Watch Paparazzi

Royal Abdul Mateen spotted wearing Richard Mille

Prince Abdul Mateen of Brunei has never been shy about wearing serious horology, but his latest sighting puts one of the rarest Richard Mille references of the last decade firmly on the wrist of one of the world's most prominent royal watch collectors. The Carbon TPT Richard Mille RM 27-02 Tourbillon is not a watch that blends into the background, and on Abdul Mateen, it doesn't need to.

Introduced in 2015 in collaboration with Rafael Nadal, the Richard Mille RM 27-02 was conceived as the ultimate expression of the brand's obsession with shock resistance. The movement — a manual-winding tourbillon caliber RM27-02 — is suspended inside the case by a system of braided cables constructed from the same material used in aerospace applications, capable of surviving shocks up to 10,000 Gs. Nadal actually wore prototypes during competitive Grand Slam play, providing real-world torture testing that no laboratory could replicate. The result is a movement architecture unlike anything else in watchmaking.

The case itself is constructed from Carbon TPT, Richard Mille's proprietary material formed by layering carbon filaments at alternating 45-degree angles and compressing them under extreme heat and pressure. Each case emerges with a completely unique grain pattern, making every one of the 50 pieces visually distinct. At approximately 49.94mm × 44.50mm, the case is large but remarkably light — a paradox that defines the entire Richard Mille philosophy.

Abdul Mateen is the tenth child of the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, and has cultivated an international profile that extends well beyond his royal title — military officer, polo player, and one of Instagram's most-followed royals. His watch selections consistently reflect genuine connoisseurship rather than mere acquisition, and the RM 27-02 fits squarely within a collection that prizes technical rarity over brand recognition alone.

At launch, the Richard Mille RM 27-02 carried a list price in the region of $725,000. On today's grey market, the reference commands approximately $1.4 million — nearly double its original retail, reflecting both the 50-piece limitation and the enduring prestige of the Nadal collaboration. Pieces rarely surface publicly, which makes every sighting — royal or otherwise — an event in itself.