Sad news continued to hit the sporting world, as on the 11th of October, it was announced that the great tennis icon, Rafael Nadal would be retiring. Seeing another legend leave this unreal generation and era of sport, is forever raising questions if we will ever see players of Nadal’s success and accolades again, or even the sheer competition Nadal had shared with Federer and Djokovic at the highest stage will be encountered.
(Image from BBC ©, 2024)
The 38-year-old Spaniard’s winnings is a dream of many tennis players, winning 22 Grand Slams which is the second highest in the men’s game, two more than Federer at third, yet falling short of Novak Djokovic’s 24. His stacked trophy cabinet is like his watch collection, full of beauty and success putting him at such a high status in both the sporting and horological worlds.
(Image from Britannica ©, 2019)
In most instances, when the two worlds collide, it is a lethal combination, which remains the case for Rafael Nadal. What makes the Spaniard a key figure in the horological world, is the fact that he is an ambassador for Richard Mille, which is quite literally a statement itself! So, due to being a Richard Mille ambassador, Nadal’s watch collection is stacked full of Richard Mille models.
Being an ambassador for one of the most innovative and advanced luxury watch brands is truly special. Nadal was unveiled as Richard Mille ambassador in 2010, when he was pictured lifting his second and final Wimbledon trophy, wearing the RM-027. This is one of the greatest ways to unveil your ambassador; their partnership was already a success, having only just begun!
Rafael Nadal & RM027
Not only did Richard Mille mark their debut into the tennis world with the celebration of this partnership, but also the unveiling of the RM-027 Tourbillon. This model weighs under 20g, which held the record as the lightest automatic watch ever made at the time of its release. Since then the record has been beaten by Richard Mille themselves, but officially taken by Ming with their model, LW.O1, with a featherweight value of 10.8g!
The RM-027 was ideal for Nadal, as the light weight allowed Nadal to show elegance and power without any strain. Additionally, there is a feature of the tourbillon movement. At the end of the 18th century, the innovative, key figurehead of the horological world, Abraham Louis-Breguet invented this complicated movement.
Tourbillon movements work by placing all moving watch components into a rotating cage that moves continuously on its own axis. Noticeably seen on Audemars Piguet ‘Tourbillon’ models at 6 o’clock.
What does this do?
Tourbillon movements improve the reliability and accuracy of telling time and reduce the stress of the ticking pieces that would conventionally be placed in a vertical position. An inference could be made that Richard Mille intentionally incorporated a tourbillon movement into this model to link with Nadal’s style of play; power and precision.
Despite the RM-027 being blacked-out, it was illuminated paired with the all-white outfit, a style cohesive with Wimbledon. Limited to just 50 pieces, this model went in the Richard Mille history books; a piece so special, they dedicated this to Rafael Nadal. This will be a theme, as many models in this watch collection, were specifically manufactured by Richard Mille for Nadal.
Nadal & RM35-03
This collection is in no order but opening with the watch that began this special partnership felt righteous. Following on from the RM-027, are two watches part of the RM35-03 collection, the difference between the two being the colourway. Nadal is pictured in two photoshoots with different variations of the RM35-03. The first photoshoot consists of the model featuring a dark blue case, white strap and red crown, the second is with a light grey case and baby blue strap.
The interesting part about the RM35-03 collection was titled as the “Baby Nadal” range, with all the models taking inspiration from the RM027 Tourbillon collection, the watch that kickstarted Nadal’s Richard Mille journey and opened his watch collection.
Despite the RM35-03 taking inspiration from the RM027 Tourbillon, it is a time watch only lacking the tourbillon movement. However, the RM35-03 consists of all the features and qualities that align with a Richard Mille watch: the lightweight carbon case, famous tonneau-shaped case and skeletonised dial. In this automatic movement of the RM35-03, there is Richard Mille’s patented butterfly rotor, with the addition of a function selector, enabling the model to fly into sports mode.
Due to the lack of the tourbillon movement and baseplate protection, this model is not worn by Nadal in competitions, stated by the Spaniard himself. But Nadal claimed that “we [Rafael Nadal and Richard Mille] are aligned in our language, fueled by passion for our work.” Further sharing that “it is deeply gratifying to feel the trust Richard and his team put in me, allowing me to be part of this unique journey.” From this, it is clear that Nadal’s intentions are varied and boundless, wanting to create models that have wider intentions away from sport, sticking to the brand’s theme of innovation and craftsmanship.
Rafael Nadal & RM27-01
The next watch is the RM27-01 ’Tourbillon Rafael Nadal’ which was released in 2013, with Richard Mille wanting to break their own record for the lightest mechanical watch. This RM27-01 broke the record, weighing exactly 18.83g, in which the strap was the heaviest part about the watch.
