Richard Mille: Tennis greatness meets horology in the RM 27-05 Flying Tourbillon Rafael Nadal

Richard Mille celebrates its exceptional partnership with one of the tennis world’s greatest ever in the RM 27-05 Flying Tourbillon Rafael Nadal 

With an illustrious career that has spanned two decades and included 22 major championships and a total of 209 weeks as World No. 1, Rafael Nadal has made an indelible mark on professional tennis. But the 38-year-old, who will retire after this month’s Davis Cup Finals in his home country of Spain, has done more than elevate his sport. Through his collaboration with Richard Mille, Nadal has also helped revolutionise the world of haute horology. 

“I still remember the day in 2008 when Richard contacted me to discuss working together,” Nadal recalls. “It was unthinkable for me, as I’d never worn anything on my wrist. It all came together in 2010, when he came to visit me in Mallorca. As a joke, he first presented me with a very heavy platinum watch. When I reacted as you might expect, he quickly held up a prototype of the RM 027: a surprisingly light watch with spectacular lines.” 

Weighing a mere 20 grams including the strap, the RM 027 Tourbillon Rafael Nadal was one of the lightest watches ever produced at the time. It featured a carbon composite case and a movement baseplate made from an exceedingly strong yet lightweight titanium and LITAL alloy. Nadal tested the timepiece in real-world conditions before committing to play all of his matches wearing a Richard Mille on his wrist. 

Building on this success, the RM 27-01 Tourbillon Rafael Nadal unveiled in 2013 pushed the envelope further. Weighing just 18.83 grams, it claimed the title of the world’s lightest tourbillon watch. This feat was made possible by the high concentration of carbon nanotubes in the case, which also provided perfect resistance to shocks and scratches as well as the comfort that was vital to Nadal during his tournaments. 

The 2015 release of the RM 27-02 Tourbillon Rafael Nadal marked another technical leap forward by introducing the use of Quartz TPT fibres – a first for the brand – and the very first skeletonised baseplate known as “unibody”, in which the caseband and baseplate have been fused into a single piece, removing the need to attach the two components together. 

The RM 27-03 Tourbillon Rafael Nadal, unveiled in 2017, set new standards for durability. Its combination of Quartz TPT and Carbon TPT resulted in a case capable of withstanding an astonishing 10,000 g’s of impact. The watch’s striking red and yellow colour scheme paid homage to Nadal’s Spanish heritage, while its bridge design evoking the forward-facing head of a bull nodded to his signature emblem. 

Celebrating 10 years of partnership, the RM 27-04 Tourbillon Rafael Nadal featured the brand’s first-ever Titacarb case as well as an innovative mesh-suspended movement that was capable of withstanding a brand record of 12,000 g’s of impact. The unprecedented construction was inspired by the same principle as the strings of a tennis racquet, underscoring Nadal and Mille’s relationship built on mutual trust and admiration for their respective careers. 

Now, as Nadal prepares to step away from professional tennis, the RM 27-05 Flying Tourbillon Rafael Nadal provides a climactic conclusion to this remarkable series. The result of five years of development and 4,000 hours of design work, it shatters previous records with its extraordinary 11.5-gram weight (excluding strap) and ability to withstand 14,000 g’s of acceleration impact. It is also the brand’s first watch to use Carbon TPT B.4, a revolutionary new composite that is 4% denser and has 15% stiffer fibres and 30% stronger resin than its predecessor Carbon TPT. The new material guarantees the watch’s powerful architecture the best ratios, weight, performance and rigidity. 

Limited to 80 pieces – an increase from the previous 50-piece editions – the RM 27-05 represents not only the culmination of the RM 027 series but also a joint commitment to pushing boundaries on and off the court. “What truly binds us is the human side – the strength of our friendship with Rafa,” says Alexandre Mille, Commercial Director at Richard Mille. “After all the time we’ve spent together, we’re looking forward to continuing our exchanges for many years to come. The RM 27-05 is a testament to both this long friendship and our shared enjoyment. And, looking to the future, the techniques used to develop the RM 27-05 will undoubtedly benefit all our future creations.” 

Also see: Richard Mille: A collaboration with McLaren to bring 'Racing Machines on the Wrist'