Watch Paparazzi

Footballer Ashley Cole spotted wearing Richard Mille

Ashley Cole, the former Chelsea, Arsenal, and England left-back then playing out his club career at AS Roma, was photographed sporting a Richard Mille RM 35-01 — a watch engineered as much for punishment as for prestige. The sighting underlines the marque's deep penetration into elite football culture, where the brand's technical narrative resonates as strongly as its status signaling.

The Richard Mille RM 35-01 Rafael Nadal, reference RM35-01, centers on the RMAL1 caliber — a skeletonized manual-winding movement with a free-sprung balance, variable-geometry rotor, and a 55-hour power reserve. The baseplate and bridges are machined from NTPT Carbon, a material originally developed for America's Cup yacht masts, laid up in 45° alternating plies of carbon fiber and resin. The case itself is constructed in Carbon TPT, giving the watch a total weight of just 33 grams on the wrist — lighter than most dress watches, yet certified to withstand shocks up to 5,000 Gs. Water resistance is rated to 50 meters. The dial, if it can be called that, is entirely open, exposing the tonneau-shaped movement architecture in full.

The RM 35-01 occupies a specific position in the Richard Mille collector hierarchy. It is not the most complex piece in the catalog — that distinction belongs to the tourbillon references — but it represents the clearest expression of the brand's core philosophy: aerospace-grade materials science applied to mechanical watchmaking. Among collectors, Carbon TPT references consistently outperform their NTPT siblings on the secondary market, valued for their visual texture and perceived exclusivity. The RM35-01 is broadly considered more wearable and sportier than the RM 027 it shares DNA with.

Cole's affinity for Richard Mille fits a well-established pattern among Premier League and Serie A footballers who gravitate toward the brand's combination of engineering credibility and immediate visual impact. As a three-time Premier League champion and Champions League winner, Cole's watch choices attract genuine attention from a younger, sport-oriented audience.

At approximately £85,000 at UK retail — roughly $108,000 at prevailing rates — the RM 35-01 sits in the mid-tier of Richard Mille's sport range. On the grey market, strong demand from athlete clientele and limited authorized dealer allocation have historically pushed realized prices well above list, making it a liquid asset as much as a timepiece.