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rapperSpotted November 2022

Rapper Young Thug spotted wearing a Richard Mille

rapper Young Thug spotted wearing a Richard Mille RM16-01
Who & what: Pink TZP Ceramic Richard Mille RM16-01 'Réglisse' Bonbon Collection Limited to 30 Pieces — Young Thug

Young Thug was recently spotted wearing one of Richard Mille's most technically unusual and visually arresting pieces: the RM16-01 'Réglisse' from the Bonbon Collection, a watch limited to just 30 examples worldwide. Given its six-figure price tag and near-impossible availability, the sighting is a reminder of how seriously the Atlanta rapper curates his collection.

The Richard Mille RM16-01 sits within a broader family of tonneau-shaped dress watches that Richard Mille introduced to demonstrate the manufacture's mastery of exotic materials rather than complication density. The defining feature of the 'Réglisse' variant is its case and bracelet crafted entirely from TZP zirconia ceramic — tetragonal zirconia polycrystal — a material originally engineered for jet engine components and dental prosthetics. In watchmaking terms it is exceptionally hard, scratch-resistant, and biocompatible, while its sintering process allows Richard Mille's engineers to achieve the licorice-candy pink colorway that inspired the 'Réglisse' (French for licorice) name. The manual-wind skeletonized movement is displayed through an open-worked dial, consistent with Richard Mille's philosophy of making the caliber the centrepiece of the design.

From a collector standpoint, the Bonbon Collection occupies a specific and fiercely contested corner of the Richard Mille universe. These are not tool watches or tourbillon showcases in the traditional sense — they are statements in material science, wearable art objects with a production run so tight that many serious collectors never secure an allocation. The RM16-01 reference in pink TZP is among the rarest executions in the series, and with only 30 pieces produced, secondary market appearances are infrequent at best.

Young Thug has long been one of hip-hop's more adventurous watch collectors, consistently gravitating toward pieces that prioritize aesthetic provocation over conventional luxury signaling. The RM16-01 'Réglisse' fits that sensibility precisely — it reads as candy-bright at a glance but rewards closer inspection with genuine horological and material sophistication.

At an official list price of approximately $165,000, the Richard Mille RM16-01 'Réglisse' was never accessible territory. On the grey market, demand for ultra-limited Bonbon Collection references has pushed valuations to roughly $330,000 — a doubling that reflects both the watch's scarcity and the sustained appetite for Richard Mille's most unconventional references among collectors and high-profile buyers alike.

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