Watch Paparazzi

Royal Khalifa Bin Hamad spotted wearing Richard Mille

Khalifa Bin Hamad, son of the former Emir of Qatar, has been spotted wearing the Richard Mille RM59-01 Tourbillon Yohan Blake on a black strap — one of only 50 examples ever produced, making this a wrist sighting of genuine rarity even by royal standards.

The RM59-01 was created in collaboration with Jamaican sprinter Yohan Blake, the 2011 World 100m Champion and long-time training partner of Usain Bolt. Richard Mille developed the case from grade 5 titanium paired with Carbon TPT® elements, keeping the total weight to a minimum — critical for a watch designed to perform during explosive athletic movement. At its heart sits a hand-wound tourbillon movement, the calibre RM59-01, featuring a variable geometry rotor, a torque indicator, and a function selector, all visible through the signature skeletonized tonneau case. Power reserve sits at approximately 70 hours.

The RM59-01 belongs to Richard Mille's tradition of athlete-specific tourbillon collaborations — a lineage that includes the Rafael Nadal RM27 series and the Felipe Massa RM11. What distinguishes the Yohan Blake edition is the aggressive use of contrast finishing and the explicit sprint-performance brief that shaped the case engineering. The 50-piece limitation, verified across all references in the Blake series, places it among the most constrained production runs the brand has authorized for an athlete partnership.

For collectors, the RM59-01 occupies a firm position in the upper tier of Richard Mille desirability. Athlete-edition tourbillons from the brand consistently outperform retail at auction, particularly those tied to track and field figures from the 2010s golden era. The combination of a meaningful sports narrative, extreme scarcity, and tourbillon complications makes this reference a serious long-term hold.

Khalifa Bin Hamad's affinity for Richard Mille reflects a broader pattern among Gulf royals, who have become among the brand's most visible patrons globally. At a UK RRP of £430,000, the RM59-01 Tourbillon Yohan Blake commands a price consistent with the brand's top-tier limited editions — and on the grey market, demand from collectors and institutional buyers in the Middle East and Asia ensures premiums rarely soften.