Watch Paparazzi

Footballer Hakim Ziyech spotted wearing Richard Mille

Hakim Ziyech, the technically gifted Moroccan winger who dazzled at the 2022 FIFA World Cup and built his European reputation at Ajax before moving to Chelsea, was recently spotted wearing one of Richard Mille's most material-forward limited editions: the RM030 Automatic 'Black Dash'. The sighting underscores the model's firm foothold in elite football culture, where Richard Mille has become the de facto prestige timepiece of choice.

The RM030 'Black Dash' is defined by its aggressive material palette. The front and rear bezels are crafted from TZP — tetragonal zirconia polycrystal — a sand-blasted black ceramic prized for its extraordinary hardness and scratch resistance. The caseband, meanwhile, is constructed from NTPT Carbon, Richard Mille's proprietary North Thin Ply Technology material, in which hundreds of parallel carbon filament layers are wound at alternating angles and fused under heat and pressure. The result is a caseband that is both extraordinarily rigid and featherlight, with each piece exhibiting a unique grain pattern. The combination places the RM030 'Black Dash' at the intersection of watchmaking and advanced aerospace materials science.

Beneath the skeletonized dial, the RM030 houses Calibre CRMA2, an automatic movement with a variable-geometry rotor — a system allowing the wearer to adjust winding efficiency based on activity level — and a decoupled rotor mechanism that reduces shock transmission to the gear train. Hours, minutes, seconds, and a date function are presented with the movement architecture fully visible. The movement runs at 4Hz and delivers approximately 55 hours of power reserve.

With production strictly capped at 50 pieces worldwide, the 'Black Dash' variant of the RM030 occupies a rare tier within an already exclusive catalog. Collectors prize it not only for its scarcity but for the coherence of its design language — every material choice reinforces the monochromatic, performance-focused aesthetic rather than decorative indulgence.

Ziyech's public appearance in the RM030 'Black Dash' is consistent with a broader pattern among top-tier footballers gravitating toward the most technically complex and limited Richard Mille references. At a $140,000 list price and with grey-market premiums reflective of its 50-piece production ceiling, this is a watch that performs as a genuine collector asset.