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thatjakea

Behind The Brand - What Is A Richard Mille ACTUALLY Worth

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thatjakea

Afternoon all!

this has been both a topic and brand that has fascinated me for some time. Now from what I can see, there are MANY brands making much more complex movements, with much greater pedigree that charge 1/10th of that of Richard Mille. To charge over a mill for a any watch is pretty ballsy! 

Now of course, i’m not for one moment saying that the movements are at all simple, but they don’t strike me as being anything more special than some of the higher end Patek, Breguet etc movements! 

qmMsI.jpg

I’d love to get a little discussion going about this and see what you all think. Is there actual, physical value behind the pieces that equate to anywhere near the RRP of some of the models or is Richard Mille just a true king of marketing? 
 

look forward to hearing what you all think! 

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Realism

Whatever the market is willing to pay for it...

They are now the hottest watch brand in the planet

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thatjakea
5 minutes ago, Realism said:

Whatever the market is willing to pay for it...

They are now the hottest watch brand in the planet

100% - but in terms of markup, is there anything that puts them above other brands? Or is it simply down to better marketing?

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Realism
1 minute ago, thatjakea said:

100% - but in terms of markup, is there anything that puts them above other brands? Or is it simply down to better marketing?

To be honest, gen buyers do not care about these things...

It's all about getting the latest and greatest in fashion trends...

If we are being honest with ourself, a $5 timex should suffice and provide value... But, here we are...

At the end of the day, it's about purchasing what you want, at a budget that you could afford... For some people, the exclusivity of owning a RM is what they seek...

 

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Glaude

Richard Mille do have some really good features in their movement, mostly in terms of resistance to stress.

Like it or not but their designs are originals too

But honestly, there's not a single luxury brand that can justify the price their product are offered at, so as Realism rightly said, it doesn't really matter

Jacob & Co have some crazy prices too

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Popperini

I don’t like the aesthetics of RM watches, so I’ve been quite sniffy and dismissive about them. But this thread title (and then the frustrating lack of detail within, heh) prompted me to go and Google Richard Mille and find out for myself.

It was interesting to read that it really isn’t all a triumph of hype and marketing over substance. The guy has a solid history in the watch industry and sounds dedicated (in that Breguet sort of way) to pushing the development of watchmaking, in this instance focusing on “high performance” watches.

I still think that functionally- as a watch you can tell the time on at a glance - they suck. But I’m less scornful of their price and exclusivity now.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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valueprop

As is common with the high end brands, it's a combination of factors - R&D, materials, build complexity.  They sell fairly few of these which drives price higher, like with luxury cars -- eg the RM 53-01 was a 30 piece edition.  Are they still inflating it an order of magnitude?  Definitely.  Two orders?  Maybe not.  If they got the RM 53-01 back lettering right and the lume on the hands I would totally spend the nearly $1k on it just for the novelty aesthetic.  Not everyone's in that boat though, love it or hate it I guess.

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BravoDelta

Jomashop has the RM 53-01 on sale for 0% off :MoneyEyes:

20200209-152839.jpg

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RussP

Payment Sent :D

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Intresting

Got to look at who wears RMs and who buys them.   World class Golfers, F1,  athletes wearing them while setting world records playing their extreme sport (some weigh less than 20g and have tourbillons that can withstand the rigors of top flight sport.)    Then you have the rappers and bling lovers who have millions of social media followers.   The very limited numbers (about 3000 units a year) and prices.   Think one journalist said owning one is like ultimate stealth signifier of extreme wealth.  

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Piccolo

Not sure how easy it is to get a solid piece of blue sapphire big enough to cut a watch out of - or how many tries you get until you machine one of those pieces perfectly. 
 

3000 hours to mill just the case. That adds up. 
 

And you make how many in order to make the one that is actually worn... 

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GingerApple
1 hour ago, Piccolo said:

Not sure how easy it is to get a solid piece of blue sapphire big enough to cut a watch out of - or how many tries you get until you machine one of those pieces perfectly. 
 

3000 hours to mill just the case. That adds up. 
 

And you make how many in order to make the one that is actually worn... 

They're not milling a rare precious gem though - it's just a lab grown sapphire like the stuff they make the watch crystal out of - though admittedly a lot bigger and therefore harder to grow in a pure form. And then the case is just CNC milled. I think they estimate a case can take £10k to make ( including growing a good enough crystal, milling it, breaking a few etc). Still a decent mark up!

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Jibuti
On 09/02/2020 at 21:48, RussP said:

Payment Sent :D

again?!

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Dendo

Jacob and Co - founded in NYC by Jacob Arabo in 1986, an NYC jeweler who came up with some novel designs for rich people to spend lots of money on.  Not sure I think they are worth the money.  Richard Mille, great watches, real horology, but the marketing and cost are deliberate moves to distinguish the brand and make much more money.  I would say Hublot have gone that way as well. 

You see how these guys set out with big financial backing and head for the high high cost level in contrast to say Christopher Ward or Tudor or Hamilton or Steinhart.

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Piccolo
44 minutes ago, TheGingerFerret said:

They're not milling a rare precious gem though - it's just a lab grown sapphire like the stuff they make the watch crystal out of - though admittedly a lot bigger and therefore harder to grow in a pure form. And then the case is just CNC milled. I think they estimate a case can take £10k to make ( including growing a good enough crystal, milling it, breaking a few etc). Still a decent mark up!

10k to 2.5mill is an ok mark up I guess... :D

I wonder how much they pay in sponsorship per year to athletes/events/motorsport teams etc.  Keeps the wheels turning, and somebody must keep buying them or they’d make something else... 

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RussP
1 hour ago, Jibuti said:

again?!

Yes, yet I never receive the watch.

Every single time.

I'm just :throwingmoney:

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BravoDelta
9 hours ago, TheGingerFerret said:

it's just a lab grown sapphire like the stuff they make the watch crystal out of

I should have been a lab-grown-sapphire machinist. Too late now :facepalm:

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Alan32

Like Rolex, and many luxury brands, RM have given watches to “Brand Ambassadors” to give the impression that if your rich and famous those are the things that matter ( internet “influencers” are the lower end of this technique )

if you investigated an RM watch it’s surprising how much horology is behind the bling ( some having perpetual Calendar complications that are simple date windows) but like diamond Rolexes the USP is  exclusivity 

If you have the money and the lifestyle ( security etc) to spend a million on a watch ,good for you , but personally I’d rather have a George Daniel , a Roger Smith and an F P Journe with a H Moser & Cie diver ( as a daily beater) and by a Bentley with the change

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ShovelnTC

When I see that some people will spend over $1,000,000 on a watch it confirms my theory that the human race has over evolved.

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