Athlete Mutaz Essa Barshim spotted wearing a Richard Mille

Mutaz Essa Barshim, the Qatari high-jump legend who shared Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020 in one of sport's most celebrated gestures of sportsmanship, was spotted wearing the newly released Richard Mille RM 88 'Smiley' Automatic Tourbillon in white ATZ ceramic — a watch limited to precisely 50 examples globally and priced at roughly $1.2 million at list.

The RM 88 is built around Richard Mille's calibre RMTA88, an automatic tourbillon movement developed in collaboration with Audemars Piguet Renaud & Papi. The movement delivers a power reserve of approximately 50 hours, operates at 21,600 vph, and is visible through the characteristic skeletonised architecture the brand has made its signature. The tonneau-shaped case is machined from white ATZ — aluminium toughened zirconia ceramic — a material prized for its scratch resistance, low density, and bright, lustrous finish that gives the watch its striking clean aesthetic.

What elevates the RM 88 beyond a technical exercise is its dial programme. Working in the spirit of the globally recognised Smiley brand, Richard Mille's artisans arranged a constellation of miniature sculptural elements around the central smiley face: a blossoming flower, warm rays of sun, a pineapple, a blooming cactus, a pink flamingo, and a multicoloured rainbow. Each element is hand-crafted and applied individually — a level of microdecoration that places the RM 88 firmly in grand complications territory, regardless of its playful visual language.

Barshim has been a Richard Mille athlete ambassador for several years, part of a roster that includes Rafael Nadal and Bubba Watson. The brand's strategy of aligning with elite athletes who perform under extreme physical stress reinforces its engineering narrative. For Barshim — a two-time world champion and multiple Olympic medallist — wearing a $1.2 million tourbillon with a smiley face reads as entirely on-brand: supreme technical achievement wrapped in warmth.

On the secondary market, ultra-limited Richard Mille releases with strong artistic conceits and celebrity association typically command premiums immediately upon release. With only 50 examples of the RM 88 in existence, grey-market prices are expected to track well above list from the outset, though confirmed resale data remains limited given how recently the reference launched.