R
ichard Mille has a knack for
spotting sporting talent. While
the inal of the 2018 Italian
Open was captivating tennis
fans for its crosscourt rallies,
the attentions of eagle-eyed watch
aicionados were locked on to something else.
Both clay court contenders – ultimate victor
Rafael Nadal and German challenger
Alexander Zverev – went into battle wearing
Richard Mille wristwatches. It was a massive
PR coup for the brand, but not the irst time
its timepieces have proved talismanic.
Nadal’s relationship with the King Midas
of watchmaking began in 2010 when the
freewheeling Frenchman made a shock-resistant $700,000 timepiece for the then
24-year-old tennis upstart. In the same
year, as if by some kind of Mille magic,
the Majorca-born prodigy would go on
to win three out of the four Grand Slams.
Mille then created a bright-white,
space-spec piece of kit for lesser-known
golfer Bubba Watson. The self-taught
American proceeded to write his own fairy
tale by winning the Masters in 2012.
Then again in 2014.
Other protégés thrust to sporting
greatness by the ‘Mille effect’ include Felipe
Massa, who inished runner-up in the 2008
Formula One world championship; Yohan
Blake, 100 metre silver medallist at the 2012A league
of his own
AS THE LATEST IN A LONG LINE OF IMPOSSIBLY
LIGHT, SHOCK-RESISTANT SUPER-TIMEPIECES,
THE ‘RM 67-02’ CROWNS RICHARD MILLE AS
CHAMPION OF THE ALL-ACTION SPORTS WATCH.ALEXANDER ZVEREV’S
‘RM 67-02’, POA.