Celebrity endorsements are an important way for fashion and luxury brands to enhance their influence today, but the "real relationships" between celebrities and brands vary greatly, directly affecting the realization of brand value.
LuxeCO has found through long-term research that luxury watch brand RICHARD MILLE has a unique system for collaborating with celebrities: it has a large and active network of "brand friends," and the relationship between the brand and celebrities is like family. They do not collaborate as simple spokespeople, and the relationship is filled with a "human touch" rarely seen in the business world.
Above: RICHARD MILLE's latest brand friend, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, who won six gold medals at the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics, with the RM 67-02 Automatic Ultra-Thin watch
Amanda Mille, daughter of founder Richard Mille and Brand Partnerships Director, once said: "The way we work with our friends is very natural, like inviting them to join a 'big family.' Partnerships always start with a good feeling. We never actively seek them out; instead, we let life bring the right people to us."
From "first encounter" to deep collaboration, RICHARD MILLE regards genuine alignment of values as the primary factor in collaborating with celebrities. This human-centered approach is rooted in the values of openness, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and sincere long-term relationships embraced by the brand's founder. It also enables the brand's "circle of friends" to play a role far beyond "showing up for appearances," making it an important part of product development and brand building.
The "Human Touch" DNA of RICHARD MILLE
Open the "Brand Friends and Partners" page on the RICHARD MILLE website, and you will see a waterfall of numerous celebrities.
Screenshot from the official website's "Brand Friends and Partners" page
They come from various fields; some are at the peak of their careers, some have retired; there are those born in the 2000s and those born in the 1950s. As brand friends of Richard Mille, they not only wear the brand's watches proactively on professional occasions and in daily life, but also actively participate in brand events, interact with other brand friends or customers, and share inspiration and achievements from their fields with the brand. They spontaneously and proactively see themselves as members of the "brand family."
High jumper Yuliya Levchenko (pictured below) once said directly: "One thing I like about RICHARD MILLE is that it brings 'brand friends' together. It's like a team. Some are athletes, and there are artists and actors. I like this concept. It feels like I've joined a new family."
This cohesion among celebrities around the brand is rare in the industry. For celebrities, RICHARD MILLE is not just a luxury brand; it is full of passionate, personified characteristics—this unique brand "personality" can be traced back to founder Richard Mille himself.
Above: Founder Richard Mille
Mr. Richard Mille was born in Draguignan, a small town in southeastern France, and founded the RICHARD MILLE brand in 2000 with business partner Dominique Guénat in the Jura mountains, the heart of Swiss watchmaking. He once spoke about the influence of culture on the brand:
"The French have a unique, deep perspective rooted in cultural habits, while the Swiss are completely different. One culture may be more free-spirited, relying more on experience and intuition; the other is known for meticulous craftsmanship focused on precision and technology, and is therefore essentially more conservative."
The RICHARD MILLE brand combines the strengths of both cultures: rigorous, precise, and time-tested product performance; confident, passionate, and unconventional aesthetics—this also means its collaborations with "brand friends" do not come from traditional commercial invitations. Collaborations are built on genuine friendship, allowing spiritual alignment to drive both parties toward deeper connections, forming a natural "mutual attraction." The circle effect created by the accumulation of many "friends" and the brand constitutes this "big family" full of human touch.
The reason this "human touch" can last long-term is also inseparable from RICHARD MILLE's corporate structure. The brand is still jointly controlled by the families of founder Richard Mille and partner Dominique Guénat, and their children are now deeply involved in operations. This allows the brand to keep pace with the times in management while maintaining warmth in human connections.
Actively Supporting Young People and Raising the Visibility of Athletes in Niche Fields
In choosing collaborators, RICHARD MILLE demonstrates strong "subjectivity": the brand does not mechanically screen by personal achievement or popularity, but focuses more on the "chemistry" between the person and the brand's values. This is especially reflected in its strong support for young people and collaborations with athletes in niche fields.
