What does Chantilly Art & Elegance Richard Mille mean to you?
It’s the 6th edition of this biennial event, created by Richard Mille and Patrick Peter as a revival of the French concours d’élégance that were popular in the 1930s. At the time, the world’s finest cars were French-made, built by companies that called themselves “coachbuilders”: Bugatti, Chaperon, Delahaye, Voisins, etc. Those brands disappeared after the second world war, but the cars lived on, to be paraded around at the old concours d’élégance at Bagatelle, for instance. Richard and Patrick wanted to bring this spirit back to life, to gather together all these old vehicles from the last century, and the dedicated collectors who take care of them, whilst also showcasing the kinds of concept cars that you see from time to time at car shows. At the same time, some very high-end brands use this backdrop to provide an exclusive preview of their new concept cars – no fewer than nine this year. All this is quite a logistical feat, in a location that is both relevant and prestigious. Participants and spectators come from all over the world: in 2019 we had 12,000, and for the 2022 edition there were 20,000! The Domaine de Chantilly is the perfect location, with its gardens designed by Le Nôtre. French elegance and art de vivre are also reflected in the fashion shows that take place during the day, and in the various events such as workshops on millinery or making Chantilly cream. There’s also a whole equestrian side that’s closely linked to the location, with the hippodrome, the Grandes Ecuries and the polo club. That’s how the Chantilly Art & Elegance perpetuates the art de vivre that Richard Mille holds dear.
Do your clients appreciate it?
Yes. They come for two main reasons: first, they tell us they like to spend time with the Richard Mille team and partners of the brand; and second, the event offers a variety of pleasant ways to spend a weekend! Some clients love the Saturday lunch at the Apremont Polo Club, others appreciate the gala dinner in the Grandes Ecuries, or the car parade on the Sunday around the estate’s central lake (known as the miroir). They love this immersion in the Richard Mille brand. They also run into our partners, who are all equally warm and welcoming. We enjoy inviting them to experience our brand to the full; they get to know our other partners, our clients and our favourite journalists, and they develop even closer bonds.
Some lucky participants were also able to see the RM UP-01 Ferrari. Was it a goal of yours to create the world’s thinnest watch?
It’s another feather in our cap, but it’s true we’ve never designed a piece that was so complex, from a technical point of view, and in terms of its manufacture. This ultra-flat watch contains 210 components, including 140 for the case alone, in a thickness of 1.75mm. No one expected that! We adore its technical and lifestyle side, which is what our brand is all about. To cement our partnership with Ferrari, everyone assumed we’d bring out a racing chronograph, or a Scuderia type model in red or yellow, but we went in the opposite direction! When the Ferrari team approached us in the summer of 2020, we explained how we work: all our developments take time. We weren’t going to simply take a chronograph and stick a prancing horse on it. They immediately told us they trusted us, that they appreciated our products, and that many of their clients wore Mille watches. This watch had been in development for four years, and we thought it would suit them very well, provided we could talk to their designers and add some elements corresponding to the Ferrari DNA. None of us wanted to settle for a lasered logo, and we drew inspiration from their dashboards, counters, needles, numbers and seats, while sticking to our goal of not exceeding 1.75mm in thickness. That took us another two years. This was our first collaboration with Ferrari, and other pieces are in the pipeline, because we don’t want to reproduce any more versions of this model, which is limited to 150 pieces. We’re getting to know each other. What interests us – with Ferrari and with our other partners – is getting access to their engineers, understanding what materials they could bring, how their designers work, and they’re also curious to learn more about our methods. We’re very fortunate, because the president of Ferrari, John Elkann, and CEO Benedetto Vigna are both admirers of the Richard Mille brand, and they’re aligned with our approach.
Another topic on everyone’s lips is Certified Pre-Owned, and the fact that you’re opening a new space in Geneva
Yes, some markets such as Japan have a highly developed culture of the object and a respect for brand, which translates into a culture of great care, very well looked-after pieces and a lively second-hand market. The first second-hand retailers to offer certified and guaranteed Mille watches emerged in Japan and the United States, because clients there were used to it. The watch industry is still catching up with this trend, but in the car world where I come from, for example, the strongest brands manage to create a genuine, certified, serviced second-hand offer. We became aware of a need for Certified Pre-Owned beginning in around 2012. The market was very open; many independent retailers were selling second-hand watches from all brands, without paying the necessary attention to maintenance, so vital for these items, or using inappropriate tools. We nevertheless wanted to separate our second-hand boutiques from our traditional stores. These boutiques, such as Ninety in London, and soon in Geneva, specialise in very high-end pre-owned watches. Richard Mille clients will be able to trade in their watches and buy another, risk-free. We give them access to a selection of rare pieces that can’t be found in the usual shops, because they are no longer in production. There are 55,000 Mille watches in circulation around the world, dating back to the brand’s creation in 2001. We are also taking part in the Re-Luxury fair in Geneva, where we will be explaining our approach to Certified Pre-Owned, but we won’t be selling any watches.
Richard Mille himself has retired, and handed the reins of the company to his children. How will the brand retain its DNA?
Alexandre and Amanda, Commercial Director and Director of Branding and Partnerships respectively, have worked for a long time with our markets in the USA and the Middle East. They share their father’s approach: they are passionate about the brand; they are full of humanity, warmth and respect; and they are extremely dedicated, which provides some guarantee of longevity. We’re still a small company, with 190 employees in manufacturing, and less than 500 in total around the world, including at our branches and boutiques. We have the same approach as when Richard and Dominique Guenat created the brand 20 years ago: innovation, creativity, continual questioning. When a piece isn’t ready, it isn’t launched. The brand lives through the quality of our watches, and we talk about the technical brilliance and hard work of the people working behind the scenes. There’s no sleight of hand.
What challenges does Richard Mille face today?
We’re growing in a controlled way, from 5100 watches last year to 5300 this year, with a forecast output of 5500 pieces for 2023. We own 40 boutiques around the world. Our production potential is fantastic, and today we have around ten in-house calibres, from automatic movements to a chronograph to an automatic tourbillon. We have really got to know our clients, because we are in direct contact with them. We are plugged in to their desires and to their lives. We must hold on to the same rigour and the same curious spirit: Richard Mille has always been open to everything, while nurturing enormous respect for others in the industry. We have always followed our own niche, our own designs, without looking at what’s going on in the market. We respect what other brands are doing, and they respect us in turn. We are extremely fortunate to work with many very passionate and original partners, including Rafa Nadal and the legendary car maker Ferrari. Our challenge is to continue to find ideas that surprise, to take nothing for granted, and to guard against complacency.
