Rafael Nadal sports a million dollar Richard Mille limited edition

While Rafael Nadal’s new collaboration with Richard Mille for their iconic watches may be a few months old at this point, it appears he wore something spectacular this week – a completely new, special edition of the model, maybe.

This is what most Rafa fans were thinking but the top brass at Richard Mille clarified that it was the very same watch with some design tweaks. What were the design changes?

On a closer inspection a new strap seems to be in play. Watch strap is a greater deal than it sounds. While some watch buffs equate the strap to a car’s tires – practical and replaceable – Nadal makes the case that the strap is more like a refreshing and new paint job.

And while Nadal’s customary lagoon-blue strap played smartly with the watch’s red and orange accents, his brand-new white strap notches up the contrast, makes the case seem darker in context and turns a once groovy and vibrant piece into something basically monochromatic.

What is unique in the Richard Mille model that Rafa is sporting?

Rafa wears a Richard Mille RM 27-04 and let us analyse what is so unique about it.

With the role of the strap understood, let us get down to valuing this particular piece. Richard Mille’s innovative design genius is noteworthy as they took a steel cable and strung it back and forth across the watch’s dial until it mirrored the design of a tennis racquet. The design’s motivation might be rather apparent, but Richard Mille found a way to make it practical, by using the cables as a stabilising influence for the watch’s movement. That’s the type of creativity that makes this – factually – a million-dollar watch.

How much is this Nadal watch valued at?

According to Haute Time, Nadal is currently sporting a custom-made Richard Mille watch called the RM 27-04 Tourbillon Rafael Nadal.

The watch is valued at $1,000,500, and there are only fifty of them available.

Nadal is a big emissary for Richard Mille and one of the very few athletes who are comfortable to wear their watch while participating in professional sport.