Richard Mille, the luxury watch company targeted in an armed robbery outside Beverly Hills hotspot Il Pastaio, is favored by celebrities such as Rafael Nadal, Neymar, Jackie Chan, and Natalie Portman.
According to KNBC, the Mille model ripped off in the Thursday heist in which one woman was fired was the RM 11-03 rose gold Flyback Chronograph, which costs a staggering $500,000.
According to the company’s website, the watch has a “skeletonized, automatic winding movement with a variable-geometry rotor.”
“A flyback chronograph beats underneath the bonnet of the RM 11-03, ready to literally run on the track,” it says.
A central flange made of grade 5 titanium, wings made of 18 karat white gold, ceramic ball bearings, and a tripartite case sealed with two Nitrile O-rings make it water-resistant to 160 feet.
According to The Jewelry Editor, owning a Richard Mille is “today’s version of the billionaire’s Masonic handshake” — the “ultimate stealth signifier of extreme wealth,” as journalist Declan Quinn wrote for Revolution Online.
“People who have something to prove and who have a youthful spirit,” Ariel Adams, creator of A Blog to Watch, told the outlet when asked who wears Richard Mille watches.
“It’s the best watch I will probably never own because I won’t be able to afford it,” he added.
Customers for the watches, according to Leon Adams, president of Cellini Jewelers in Manhattan, are “predominantly collectors familiar with the brand and some nouveau collectors who want something really different.”
Hip-hop musicians Pharrell Williams and Kanye West, comedians Kevin Hart and Terry Crews, and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s official spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, who sparked allegations of corruption when he was spotted wearing a $500,000 model, are among those who wear the brand, according to The Jewelry Editor.
