Internet, except for those with very wealthy friends. Although these watches are impressive, they are often the most surprising prices. Richard Mille watches are very expensive, which makes casual watch fans ask “Why?”
This leads to the purpose of today’s topic: Why are Richard Mille watches so expensive? We have 5 clear reasons for Richard Mille’s high price. Finally, we will give our opinion on whether the price is reasonable…but please note that like most watch enthusiasts, we like Richard Mille, so we may have some bias here. Nevertheless, when discussing the “why”, we will only talk about the facts.
So, what makes Richard Mille watches so expensive? Also, is the price reasonable?
We will answer this question, but first, let us briefly introduce the history of the Richard Mille brand.
A brief history of Richard Mille
To understand this brand, you need to understand the person behind it-Richard Mille.
Richard Mille started his watchmaking career in the French watchmaking company Finhor in the 1970s. Finhor was acquired by Matra in 1981, and that was when Mille really started to perform well. He was continuously promoted and eventually took charge of the entire watchmaking business.
About ten years later, Mille left Matra (at the time it was acquired by Seiko) and assumed the position of leading the new watchmaking business of Mauboussin, a jewellery company hoping to enter the luxury watch market.
By the end of the 90s, Mille finally took the first step and created his own brand. Richard Mille is a brand that shocked us, and a brand that we all know and love today.
He started his adventure by cooperating with Audemars Piguet (now a shareholder of Richard Mille). The philosophy of the Richard Mille brand is to keep the watchmaking industry up to date in the 21st century. With Mille’s rich technical experience and advanced way of thinking, the Richard Mille brand has done just that. Within two years (approximately 2001), Richard Mille released the first watch RM001. This is a tourbillon timepiece, unlike anything seen in the watchmaking industry.
Next comes the high-profile endorsement, the originality of marketing and the prolific creation of revolutionary timepieces.
Richard Mille (fake Richard Mille) truly practice the brand
Although Richard Mille has many outstanding spokespersons, such as Felipe Massa, Fernando Alonso, Pharrell Williams, Rafael Nadal and Roberto Mancini, to name a few, no one can embody the essence of the brand better than Richard Mille himself. His life is real, the perfect embodiment of the inspiration behind the watch. He is passionate about Formula One racing and sailing races. He travels the world in high-end private jets, hangs out with celebrity actors and athletes, and he loves and always wears Richard Mille watches. This guy is legal. Mille’s lifestyle is exactly the lifestyle represented by Richard Mille watches.
5 reasons why Richard Mille watches are so expensive
When considering the Richard Mille brand, we were able to break down the reasons behind the price into 5 categories…
- Watchmaking and Design
Due to its unique design, Richard Mille watches can be recognized at a glance. It looks like a hybrid between Formula One (the main source of inspiration behind the brand itself) and futuristic timepieces. Aesthetics is unapologetically bold and unique. More importantly, they are very light and ergonomic, which means maximum comfort.
What many people don’t understand is how difficult it is to create Richard Mille’s iconic barrel-shaped case, and this is one of the main characteristics established by the brand. Sandwich-type watch cases are extremely expensive and complicated to manufacture. It consists of three decks-front and rear baffles and a middle section-each component is curved. The plane is zero, which makes machining very difficult. In addition, the curved surfaces are glued together within one-hundredths of a millimeter to completely prevent the ingress of moisture or dust. If you know something about machining, you should be particularly impressed.
In terms of design, everything is to optimize comfort and beauty. All this is done by hand, with high technical content. The dial alone, or no dial, is incredibly complex. Richard Mille is also known for its skeletonized dial, which includes intricate layering of sapphire crystals and other elements to achieve the best legibility and visibility of its complex movements.
In general, manual watchmaking of this caliber is extremely laborious and involves the highest level of technical mastery, which is one aspect of Richard Mille watches so expensive.
- Avant-garde materials
Richard Mille watches are not only designed so futuristic and revolutionary, but also high-tech avant-garde materials. The materials they use are unprecedented in the watch industry. These are cutting-edge materials that you can usually only find in Formula One racing, the aerospace industry, and racing yachts. They are not only radical materials in the watchmaking industry, they are also extremely advanced in the most technologically advanced industries.
Mille has invested years and millions of Swiss francs in research and development to find ways to use these materials in his watches. These metals and materials have new ingredients unknown to the watchmaking industry.
Although it is cool to say that “these watches have special materials”, it is actually because of its function and purpose. When you try on Richard Mille, it will immediately show up. Although the Richard Mille watch is large, it is very light. Their average weight is only 40 grams. It’s like a credit card on your wrist!
More importantly, these materials bring tremendous elasticity and durability to the mixture. All in all, you have an ultra-sturdy structure, a lightweight feel and an absolutely gorgeous patina. This is really exciting, and it will be magnified even more when you take into account the complexity of the case architecture we discussed above.
