Politician Jean Todt spotted wearing a Richard Mille

A single photograph from 2005 is all that exists of this watch. On the wrist of Jean Todt — at the time the most powerful man in Formula 1 as Ferrari's CEO — sits what every available detail suggests is a piece unique Richard Mille RM 002 Tourbillon, distinguished from every known production example by vivid red accents on the rehaut, crown, and hands. No auction record, no exhibition catalogue, no press release has ever surfaced to document it further.

The Richard Mille RM 002 was the brand's second-ever reference, introduced in the early 2000s alongside the debut RM 001. Both models shared the same fundamental architecture: a manually wound tourbillon movement in a tonneau-shaped titanium case, constructed around the idea of maximum shock resistance and legibility under racing conditions. The RM 002 offered a power-reserve indicator and a torque indicator on the movement — functional tools rather than decorative flourishes. Bridges were skeletonised to expose the gear train, and the baseplate was designed to be visible from the dial side, a philosophy Richard Mille borrowed from aerospace and motorsport engineering.

For collectors, the RM 002 carries significant historical weight. As one of the earliest references from a brand that has since become one of the most aggressively traded names on the grey market, low-serial examples in original condition are increasingly difficult to find. A piece unique tied to a documented personality from this period would represent a category entirely apart from standard collector acquisition.

The red detailing on this example is impossible to dismiss as coincidence. Todt was overseeing Ferrari's most dominant era in Formula 1 history — the team secured six consecutive Constructors' Championships between 1999 and 2004. A bespoke Richard Mille built around Ferrari's racing livery, presented to the architect of that success, is entirely consistent with how Richard Mille cultivated its early partnerships with motorsport.

Standard production RM 002 examples have sold at auction in the $150,000–$300,000 range depending on condition and documentation. A verified piece unique of this provenance would operate in a different market entirely — its value determined less by comparable sales than by the singular story it carries.