Richard Mille — the luxury watch brand targeted in an armed robbery outside Beverly Hills hot spot Il Pastaio — is a favorite of celebrities like tennis ace Rafael Nadal, Brazilian soccer star Neymar, martial arts wonder Jackie Chan and actress Natalie Portman.
Friends of the victim said the Mille model ripped off in the Thursday heist that left one woman shot was the RM 11-03 rose gold Flyback Chronograph — which costs a jaw-dropping $500,000, according to KNBC.
The watch features a “skeletonized, automatic winding movement with a variable-geometry rotor,” according to the company’s website.
“Under the bonnet of the RM 11-03 beats a flyback chronograph ready to literally race on the track,” it says.
Among the array of features is a central flange in grade 5 titanium, 18 karat white gold wings, ceramic ball bearings and a tripartite case sealed by two Nitrile O-rings, making it water-resistant to 160 feet.
Owning a Richard Mille is “today’s equivalent of the billionaire’s Masonic handshake” — the “ultimate stealth signifier of extreme wealth,” journalist Declan Quinn wrote for Revolution Online, according to The Jewelry Editor.
When asked the type of person who wears Richard Mille watches, Ariel Adams, founder of A Blog to Watch, told the outlet: “People who have something to prove and who have a youthful spirit.
“It’s the best watch I will probably never own because I won’t be able to afford it,” he added.
Leon Adams, president of Cellini Jewelers in Manhattan, identified customers for the watches as “predominantly collectors familiar with the brand and some nouveau collectors who want something very different.”
Other notables who wear the brand include hip-hop artists Pharrell Williams and Kanye West, comedians Kevin Hart and Terry Crews, and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s official spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, who sparked accusations of corruption when he was spotted wearing a $500,000 model, The Jewelry Editor reported.