Singer Pharrell William spotted wearing a Richard Mille

Pharrell Williams was recently photographed wearing the Richard Mille RM 74-02 in 18ct rose gold and Black Gold Carbon TPT, paired with the model's rare open-link bracelet — one of the more technically ambitious configurations in Richard Mille's current catalogue. The sighting adds yet another serious horological statement to Pharrell's well-documented collection, which has consistently leaned toward pieces that challenge conventional definitions of what a watch can be.

The Richard Mille RM 74-02 is among the most technically demanding references the Le Brassus manufacture has produced. Its case material — a proprietary composite that layers Carbon TPT with sheets of 18ct rose gold and black gold — required four years of development before Richard Mille was satisfied with the result. Carbon TPT itself is derived from aerospace and Formula 1 applications, built from filaments less than 45 microns in diameter laid at 45-degree angles and infused with a black resin matrix under high pressure. Integrating metallic gold layers into this process without compromising structural integrity or adding excessive mass was an engineering problem with no established precedent in watchmaking.

At the heart of the RM 74-02 sits a manual-winding tourbillon movement, visible through the skeletonised dial and framed by matching gold bridges that echo the case's material language. The tourbillon sits at 6 o'clock — classical placement that Richard Mille renders in anything but a classical aesthetic. The movement architecture follows the brand's established logic of variable-geometry rotor, torque-limiting crown, and anti-shock protection, all housed within a case that wears far lighter than its precious-metal content would suggest.

For collectors, the RM 74-02 occupies a specific niche: it is a tourbillon for buyers who find traditional grand complications aesthetically conservative. The gold-carbon composite gives it a warmth and depth that pure carbon references lack, while the open-link bracelet version seen on Pharrell is produced in extremely limited numbers, making it particularly sought after in secondary market circles.

Pharrell Williams has worn Richard Mille pieces publicly for over a decade, and his choices rarely land on standard references. The RM 74-02 at a retail price of $585,000 sits firmly in ultra-luxury tourbillon territory — comparable to complications from Patek Philippe and A. Lange & Söhne but with a material and visual proposition entirely its own. On the grey market, demand for limited gold-composite RM references consistently pushes prices well above retail.