Watch Paparazzi

Athlete Mutaz Essa Barshim spotted wearing Richard Mille

At the World Athletics Championship in Doha, Qatar, Mutaz Essa Barshim stepped onto the gold medal podium wearing the watch that was built, quite literally, for him. The Richard Mille RM67-02 'High Jump' sat on his wrist as he received his medal — a piece of equipment that has accompanied him through some of the most technically demanding athletic performances in the sport's history.

The RM67-02 is among Richard Mille's most purpose-specific creations. Its manually-wound calibre CRMA7 — developed in partnership with Audemars Piguet Renaud & Papi — beats at 28,800 vph and offers a 50-hour power reserve. The movement sits inside a case measuring just 38.7mm × 47.5mm with a thickness of 7.75mm, making it one of the flattest skeletonised sport watches in production. Total weight comes in at approximately 32 grams, achieved through a combination of grade 5 titanium, Carbon TPT, and Quartz TPT composites. The dial architecture is fully skeletonised, exposing the baseplate and bridges while maintaining legibility through bold applied indices.

The RM67-02 reference was introduced in 2017 and exists in several athlete-specific variants — sprinter editions for Wayde van Niekerk and Mutaz Essa Barshim each received bespoke colour treatments and case engravings. Barshim's 'High Jump' variant features a distinctive colour scheme and personalised case back. Among collectors, athlete-specific Richard Mille references occupy a rarefied position: they are produced in extremely limited numbers, rarely surface on the secondary market, and carry both the provenance of a named partnership and the technical credibility of the RM67 platform.

Barshim is arguably the greatest high jumper of his generation, a two-time Olympic champion and multiple world champion who famously shared gold with Gianmarco Tamberi at Tokyo 2020. His association with Richard Mille dates back years, and the brand has used his feedback to refine the RM67-02's shock resistance and ergonomics — the watch must clear the bar at speed without snagging on a sleeve or shifting on the wrist.

The Richard Mille RM67-02 'High Jump' carries a UK list price of approximately £100,000, translating to roughly $125,000 USD at current rates. On the grey market, personalised athlete editions of the RM67-02 command significant premiums over standard variants when they do appear, with strong collector demand driven by their narrative specificity and genuine scarcity. This is a watch that earns its price in engineering terms — and earns its story on a gold medal podium.