Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Jamaican Sprinter Silver Medalist Yohan Blake Among Top Sportsman to Wear Richard Mille

Yohan Blake
Newly appointed Richard Mille ambassador Jamaican Sprinter Silver Medalist, Yohan Blake ran the 100m and the 200m race with the exquisite $500,000 Richard Mille yellow and green watch strapped to his wrist.   Being of extreme lightweight, the watch did not effect his stride in the least, and it complimented the Jamaican running gear to perfection, but it did run him into some trouble.
The watch in all its colorful glory raised an IOC eyebrow or too. They may want to question Yohan Blake to see if any IOC branding guidelines were crossed.


If it was an Omega timepiece well that would be a whole other issue, since Omega is the official Olympic timekeeper since the 1932 Los Angeles games, and things get a bit prickly if anther watch company takes center stage. IOC wants to limit exposure to non-Olympic brands at the Games.  Even spectators are limited to the logo size on their own clothes.



If the Richard Mille watch was a dowdy thing, with shoddy craftsmanship, no one would have paid it any mind, but the watch and runner took the media by storm.
Rafael Nadel
 The colors of the watch matched the outfit, designed by Cedella Marley, Bob Marley's daughter, to perfection, which is another breach in the strict IOC regulations.  It is only permissible for athletes to wear items that are part of their countries sponsored apparel.

 The Richard Mille Watch is renowned for the perfect companion to a sportsman due to its extreme lightness, incredible durability and resistance to sports related shocks. This is not the first time a Richard Mille Watch has appeared around the wrist of a famed sportsman.


  • World No. 3 Tennis Champion, Rafael Nadel first  wore his18 gram RM027  weighing in at a mere 18 grams to Wimbledon in 2010.  He wore his RM027 to subsequent games.  He lost it, but got another RM027 tourbillon - seen here pictured on his wrist at the French Open.  He lost this one too - soon after the pi was taken.  The watch was allegedly stolen from his hotel room about two months ago. Unfortunately the tennis champ is having a rough year due to a persistent knee injury.  He was forced to pull out of the U.S. Open in NYC and he was unable to defend his title at the Olympics.

    Felipe Massa
  • Brazilian Formula One Racing Driver, Felipe Massa, has worn his RM011 in numerous races and has many limited editions in his name - the latest of which is the Richard Mille’s RM 056 Felipe Massa Sapphire.  The Split Seconds Chrono Tourbillon, unveiled at the SIHH 2012, is encased entirely in Sapphire Crystal and worth $1.65 Million Dollars. 
  • Bubba Watson
  • Golfer and 76th Masters Champion, Bubba Watson, sports his RM038 Bubba Watson Watch $525,000 watch during the tournament. People did chatter about this pricey watch arouond his wrist.  The chatter, however, did involve a good amount of awe at the incredible lightness of watch color due to a cutting edge magnesium-aluminum alloy. 

    Pablo MacDonough
  • Famous  Argentinean polo player Pablo MacDonough, wore an RM010 in the polo fields. If you remember (if you don't click here) polo is the game which prompted the introduction of the Jaeger Le-Coultre Reverso.  Richard Mille known for resilience in competition, designed the $580,000 RM053 Pablo MacDonough crafted from titanium carbide for the game of Polo. The mechanism is sloped at a 30 degree angle enabling minimal exposure to impact and optimum visual contact of wearer without a turn of the wrist. Right porthole indicates hours and minutes and left houses a tourbillon bearing a red second hand.
RM053 Pablo MacDonough
Many a watch brands would gasp at allowing a half a million dollar watch  worn around the wrist of a sportsman whose entire focus is on winning the game.  The RM027 comes face to face with  oncoming tennis balls.  The RM011 screams around racetracks.  The RM038 endures sharp impact of club against ball.  The RM053 is game to knocks and jolts. Richard Mille places its watches in the game to prove performance in the natural settings.

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