Politician Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Thani spotted wearing a Richard Mille

Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Thani, member of the Qatari ruling family and a figure well known in diplomatic and political circles, was recently photographed wearing what may be the rarest Richard Mille reference in private hands today — the RM 056 Blue Quartz TPT Jean Todt 50th Anniversary, a watch limited to just three examples globally.

The Richard Mille RM 056 was first introduced in 2012 as a landmark in case construction: its tonneau-shaped case, middle case, and crystal are all machined from grade-5 sapphire, requiring over 1,000 hours of machining and polishing per case. The result is a watch of near-total optical transparency, allowing an unobstructed view of the manually-wound tourbillon movement within. This Jean Todt Anniversary edition replaces the standard bridges with Richard Mille's Blue Quartz TPT — a composite material made by stacking silica threads saturated in blue-pigmented resin at alternating 45-degree angles before being compressed under extreme pressure. The visual effect is a luminous, crystalline blue matrix that reads differently under every light source.

The movement is the calibre RM 056-01, a manual-winding tourbillon with a baseplate and bridges in the aforementioned Blue Quartz TPT, offering power reserve indication, torque indication, and a function selector. The watch measures 50.15mm × 42.70mm × 20mm — substantial on the wrist, but the sapphire case gives it an almost weightless visual presence.

The Jean Todt connection adds further provenance. Todt, the former Ferrari Sporting Director and longtime FIA president, has enjoyed a close personal relationship with Richard Mille for decades — one that has produced some of the brand's most celebrated commemorative references. A 50th anniversary dedication, limited to three pieces, places this squarely in gift and diplomatic-presentation territory rather than commercial production.

At a declared price of $1,720,000, the RM 056 Blue Quartz TPT Jean Todt 50th Anniversary sits at the summit of Richard Mille's pricing architecture. With only three examples in existence, grey-market comparables are essentially nonexistent — any future transaction would be a private treaty sale, almost certainly well above list. The Sheikh's sighting is a rare confirmation that one of these three pieces is indeed being worn, not vaulted.