Watch Paparazzi

Royal Jefri Bolkiah spotted wearing Richard Mille

Prince Jefri Bolkiah, younger brother of His Majesty Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, was recently observed wearing a Richard Mille RM 002 in grey titanium — a reference that sits at the very foundation of the Richard Mille story and remains one of the most bespoke propositions in contemporary haute horlogerie.

The Richard Mille RM 002 debuted in the early 2000s as the brand's second reference and one of its first serious statements of intent. At its core sits a manually wound tourbillon movement, the calibre RM002, built around a grade-5 titanium baseplate and bridges that borrow structural logic from Formula 1 chassis engineering. The skeletonized architecture exposes the going-train and tourbillon cage in full, with spline screws and variable-geometry rotor geometry that were genuinely novel at the time of release. The grey titanium case — lighter and harder than conventional steel — underscores the watch's technical purpose over decorative ambition.

What makes the RM 002 particularly significant from a collector's standpoint is its status as Richard Mille's most extensively customized reference. The brand accepted — and continues to facilitate — deep client-level modifications on this model: case dimensions, dial architecture, material combinations, and complication configurations have all been altered to individual specification over the years. No two examples are necessarily identical, which transforms each RM 002 into a document of its owner's preferences as much as a watch. For serious Richard Mille collectors, early references like the RM 002 carry additional weight as artifacts of the maison's founding decade.

Jefri Bolkiah requires little introduction in the world of ultra-luxury collecting. His personal holdings have historically included hundreds of Ferraris and Rolls-Royces, entire floors of watches, and commissions from virtually every significant haute horlogerie house. His appearance in a grey titanium RM 002 is consistent with a collecting philosophy that favors bespoke engineering over standard catalogue pieces.

On the market, the Richard Mille RM 002 in titanium commands prices in the region of $230,000 USD, with bespoke or early-production examples occasionally exceeding that figure at auction. Grey-market premiums on this reference remain firm, reflecting both the limited production numbers and the difficulty of locating specific configurations. As one of Richard Mille's foundational references, the RM 002 continues to appreciate steadily in collector circles.