Footballer Karim Benzema spotted wearing a Richard Mille

Karim Benzema, the Ballon d'Or-winning striker and former Real Madrid captain, was recently photographed wearing a Richard Mille RM67-02 in Quartz TPT — a watch developed specifically with Qatari high jump world champion Mutaz Essa Barshim. The sighting underlines the RM67-02's status as a favorite among top-tier athletes who wear their watches during actual competition, not just on the red carpet.

The Richard Mille RM67-02 represents one of the brand's most technically ambitious ultra-thin athlete editions. The case is constructed from Quartz TPT, a proprietary composite material made by layering silica filaments at alternating 45-degree angles and infusing them with resin under high pressure. The result is a marbled, almost organic surface texture and a case weight so low that the entire watch — including its automatic movement — tips the scales at a barely-believable 32 grams. The caliber CRMA7, an in-house skeletonized automatic with variable geometry rotor, delivers approximately 50 hours of power reserve and runs at 28,800 vph. Case dimensions measure 38.70 x 47.52mm, giving it a bold wrist presence despite its feather-light construction.

The RM67-02 line was conceived in direct response to athlete feedback — competitors complained that even conventional sport watches created wrist fatigue and movement distortion over hours of training. Richard Mille addressed this with the Extra Flat series, and the Barshim collaboration gave the reference a specific athletic identity. Barshim, a two-time Olympic medalist and multiple world champion, was closely involved in the ergonomic brief. The watch has since become one of the more sought-after references in the RM athlete series among collectors who prioritize genuine material innovation over simple luxury positioning.

Benzema's affinity for Richard Mille is well-documented. The brand has cultivated deep roots in global football culture, and Benzema — whose wrist game throughout his career has favored technically complex, high-value pieces — gravitates naturally toward the RM67-02's intersection of sport credibility and horological engineering. Wearing the Barshim edition adds a layer of cross-sport symbolism that few other references could deliver.

On the grey market, the Richard Mille RM67-02 Quartz TPT commands significant premiums over its already substantial retail price. With the UK list price sitting at approximately £107,000, grey market transactions in USD frequently exceed the $150,000 range depending on configuration and condition, reflecting the constrained supply typical of all Richard Mille athlete-edition references.