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Politician Prawit Wongsuwan spotted wearing Richard Mille

The moment that launched a thousand headlines in Thailand required nothing more than a general shielding his eyes from the sun. When Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan raised his wrist at a public engagement, photographers caught a glimpse of a white gold Richard Mille strapped to his wrist — a detail that would set off one of the country's most politically charged asset-declaration scandals in recent memory. After a year of investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Commission, Prawit was formally cleared of wrongdoing, though the episode remains a defining chapter in Thai political history.

The watch in question is the Richard Mille RM010 in 18KT white gold, a reference that sits squarely within the Geneva manufacture's founding philosophy: aerospace-grade engineering dressed in precious metal. The RM010 houses the calibre RMAC1, a skeletonised automatic movement built on a grade 5 titanium baseplate and bridges, offering 55 hours of power reserve. The tonneau case — a signature Richard Mille silhouette — measures 45.7mm × 38.3mm, and in white gold configuration tips the scale considerably in both mass and price. The dial is largely absent by design; the movement is the display.

The RM010 was introduced in the mid-2000s as one of Richard Mille's more accessible entry points into the automatic category — 'accessible' being entirely relative at this price tier. It established the brand's template for skeletonised sports-luxury that has since been replicated across dozens of references. Collector interest in early RM010 examples remains steady; white gold variants carry a premium over titanium configurations and rarely surface on the secondary market in unworn condition.

Prawit Wongsuwan, a five-star general turned political heavyweight and longtime fixture in Thailand's military-aligned establishment, was found to have worn numerous luxury timepieces — reportedly over two dozen — whose combined value dwarfed his declared salary. The RM010 white gold was among the most valuable identified. The episode drew extraordinary public attention to a brand that thrives on exclusivity and discretion.

The 18KT white gold Richard Mille RM010 carried a UK list price of approximately £70,000 at the time of the sighting, translating to roughly $90,000–$95,000 USD depending on exchange rates. On the grey market, white gold RM010 references have traded between $75,000 and $110,000 depending on condition and provenance — a price point that, for a Thai civil servant, required considerable explanation.