BEAUTIFUL AQUATIC-THEMED EARLY CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS 

AT MARINA SQUARE

DECONSTRUCTING RICHARD MILLE "WATCHES"

I think most people don't understand Richard Mille and understandably so. Most people would wonder how such big, vulgar, tasteless and cheap-looking wrist eyesores can be worth hundreds of thousands or even millions each. That's because they are not Richard Mille's target customers. Richard Milles are meant for the super-rich as a form of membership to a rarefied elite club. The "uglier" they appear and the more they are disliked by ordinary people, the better it is for the top 0.1%. It just means that they have no ordinary tastes and that they are style innovators, not conservative traditionalists. To them, the exorbitant prices and "poor" value-for-money are exactly what are needed to exclude the crowd. So, they like the crazy prices and the equally-oddball designs just because they serve its purpose of preventing ordinary folks from gate-crashing their club. After all, for them, money and price are irrelevant, but maintaining exclusivity is crucial.

Of course, aspiring to be the best watch brand in the world entails that the watches themselves cannot be too shabby. In fact, in terms of innovative, avant garde design, fresh ideas and concepts, revolutionary materials, technical advancements, specifications, build quality, fit and finish, they do live up to their name and image. You just have to open your mind and learn to appreciate them. And if you do, you’ll begin to see their unique beauty and desirability.

So, will the Richard Mille bubble burst? No, I don't think so! Richard Mille has very cleverly identified a gap in the watch market and had skilfully developed their products to fill that niche. It is not competing with the mass market brands like Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet and Rolex because it is in its own market in which it is the only member. There is no alternative to Richard Mille in that niche. And, just to be provocative, if you reverse the perspective, the Nautiluses, Aquanauts, Royal Oaks and Daytonas are also, if not more, overpriced given that they are quite simple and "ordinary" watches of mass market brands deviously marketed as high-luxury brands.