Footballer Ronaldo Lima spotted wearing a Purnell

At the 2022 Ballon d'Or ceremony in Paris, Brazilian football icon Ronaldo Lima — Il Fenomeno — was photographed on the step-and-repeat alongside Purnell branding, wearing one of the rarest wristwatches in contemporary horology: the Purnell Escape Primo triple-axis tourbillon in 18k rose gold. The pairing was no coincidence; Purnell had secured a partnership with the Ballon d'Or, and Ronaldo served as an ambassador for the evening, making the wrist shot a calculated but genuinely impressive statement.

The Escape Primo is the flagship creation of Geneva-based independent manufacture Purnell, founded by Eric Loth. The watch is built around the brand's proprietary Spherion — a triple-axis tourbillon regulator whose three axes complete full rotations in 8 seconds, 16 seconds, and 30 seconds. That cadence makes it measurably faster than any competing multi-axis tourbillon on the market. The movement architecture is fully skeletonised, allowing unobstructed viewing of the gear train and the dramatically spherical cage that dominates the lower dial register. The 18k rose gold case measures 44mm, paired with a black rubber strap for contrast, and the dial features an open-worked architecture with rose gold bridges and violet jewel bearings visible throughout.

From a collector standpoint, the Escape Primo sits in rarefied territory. With only 8 pieces produced in this rose gold configuration, scarcity is absolute rather than manufactured. Purnell intentionally limits production not for marketing leverage but because the hand-finishing and mechanical complexity of each Spherion module demands extraordinary bench time. Each watch is individually numbered and accompanied by full manufacture documentation.

Ronaldo Lima, three-time FIFA World Player of the Year and two-time World Cup winner, has long maintained a serious watch collection. His appearance at the Ballon d'Or with the Escape Primo signals both personal taste for mechanical complexity and a natural alignment with a brand positioning itself at the intersection of football culture and haute horlogerie.

At a retail price of $360,000, the Purnell Escape Primo Spherion in 18k rose gold occupies the upper echelon of independent watchmaking, competing in prestige — if not brand recognition — with the MB&F Legacy Machine Perpetual or Greubel Forsey Tourbillon 24 Secondes. Grey market activity is virtually non-existent given the production volume of 8 pieces; any secondary market transaction would likely exceed retail significantly.