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Richard Mille set for 30% increase in production over two years

Richard Mille, founder of his eponymous watch brand, says the company is rapidly increasing production and will make around 4600 timepieces next year, an increase of 30% units in just two years.

The number may seem small, but this is a watch brand that made 70 limited edition McLaren F1 RM 50-03 (pictured above) and priced them at $1 million each. They sold out before their official on sale date.

The RM 50-03 tourbillon split seconds chronograph ultralight McLaren F1 weighs less than 40 grams – including the new strap – which Richard Mille claims is the lightest mechanical chronograph ever made.

On average, every new Richard Mille sells for around $185,000, and there are three customers chasing every watch it produces.

That makes this year’s output of 4000 watches worth around $740 million at retail.

Mr Mille says in an interview with US-based business news channel CNBC that the complexity of his watches makes it impossible to satisfy demand.

“Unfortunately, I make some enemies,” he says. “But I have no choice because the watch is complex. It’s a long development. Each niche I enter with a watch, I want to be the best.”

 

Mr Mille says he typically sells one third of his watches in the Americas, a third in Europe and the Middle East and a third in Asia.

The company’s biggest boutique in the UK is in the Harrods Fine Watch Room, which is currently undergoing a major renovation and expansion.

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