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Footballer Didier Drogba spotted wearing Richard Mille

Didier Drogba, one of African football's most celebrated strikers and a Chelsea F.C. icon, was recently photographed wearing a Richard Mille RM 72-01 in 18-karat rose gold — a timepiece that carries genuine technical significance within the brand's catalogue, far beyond its considerable price tag.

The Richard Mille RM 72-01 represents a defining chapter in the Swiss manufacture's history: it is the first flyback chronograph to feature a fully in-house movement developed by Richard Mille. The automatic winding calibre CRMA2, developed in partnership with Audemars Piguet Renaud & Papi, delivers a flyback function allowing the chronograph to be reset and restarted in a single pusher action — a complication historically reserved for aviation and military precision timing. The 38.4mm rose gold case presents the movement's architecture in characteristic Richard Mille fashion, with hours, minutes, a date aperture, small seconds subdial, and the flyback chronograph all legible through the signature skeletonised dial. Power reserve sits at approximately 55 hours.

For collectors, the RM 72-01 occupies a specific and respected position. Richard Mille's early references are increasingly scrutinised for their movement provenance, and the CRMA2 calibre — purpose-built rather than sourced — marks a turning point in the brand's credibility as a true manufacture. The rose gold variant, in particular, combines mechanical substance with an aesthetic warmth that distinguishes it from the brand's more extreme tonneau-shaped sports pieces. It is a dress complication by Richard Mille's standards, which is saying something.

Drogba has long been associated with high-end watchmaking, and his choice of the RM 72-01 reflects a collector's eye rather than simple brand recognition. Since retiring from professional football, the Ivorian striker has maintained a prominent public profile through philanthropy and business ventures, frequently appearing at events where his watch selections attract attention.

At an official retail price of $242,000 USD, the Richard Mille RM 72-01 in 18k rose gold is already positioned at the upper tier of the complications market. On the grey market, however, the reference commands approximately $470,000 USD — nearly double retail — reflecting both the scarcity of rose gold examples in circulation and sustained collector demand for early Richard Mille in-house movements.