Richard Mille RM 11-03 McLaren Automatic Flyback Chronograph

A hyperwatch pushing the limits of possibility

Richard Mille would be the first to admit his watches are not for everyone. Given that they often come in extremely limited editions and cost the same as a reasonably sized house, they’re not meant to be. Mille might not shift as much product as most of his competitors, but then he doesn’t need to. Business is booming. “Our boutique network stands at 40 stores, having just opened in Istanbul,” he says. “The next openings are very important as we have New York and Moscow, major cities where the boutiques will be ideally situated.”

Mille’s watches stand out: one of his taglines is “a racing machine for the wrist”. Not only do they look technically slick, they are worn by sporting men at the top of their games: Yohan Blake, Rafa Nadal, Bubba Watson. They’re made of such innovative materials that Nadal wore his £540,000 RM 27-03 throughout the French Open. At 34 grams and able to withstand a 10,000G forearm smash — a new industry standard — it didn’t put him off his stroke.

Motor racing is another Mille passion and he has designed timepieces for Felipe Massa, Jenson Button and Sébastien Loeb, among others. New for 2018 is the RM 11-03 McLaren, shown here. “This is the second watch development with McLaren since signing our 10-year partnership in 2016,” Mille tells Esquire. “The RM 11-03 has been developed over the last 18 months with Rob Melville, who designed the McLaren 720S. The RM 11-03 formed the basis to inject McLaren design elements such as the pushers that mimic the headlights from the 720S. The crown uses the precise scaled-down wheel design from the latest McLaren Ultimate Series. Even the rubber strap replicates the McLaren speed mark in its grooved variations.” The RM 11-03 is already an exclusive watch, but for anyone fearing running into someone else wearing another of the 500 pieces, Mille and McLaren can offer one last exclusive touch.

“Every McLaren customer who has placed an order for the latest car has the possibility to match their serial number on the Richard Mille watch,” Mille says.

Because once you’ve got the car, you may as well get the watch to go with it, right? Johnny Davis

£143,000; richardmille.com