Ladies’ Choice: Why Richard Mille is So Very Female-Friendly

Obviously neither watch collectors nor women enthusiasts, specifically, are a monolith. But we have noticed more and more women wearing Richard Mille. Wearing is the key word here. We’ve spotted Richard Mille on the wrists of celebrities (Michelle Yeoh, Margot Robbie, Rihanna – on the red carpet and off) and on civilians.

Clearly, ladies love RM.

And while Mille didn’t introduce its first female-focused timepiece until 2004 (three years after the brand’s debut in 2001), women have been attracted to the Maison’s highly engineered timepieces from the start. And to be honest, the fellas wear the female-coded watches too.

That is why, today, we’re here to talk specifically about Mille’s rise in popularity with women enthusiasts through recent watches designed with a female audience in mind.

Ladies Firsts

You have probably heard the expression “shrink it and pink it.” It is a common phrase used in the product creation world to describe products that were designed by men for men, but in order to get money from women, the product was just scaled down and colored pink, or some other stereotypical feminine color.

Richard Mille’s first timepiece for women was the RM 007. Yes, this model was scaled down, but RM also included exclusive achievements such as a bi-directionally winding, automatic movement.

The 18K sandblasted gold rotor segment consisted of a weight comprised of more than 100 18-carat gold micro-balls within a transparent, PVD-coated container. This innovation had the role of reducing energy bursts during shocks.

The spirit of the RM 007 lives on in the RM 07-01 Intergalactic series. Launched in 2022, this tonneau-shaped timepiece is composed of Carbon TPT, an RM-exclusive material. With precious metals like gold, stones are prong-set, but Carbon requires a whole new way to incorporate gems, which has, in turn, led to a whole new design language.

And the ladies love a cool, unique approach to gem-setting (Carbon TPT requires the use of diamond-bit milling tools to machine the settings). The result showcases Richard Mille’s expertise in working with this unique carbon composite, which has become a trademark material for the brand, and it is a perfect example of how the brand takes women’s watches seriously.

Making Herstory

In 2009, the introduction of the tourbillon-equipped RM 019 was Richard Mille’s answer to female enthusiasts’ growing interest in complicated timepieces.

However, female collectors with a technical bent for things like complications, finishing, and innovation still appreciate decorative artistry as well. Thus, the RM HJ-02 In-House Automatic Tourbillon (launched in May of this year) marks a new chapter in the brand’s high jewelry saga, as it is an excellent example of how Mille approaches decoration with the same eye for engineering it brings to its calibres.

The collection consists of 12 unique pieces divided into vivid chromatic families of pink, violet, blue, and green, each set with nearly 1,400 stones. Rubies, sapphires, Paraíba tourmalines, emeralds, turquoise, chrysoprase, and mother-of-pearl create a kind of wearable kaleidoscope, executed with astonishing complexity.

In fact, setting these precious stones is an integral part of the watch’s construction, taking almost 700 hours for each watch.

Girls Just Want to Have Fun

Women also appreciate a bit of wit with their watches. When the maison introduced the Richard Mille Bonbon Collection at SIHH in 2019, buyers were so taken by these high-tech ceramic confections that they sold out before the fair was over.

Based on three of the brand’s iconic Bonbon models, the RM 07-03, RM 16-01, and RM 37-01, Mille used their avant-garde mechanical architecture and embellished them with such sweet treats as lollipops, marshmallows, cupcakes, licorice, bilberries, lychees, cherries, kiwis, strawberries, and lemons.

The sweet flavor of the Bonbon Collection continued on in the RM 07-01 Automatic Winding Coloured Ceramics family. This series was first introduced in 2021 and sadly concludes with the 2026 editions.

Women who are attracted to Mille also appreciate references outside of horology. Thus, one hallmark of the Coloured Ceramics line (apart from the colorful ceramic cases, naturally) was its playful, multi-material dials and guilloché decorations, influenced by post-modern Memphis design. The composition of the dial reflects this approach through a combination of decorative techniques.

One more thing worth talking about: the latest and last release of the Coloured Ceramics line was presented in three versions, each limited to 50 pieces, and introduces gem-setting to a line that already explored the interaction between color, materials, and surface treatments.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Watch

We’re assuming that the women wearing Richard Mille are, for the most part, purchasing them themselves (we also assume that a lot of women buy watches for the men in their lives). And the collectors I know do their research before making a big investment. This includes researching a brand’s messaging – especially partnerships.

Collaboration has always been a key part of Richard Mille’s approach to the market in general. Still, it’s refreshing to see that friends of the brand represent a wide spectrum of womanhood. This is no doubt in part to Amanda Mille, the brand’s Director of Brand and Partnerships, and Cécile Guenat, Creative and Development Director (who was also the force behind the aforementioned Bonbon collection).

We can appreciate the difference having women in positions of power can make. To go back to “shrink and pink” design, you can’t just miniaturize a man’s running shoe and expect it to have the same functionality as a sneaker engineered for a woman’s center of gravity.

But having spokespeople from all walks of life also lends Mille more credibility. Far from providing simple testimonials, many of Richard Mille’s partners actually participate in the development phase by testing and challenging the watches’ reliability. For example, in 2011, Michelle Yeoh (one of Mille’s few non-athlete ambassadors) first collaborated with Mille on the RM 051 Phoenix Tourbillon (having such a long relationship with a brand is also a big “green flag”).

Then in 2014, Yeoh helped conceptualize the Phoenix’s sequel, the RM 51-01, which centers on the symbolic themes of the tiger and the dragon. The power of storytelling in this timepiece comes from forms that were boldly integrated into the movement, with a tiger and a dragon clutching the tourbillon.

Today, Yeoh is also the face of the new RM HJ-02 In-House Automatic Winding Tourbillon.

Call it emotion. Call it authenticity. But as a brand, Richard Mille feels like it passes the Bechdel Test.

For more information about the brand, check out the Richard Mille website.