For a brand that cut its teeth creating watches inspired by Formula One technology, Richard Mille is surprisingly well-tuned to the feminine audience. Through its signature ladies’ models such as the RM07-01, the RM037, and more, this avant-garde watchmaker has formulated modern expressions of stylish femininity in a timepiece.
Sometimes regarded as the Birkins of the watch world, its watches are as beautiful as they are powerful, fun yet also fabulous, exclusive and coveted, offering a hint of the future while always keeping tradition in heart. In other words, they are perfect embodiments of the woman of today, and as Amanda Mille will tell you, say everything that needs to be said about Richard Mille’s awareness of feminine power.
“When you look at our whole collection, the first in-house movement developed for ladies, the first in-house tourbillon, or projects such as the Richard Mille Racing Team [which is] the first 100 per cent female driver team in LMP2, it speaks for itself,” says the brand and partnerships director of Richard Mille.
As the person in charge of Richard Mille’s vast portfolio of brand partners and friends-of-the-brand, Mille is also team manager of the Richard Mille Racing Team, which was established in 2019 by her father, with whom she shares a passion for motor-racing. The goal is simple: To open the doors of endurance racing and motorsport to women. And with this team, Richard Mille aims to showcase the talent and expertise of women drivers, evolve the discipline, and society’s perspectives along with it.
“Our drivers, Tatiana Calderon, Sophia Floersch, and Beitske Visser, are strong young ladies. They’re all working to accomplish their dreams, but they’re also very down to earth, active in their own communities,” says Mille. “None of them have ever forgotten who they are, or where they come from.”
In addition to the Richard Mille Racing Team, the brand also supports American professional sportscar racer Aurora Straus and events such as the Rallye des Princesses—a women-only vintage car rally stretching from Paris to Saint-Tropez. Because women do love beautiful cars too, and besides, who would say no to a road trip across the French countryside?
Not that racing in LMP2 or participating in motorsports means you have to be some kind of petrolhead. Mille chimes in, “The beauty of being a woman is that you can be a ‘chameleon.’ You can be who you want, a princess for an evening, Superwoman during the day… and we are happy to be able to ‘dress’ everyone for all roles.”
Made using the industry’s most cutting edge technology and materials, Richard Mille watches feature a host of futuristic elements, from Carbon TPT® and Cermet to sapphire crystal and high-tech ceramic. But rather than alienating the feminine customer, the watchmaker appears to have triggered a newfound lust for state-of-the-art craftsmanship.
“The beauty of being a woman is that you can be a ‘chameleon.’ You can be who you want, a princess for an evening, Superwoman during the day… and we are happy to be able to ‘dress’ everyone for all roles.”
As Mille reveals, “It was our clients who asked for all these different technical materials. They want to enjoy their watches as part of their daily routine, and need to have light, strong, and technical products.” Lest we forget, she also mentions that Richard Mille’s first automatic movement and first in-house manufactured automatic tourbillon had been developed for ladies watches.
Indeed, Richard Mille’s approach to creating timepieces for women is completely unique in the luxury watch industry. The design team views every watch as a three-dimensional canvas on which they might explore any artistic concept that resonates with the Richard Mille universe.
There are practically no limits as to what could come out of its creation studio. From the wildly exuberant Talisman collection, to the gleefully irreverent Bonbons collection, to the vibrant and architecturally-inspired RM07-01 Coloured Ceramics collection… “Each of them is very different and has its own character,” Mille observes.
By treating every watch as an individual, Richard Mille speaks directly to the heart of the modern woman. Every watch has its unique qualities, just as every woman is special in her own way. During her time managing the brand’s feminine portfolio in Dubai, Mille understood very quickly how women perceive luxury timepieces differently than men. She notes, “A woman wants to recognise herself in the objects you create for her. She doesn’t want to feel she is the second choice of the brand.”
Naturally, that’s the last thing you’ll be feeling when you’re wearing something as outstanding as the RM07-01 Racing Red, the RM037 in white ceramic, or the spectacular RM07-01 Carbon TPT® Starry Night—the price tag alone is something to write home about. The sheer pleasure of owning a Richard Mille watch is a reward that fuels you to keep on striving for more.
Mille adds, “You don’t need to be an athlete to wear a Richard Mille. The only thing a lady must have is drive in her life. She must be a woman who lives the way she wants to live, not as the world would like. I’ve been lucky enough to meet incredible women all over the world that have shown me their strength, whether as a mother, entrepreneur, artist, athlete, or all of these combined. I don’t know if our watches give them strength, or if these women are the engine powering our creations, but it’s probably a mixture of both!”
