Richard Mille

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All excellent points....

We are fortunate in that we can chose where to spend our money.  For some its wine: you drink it and its gone (pissed away!); for some it is art, but then anyone can paint like Pollock - right?  For others, it is yachts, cars, hardcore drugs, you name it, it probably has market for it somewhere.

There is a naivety in the comment that the watch does not cost much to produce.  They look at the object, its a watch (hands, movement, bits of metal and carbon) and they forget where on the technology frontier they are, where on the research, design, and development frontier they are, and see only something strapped to the players wrist. 

It was always Richard's intensions that is he was producing the market's top (robust) tourbillon, he better have some markers he could point to rather than idle claims.  He strapped his first experimental tourbillon on the wrist of a young driver from Brazil (the RM006) to see what would happen in action, in the cockpit of the car.  ( richardmille.watchprosite.com =). Does Massa need that watch to tell the time - no.  Does Richard use the experience of Massa in wearing that watch, how it is on the wrist during reaction time, what happens during the g-force and sudden acceleration and decleration or the car, yes.  The same for Nadal - you can test the watch for hours in the lab, but you can never mimic the experience of what happens in the chosen arena.  It only needs a moment to learn something new about the materials/movement.  Sure there is sponsorship involved - Nadal playing is a global event - but there also choice on Richard's part about who and why he designs a watch.  He is always learning, pushing forward.  The RM006 lead to the development of the RM009.  Right now, I dont know where he will go after the RM027 - but he will.

I think John McEnroe was one of the most brilliant tennis players ever - his titanic matches with Borg in the late 70's are the stuff of my childhood memories.  Even now, with the rose coloured spectacles of hindsight, the matches were more a fight to the death, or a philosophy on life, than just a tennis match.  But would I pay $5 for a McEnroe painting (yes - he has moved into art) - no thanks!  Works both ways.  Some collectors pay 6 figure sums for a McEnroe.  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and ignorance is bliss.....

Andrew H