Richard Mille Rafael Nadal Ref: RM 027

The watch the catapulted Richard Mille into horological stardom via a clever association with my favourite tennis player of all time, Rafael Nadal. I still find it absolutely phenomenal that he plays with such a complication on his wrist, bludgeoning the ball as only he can. Having been in the watch business for 32 years, the 3 watches that made the biggest impression on me, in date order, are the Rolex Daytona (the watch that sparked a life long fascination for watches) - the Audemars Piguet Offshore 'Beast' (my name) in 1993 - & finally the Richard Mille RM027, the original Nadal. Every bit the assault on my expectant horological senses as the aforementioned 'Beast' but for the opposite reason. It's incredible lightness. It was like strapping air to your wrist & impossible not to laugh as one does do for the first time. Much the same as my partner did when I had my 'first time'! It actually took me a good six months to decide whether the RM027 was perhaps the biggest milestone in the manufacturing of complicated watches or simply the greatest example of the emperors new clothes. A watch that should be ejected with a bang from a Christmas cracker or just genius? The way prices in general have escalated over the last decade it would seem to be more happy genius than Emperor