Basketball player Carmelo Anthony spotted wearing a Richard Mille

Carmelo Anthony, then starring as small forward for the New York Knicks, was caught on camera wearing one of the most technically audacious watches in the Richard Mille catalogue: the RM 035 Rafael Nadal, reference 535.24.91. The sighting placed a watch built expressly for the rigors of professional sport on the wrist of one of the NBA's most style-conscious players — a natural crossover between two worlds that take physical performance seriously.

The Richard Mille RM 035 was introduced as an evolution of the RM 027, itself the first tourbillon Nadal wore on court at Roland Garros. The RM 035 strips the concept further, housing a manually wound, 4 Hz calibre with a tourbillon regulator inside a case machined from NTPT Carbon — a North Thin Ply Technology composite made from filaments of carbon fiber laminated at 45-degree angles and impregnated with resin. The result is a distinctive marble-like surface pattern unique to each case and a total package weight of approximately 19 grams on the wrist. The baseplate and bridges are rendered in grade 5 titanium, the crown and pushers in titanium as well. Power reserve sits at approximately 55 hours.

The reference 535.24.91 is among the limited runs produced within the broader RM 035 family, which also spawned versions in red gold and white gold for collectors not bound by the weight-saving brief. From a collector standpoint, the NTPT Carbon references are the purest expression of what the RM 035 was designed to do: eliminate mass without sacrificing structural integrity or movement protection. Richard Mille produced these in tightly controlled numbers, and the Nadal association — one of the brand's most enduring and credible ambassador partnerships — adds a layer of provenance that holds value independently of market cycles.

Anthony has consistently worn serious horological hardware, with Richard Mille pieces appearing regularly alongside Audemars Piguet Royal Oaks in his rotation. His choice of the RM 035 rather than a flashier gem-set or rose gold variant signals a degree of collector literacy — this is the reference a buyer chooses when they understand what the watch actually does.

At a UK RRP of approximately £58,000 at time of sighting, the RM 035 Rafael Nadal in NTPT Carbon was already positioned at the upper tier of the Richard Mille entry range. On the secondary market, strong demand from both sports collectors and RM enthusiasts has pushed grey-market prices above retail, with clean examples regularly trading between $80,000 and $110,000 depending on condition, papers, and production year.