When closely examined, this watch includes a very interesting feature. There is a baseplate attached to the case by four steel cables, with the intention of protecting the tourbillon movement. This allows the model to withstand accelerations of a g-force over 5,000! Lightness and durability was tested and taken to new heights, demonstrating the innovation behind Richard Mille.
Increasing the shock resistance with the addition of the baseplate, meant that Nadal was able to play freely, using his key attributes of strength and power without causing any damage to the watch.
Rafael Nadal & RM27-02
In 2015, a new RM27 model was launched, the RM27-02 ‘Tourbillon Rafael Nadal,’ which featured a very unique part. Richard Mille created the watch’s first ever unibody skeletonised baseplate, merging the caseband and baseplate into one component.
This pioneering move from Richard Mille was influenced and inspired by the frame structure of a racing car, in order to boost the watch’s shock resistance and strength.
Rafael Nadal & RM27-03
Two years later, there was the release of a new RM27 model, the RM27-03 ‘Tourbillon Rafael Nadal’ in which Nadal was spotted wearing this model with pride. The striking part about the RM27-03 would be the combination of yellow and red.
Yellow and red are a reflection of the Spanish flag, Rafael Nadal’s roots meaning Richard Mille was paying homage to the tennis icon’s home, a tribute piece to their ambassador.
The special part about the RM27-03 is the tourbillon movement which can handle tougher treatment. Extraordinarily, this watch can withstand a g-force of up to 10,000! This demonstrates how strong and impactful Nadal’s gameplay is that Richard Mille had to increase their level of innovation to match the Spaniard’s style.
Arguments could be made as to why Richard Mille didn’t create this innovation in the early years of their partnership, but the brand had spent years researching, developing and examining the strength and toughness of the model through ‘pendulum impact testing.’
Rafael Nadal & RM27-04
Rafael Nadal has been an ambassador for Richard Mille since 2010. A decade later, the RM27 collection expanded with the launch of the RM27-04 ‘Tourbillon Rafael Nadal,’ released to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of Rafael Nadal and Richard Mille’s partnership.
This one of the most extraordinary timepieces released by Richard Mille, with only 50 models of the RM27-04 available in the world. There are some extremely cool features about this watch, starting with the subtle reflection of the Spanish flag due to the colours of brown and cream- a beautiful colour combination which is pictured above. The RM27-04 is most familiar with a light blue strap, but the cream-coloured strap works perfectly.
The case is made from titanium and carbon, known as a TitaCarb case, which mixes durability and strength with lightness. Richard Mille is always manufacturing their models for Nadal by linking to his style of gameplay.
The total weight of this model is 30g making this watch usable for competition. The final touching part of the watch is the incorporation of steel cable on the dial, formed together, intending to resemble the strings of a tennis racket.
Marking the fifth generation of the RM 027 collection, Richard Mille had to go above and beyond with the RM27-04, in which they created a true anniversary piece for Nadal, one that is very unique and special for the Spanish icon.
Rafael Nadal & RM27-05
Not the final watch in his collection, but the final RM27 model, Nadal has been seen wearing the RM27-05 ‘Manual Winding Flying Tourbillon Rafael Nadal’ whilst playing. This indicates that this watch is also lightweight, fit for his competitions.
When many thought the brand couldn’t exceed the heights of the RM27 collection, Richard Mille delivered by breaking a two-fold record for a manual winding tourbillon piece, with Richard Mille taking their innovations to the next level. This model weighs 11.5g including the strap, whilst also withstanding a g-force of 14,000, making this the lightest and most resilient tourbillon watch.
Rafael Nadal & RM11-03
The final watch in Rafael Nadal’s watch collection is the RM11-03 ‘Advanced Flyback Chronograph’ in rose gold with the black strap. This model consists of various features, making this piece extremely complicated.
Firstly, there is the feature of a flyback chronograph which is an advanced chronograph movement that enables the rapid restarting of the timer function while the chronograph is running. This differs from the conventional chronograph movement, as once the timer has stopped, the user would have to restart the timer and the chronograph stops running.
Additionally, this RM11-03 displays a 60 minute countdown timer, 12 hour totaliser, oversized date display, month indicator and a variable geometry rotor- this piece has everything you need on a watch.
What is next for Nadal and Richard Mille?
In response to the retirement of Rafael Nadal, there is a high expectation that Richard Mille will release a piece to celebrate the Spaniard’s career. Something similar to the RM27-04 which was essentially a bespoke piece made for Nadal, the question is how can Richard Mille go levels above what they have created in the RM27 collection.
