Royal Abdulaziz Al Rasheed spotted wearing a Richard Mille

Kuwait's Dr. Abdulaziz Al Rasheed — known across the regional and international collector community for the depth and precision of his collection — was recently photographed wearing one of the most technically ambitious athlete-collaboration pieces in the Richard Mille catalogue: the RM 67-02 Mutaz Barshim edition. The sighting is a reminder that in the Gulf, serious horology and elite sport culture are increasingly intertwined.

The Richard Mille RM 67-02 was developed as an ultra-thin, ultra-light companion for elite athletes, building on the architecture introduced with the RM 67-01. The case measures just 7.75mm in thickness and tips the scale at a remarkable 32 grams with the strap attached — a direct consequence of Richard Mille's aerospace-grade material choices. The Barshim collaboration takes the base RM 67-02 and wraps it in quartz TPT on both the bezel and caseback, while the main case structure is rendered in carbon TPT. Quartz TPT is produced by layering silica filaments at varying 45-degree angles, then impregnating them with resin under high pressure, resulting in a surface pattern that is unique to every single case. The maroon and white coloration is a deliberate tribute to the Qatari national flag — the home nation of two-time Olympic gold medalist Mutaz Essa Barshim.

The movement inside is the calibre CRMA7, an automatic with a skeletonized architecture developed in partnership with Audemars Piguet Le Locle. It delivers approximately 50 hours of power reserve and runs at 28,800 vph. The baseplate and bridges are crafted from grade 5 titanium, keeping the movement's own contribution to total weight to a minimum.

From a collector standpoint, athlete-specific RM 67-02 editions occupy a distinct tier. They are produced in strictly limited numbers, tightly allocated through Richard Mille's boutique network, and rarely surface on the secondary market. The Barshim edition carries particular resonance in the Gulf and MENA region, where Barshim is a genuine sporting icon.

At a list price of $162,000, the RM 67-02 Barshim is already positioned at the upper register of the Richard Mille sport line. On the grey market, demand from regional collectors consistently pushes realized prices above retail, with strong liquidity for any example in unworn condition. Dr. Al Rasheed's choice to actually wear the piece, rather than vault it, is a collector statement in itself.