By Nikhil Kurmala
It’s been less than 20 years since Richard Mille’s inception yet they have taken the high-end luxury market by storm. With their contemporary designs and robust timepieces that have been proven on many fields thanks to World No.1 Tennis player, Rafael Nadal to sports car brand McLaren, Richard Mille have asserted their dominance in the industry and are here to stay. What better way to cement their status as the ‘billionaires’ watch’ than by opening their biggest store yet in Manhattan on 57th street: Also known as ‘Billionaires’ Row’.
Located in the heart of Manhattan, Richard Mille’s new flagship store boasts over 4,200-square-foot in space and is Richard Mille’s largest boutique to date. It is something that took over ten years to find, according to Richard Mille founder and CEO of the brand.
As mentions by Richard Mille himself in a recent press release:
“Since it’s (Richard Mille) inception, one of my chief objectives was to open a store in New York. But I never rush into a project until the circumstances are ideal. We knew this store would be a crucial showcase with global visibility, so it was important to wait until we found the right location”. Mr. Mille and John Simonian, CEO of Richard Mille Americas, started the search for the ideal boutique location in more than a decade ago and New York has always been in their sights. As it turned out, the property they ultimately selected did not even exist 10 years ago. Today, the New York flagship resides on a stretch of 57th Street that has since gained the moniker “Billionaire’s Row,” thanks to the development of ultra-luxury residential skyscrapers in the vicinity.
The store’s aesthetic is one that mirrors a Richard Mille watch as clientele, on first look, are greeted with a 30-foot-high glass façade, a two-story transparent wall illuminated by 156 feet of LED lights, and 24 panels of floor-to-ceiling glass (weighing 37,000 pounds) individually engraved and arranged in threes that form a sculptural rendering of the watchmaker’s RM 008 tourbillon movement. The large glass walls mirror Richard Mille’s skeletonised watch designs allowing the workings of the store to be visible to all while allowing able natural light to shower through the store.
The surprises don’t end there as clients are greeted with a custom build elevator in the centre of the store. The lift is transparent and much like a Richard Mille watch provides a full view of the elevators inters mechanics allowing clients to wonder over the moving parts and mechanism at work as they get transported to the mezzanine level. Much like a watch case which is mixed with brushed and polished surfaces, the elevator is encased in curved, three-layer glass panels while the shaft is illuminated, ultimately creating the appearance that the elevator is floating up and down within the store.
The elevator doors open onto the mezzanine, which has a bar, a lounge, VIP consultation rooms, and a display of the ladies’ and automatic timepieces—all of which overlook the 57th street. On the bottom floor, a series of individual vitrines highlight Richard Mille’s high-complication timepieces, which illustrate the history of the brand’s watchmaking expertise. However, you may find yourself looking but not touching the watches on the ground floor—the watchmaker’s high-end timepieces are created in such limited quantities that only serious collectors with serious spending power will likely be the only ones to wear them on their wrists.
The store will hold almost all of Richard Mille’s collections which date back from their start in 1999 all the way to their latest releases in 2018. All this will be displayed in order to showcase the history of the company and how the company has grown into what it is today. If it only took them 19 years to accomplish this much, one can only imagine what they have in store for us in the future. Visit Richard Mille here.
