Richard Mille vs Rolex: two different worlds of watchmaking

Richard Mille and Rolex are both seen on the wrists of the famous, but they could hardly be more different. One is over a century old and built on tradition; the other was founded in 2001 and built on technology.

Rolex: the classic

Rolex has refined a small family of designs for decades: the Submariner, GMT-Master, Daytona, Datejust and Day-Date. Its watches are robust, accurate and recognisable, made mostly in steel and gold, and produced in large numbers by luxury standards.

Richard Mille: the racing car for the wrist

Richard Mille launched his brand in 2001 with the RM 001, a tourbillon. The brand is known for curved tonneau-shaped cases, skeletonised movements and materials borrowed from motorsport and aerospace, such as titanium, ceramics and carbon composites. Its watches are exceptionally light, made in small numbers, and typically priced well into six figures.

Made for sport

Richard Mille designs watches to be worn while competing. Rafael Nadal famously wore his signature Richard Mille during tennis matches, and the brand has long-standing links with Formula 1. See our guide to Formula 1 and watches.

Which suits you?

• ◆Rolex: timeless design, everyday durability and a huge network of service and support.
• ◆Richard Mille: cutting-edge materials, extreme lightness and a bold statement, at a very different price.

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