- Actively Collaborating with Young People and Witnessing Their Growth
RICHARD MILLE insists on collaborating with young athletes, many of whom become brand friends before turning 20 and gradually grow into highly influential "stars." The most typical examples are F1 Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc and LPGA No. 1 golfer Nelly Korda.
Charles Leclerc (pictured below), 28, has collaborated with RICHARD MILLE for over 10 years. Mr. Richard Mille said of their collaboration: "I have followed Charles's progress closely since his early karting days. His lap times and rapid qualifying performances caught my attention and enthusiasm. We must support this emerging talented driver."
In 2018, Leclerc began his F1 career and came into wider view. After joining Ferrari in 2019, he gradually became one of F1's hottest young drivers, with extremely high recognition in the Chinese market.
Nelly Korda (pictured below), 27, became a RICHARD MILLE brand friend in 2017, her second year as a professional golfer. She then grew into one of the dominant female golfers globally, consistently ranked in the top three. This year, she not only returned to the top of the LPGA rankings but has also won three tournaments.
It is worth mentioning that Nelly Korda's sister, professional golfer Jessica Korda (pictured below left), and her brother, professional tennis player Sebastian Korda (pictured below right), also became RICHARD MILLE brand friends. Amanda Mille described the collaboration with the Korda siblings as "one family signing another family—so much fun."
- Raising the Visibility of Athletes in Niche Fields
In addition to collaborating with athletes in mainstream fields such as F1, golf, and tennis, RICHARD MILLE actively supports athletes in more diverse fields, giving them greater market visibility.
In February this year, RICHARD MILLE announced a partnership with Australian women's football player Sam Kerr (pictured below). She said their values are highly aligned, and she was inspired by the brand's collaborations with many athletes she admires. At the time of the partnership, Sam Kerr said: "I am proud to showcase the excitement of women's football to the world, and I am committed to giving women's football the recognition it deserves. We should have equal attention for men and women like in tennis and other sports—same competition, same respect."
In March this year, RICHARD MILLE announced the signing of UFC featherweight and lightweight double world champion Ilia Topuria (pictured below). This is also the first time a luxury watch brand has partnered with an athlete in the combat sports field. Topuria said: "I am honored to partner with RICHARD MILLE. This is not only a personal honor but also a pride for the entire combat sports world."
Believing in "Destiny" and Letting the Circle of Friends Grow Naturally
RICHARD MILLE's "acquaintance" with brand friends is very natural: some come from celebrities' proactive approaches, some from friends' internal "referrals," and some from the founder's personal social circle.
Its first ambassador, retired F1 driver Felipe Massa (pictured below), shared an anecdote about his collaboration with RICHARD MILLE at a Paris event last year with LuxeCO and other guests:
"In 2004, my manager and I wanted to find a watch brand to collaborate with. He saw a RICHARD MILLE ad in a magazine, thought the products were beautiful, and called the brand. He thought he was talking to a brand staff member, but suddenly the voice on the other end said, 'I am Richard Mille. You want to talk to me, right?'
Richard himself is an F1 fan, and he was very interested in making me a brand friend. But he said, 'One thing: we don't have much money (for marketing). All our money goes into watchmaking.' But I believe in destiny, so I started collaborating with RICHARD MILLE. From then on, until my last F1 race, I wore RICHARD MILLE watches. I have many, many RICHARD MILLE watches in various styles."
Similar to Massa, free diving champion Arnaud Jerald (pictured below) "fell in love at first sight" when he saw the RM 032 and proactively contacted RICHARD MILLE to seek collaboration. He had previously received many watch collaboration offers, but as a diver, he is extremely particular about products: "Underwater, a minute feels like a whole day. I need a watch to accompany me like a tool."
Internal "referrals" among friends are also an effective way for RICHARD MILLE to expand its "circle of friends." Norwegian cross-country skier Johannes Høsflot Klæbo (pictured below), who recently officially partnered with RICHARD MILLE, joined the "family of friends" through the strong recommendation of long-time brand friend and biathlon legend Johannes Thingnes Bø.