If you want to know what kind of materials, the list is endless-carbon nanotubes hardened with ceramics (NTPT® carbon), gold fused with carbon and quartz (gold carbon TPT®), perfluoroelastomers, nitrided Silicon and many other materials alchemists fantasize about it.
By the way, the process of manufacturing these materials causes random patterns to appear in the carbon layer. This means that no two cases look exactly the same. A Richard Mille watch, although each one is rare, it is not exactly the same replica. They are unique individuals.
- Complex actions
Richard Mille not only uses high-tech materials to make the case, but also the movement. The Richard Mille team adopted a different approach to clocks than we see in the classic Geneva world. Movement components are usually made of a special alloy composed of approximately 90% grade 5 titanium, 6% aluminum and 4% vanadium. Again, these materials are only used in very high-tech industries, so for the watchmaking industry, this is unheard of. As for the base plate and coating, they are usually processed by PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) or Titalyt, which is very durable and flexible. This kind of innovation takes many years to complete. Richard Mille’s micro-engineers are indeed taking it to the next level.
In addition to the material itself, the finishing technology is also superb. This includes Anglage and hand polishing, satin finishes on bridges, polished pivots, wheels, etc. Execution to the highest degree leads to movement, technical movement, and absolutely delightful. Richard Mille is indeed a pioneer in understanding the movement of modern watchmakers who want to see watches. After all, the movement is arguably the most interesting part of a mechanical watch.
More importantly, Richard Mille focuses on the tourbillon, which is a rotating frame that requires a very high level of creative improvement to escape. With a comprehensive redesign and high-tech materials, they make the tourbillon perfect. Their tourbillon is a clear testament to their commitment to the advancement of haute horology.
Everything about the Richard Mille watch movement is very intuitive and designed for high impact reliability. With Richard Mille, you not only get unwavering accuracy, precision and reliability, but also beauty and refinement. If you need a mechanical watch to meet the end, Richard Mille is best.
- Scarcity
As you may have discovered by now, making a Richard Mille watch is complicated and time-consuming. Most of the work is done by hand! But this is not the only reason why Richard Mille watches are scarce. This also boils down to exclusivity. If you produce a lot of watches every year, it will lose some of its mystery.
Therefore, Richard Mille produces less than 5,000 watches a year. Although this is not a small number, especially for such a young brand, it does make things very unique. Every year, the demand far exceeds the supply, which makes people want more. Many models are also produced in limited editions, which amplifies this effect. The strong prices in the secondary market and auctions reflect how strong the value of the brand is.
All in all, scarcity is a very smart marketing strategy, which allows us to come to the ultimate reason why Richard Mille copy watches are so expensive.
- Marketing and status symbols
Richard Mille watches only adorn the wrists of the most elite members of society. It has become the ultimate embodiment of the wealth of the watch industry. This is why they coined the term “billionaire’s handshake” for those wearing Richard Mille.
Although these watches are impressive in terms of design, engineering, innovation, etc., Richard Mille’s marketing is pure genius. This can be said to be the main reason why they can offer such a high price. They did an excellent job of creating a major exclusivity. You know, if you own a Richard Mille that only people like you can afford. By wearing Richard Mille, you show that you spent a lot of money on it. It has become a symbol of the highest status in the watch industry alongside Patek Philippe. More importantly, people know that you spent a lot of money on Richard Mille, and only the richest celebrities and celebrities wear them. In addition, Richard Mille is easier to identify than some of Patek Philippe’s more obscure and more expensive models.
In short, you paid a large premium just because of Richard Mille’s name and reputation. Whether you like watches or not, it’s impressive to know that someone has so much money to buy a watch. This is undoubtedly a tricky business model, but Richard Mille accomplished it brilliantly.
If you ask people why it is so expensive, they can also say Richard Mille’s slogan-this is “the racing machine on the wrist”.
Are RICHARD MILLE watches worth the money?
From the perspective of technical complexity, visual effects and avant-garde exotic materials, Richard Mille stands out. They have done things that no one else in the watch industry has done before, and they have established an unparalleled reputation for elitism. Therefore, it does not matter whether Richard Mille watches can or should be reduced in price. The fact is, there is no product on the market like Richard Mille, let alone a similar product at a lower price. The brand is not only exclusive, but also the product itself. Again, there is nothing else like this there!
Is it worth it? Well, it’s up to you to decide. We say absolutely! We felt the power of holding and wearing Richard Mille fake watches for sale at the Raymond Lee Diamond Shop. In fact, we have played with many of them. After all, we sell Richard Mille watches! What we can say is that Richard Mille gives you a special feeling, just like a huge ruby or sapphire. It feels that the price is reasonable. If this were not the case, people would have understood it a long time ago. The luxury watch community is smart, no doubt. All in all, the value is obviously there, which is why you can spend a lot of money to buy a person and then resell a lot of money. The market has proven that its value is real, and this is the most important thing.