In addition, Richard Mille's own social network is also an important channel for discovering brand friends, especially in the brand's early stages—for example, the brand's second friend ever, tennis star Rafael Nadal, and its first female brand friend, Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh. RICHARD MILLE witnessed them reach the pinnacle of their careers and continues to accompany them along the way.
The Power of the "Circle of Friends"
Such a "circle of friends" built on genuine feelings is a powerful brand asset for RICHARD MILLE. RICHARD MILLE also fully explores and amplifies the positive value it brings to the brand. This is especially reflected in two aspects: improving product performance and vividly communicating the brand spirit.
- Letting Products Be "Tested" in Real Environments
Creating ultimate watches for real, extreme wearing environments was Mr. Richard Mille's original intention in founding the brand. The classic curved tonneau case is ergonomically designed to fit the wrist naturally; the bold introduction of cutting-edge materials from the racing industry and lightweight concepts from aviation strive to make the watch "as light as nothing." During development, most cases must undergo rigorous impact tests to continuously verify the robustness of different materials. "Lightness" and "sturdiness" seem contradictory, but they are perfectly unified in RICHARD MILLE watches.
Brand friends, meanwhile, put the watches through repeated tests in real, high-intensity environments, helping products further break the boundaries of fine watchmaking in impact resistance, extreme lightweighting, and functional innovation. As Amanda Mille said: "The real feedback our partners can give us is something even machines cannot provide."
Tennis star Nadal once refused to wear a watch during matches to prevent the "foreign body sensation" from interfering with his performance. Collaborating with RICHARD MILLE changed all that. In 2010, the RM 027 became the first watch Nadal wore on court. He described it as "like a second skin," truly burden-free in both design and materials.
Adapting a watch to Nadal's extremely powerful swing impact is also a severe test for R&D. Mr. Richard Mille once revealed that Nadal broke five or six prototype watches before that match for testing. He said: "That's how we test products; that's the normal product development process."
In terms of functional innovation, American golfer and two-time major winner Bubba Watson has a long-term collaboration with RICHARD MILLE. He is known for his amazing explosive power, with ball speeds exceeding 310 km/h. Their first co-developed watch, the RM 038, launched in 2011, is a tourbillon watch designed specifically for golf, achieving the ultimate in lightness, impact resistance, and wearing comfort.
In 2014, the RM 38-01 further integrated a gravity sensor device into the movement, capable of recording acceleration impacts up to 20G—the wearer only needs to press the button at 9 o'clock to reset it, providing golfers with important swing data reference. In 2022, the RM 38-02 in Bubba Watson's "lucky pink" color was officially launched.
- Communicating the True Brand Spirit
The diversity of RICHARD MILLE's brand friends is also a natural manifestation of its "open and cross-disciplinary" brand spirit. Each friend continuously breaks boundaries in their own "lane," resonating with the brand's spirit of daring to disrupt the traditional watchmaking industry. Whenever celebrities appear wearing RICHARD MILLE, it not only highlights the brand's exceptional performance but also reinforces its innovative character.
On a deeper level, the profound friendship stories between friends and the brand are also a vivid embodiment of the brand's "authentic" values. Mr. Richard Mille once said: "The only theme of my founding this brand is that I want to do what I like. It's like willfulness turned into a career." It is this genuine passion that determines that the brand does not use achievements and popularity as metrics, but listens to intuition and heart when choosing friends, thereby coalescing into a "family of friends" full of warmth.
According to the recently released "Top 50 Swiss Watch Brands 2025" by Morgan Stanley and LuxeConsult, among 450 brands, only six brands had revenue exceeding 1 billion Swiss francs in 2025—apart from RICHARD MILLE, the other five were all founded more than 120 years ago. For RICHARD MILLE, which is less than 30 years old, its performance is truly remarkable.
It is evident that "genuine feelings" are powerful, laying a solid foundation for RICHARD MILLE's brand development and will continue to drive its innovation and breakthroughs, enabling it to go steady and far in the luxury watch industry.
| Image source: Provided by RICHARD MILLE; brand official website; brand official social media; celebrity official social media
| Editor: LuxeCO
