Prince of Qatar – Richard Mille RM 053 Tourbillon “Pablo Mac Donough All Black”

The Prince of Qatar is wearing a piece unique 45mm Richard Mille RM 053 Tourbillon “Pablo Mac Donough All Black” featuring an armored 45mm case in titanium, coated with extremely hard diamond-like black DLC. Two raised arcs to display the time and the tourbillon cage, both of which are at the 30-degree angle, allow the wearer to view it perfectly when in, for example, a horse saddle.

Watch Review

Richard Mille made a watch that was specifically intended to be sported when playing polo, following the footsteps of Jaeger-LeCoultre. With the Reverso, Jaeger-LeCoultre accomplished this task more than 80 years ago, and in 2012, Richard Mille presented the RM 053. This Richard Mille RM 053 Tourbillon “Pablo Mac Donough All Black” minimizes the dial, a susceptible region. It then angles it to the user resembling a driver’s timepiece, as opposed to the Reverso, which involved twisting the casing around to shield the crystal from impact. 

Many were generally baffled as to why anybody would want to wear a timepiece when playing polo. That would thus clarify why only 15 pieces in this limited version of Richard Mille RM 053 Tourbillon were made.

The full title of this timepiece is the Pablo Mac Donough by Richard Mille. Richard Mille claimed that Mac Donough was the source of the concept. Argentine polo player Mac Donough is an “associate of” the Richard Mille company. Undoubtedly, he must have pressed sufficiently to get this timepiece created. 

The Richard Mille RM 053 Tourbillon “Pablo Mac Donough All Black” is made entirely of titanium and designed to act as a case of defense, hiding and shielding the dial. Definitely, the tourbillon is still present.

The watch’s RM053 movement is unquestionably its greatest feature. It appears to be at a 30-degree angle when viewed via the sapphire caseback display on the back. There has never been a movement like this one before. Towards the left of the second indicator, under the dial, the tourbillon is viewable. It’s not particularly obvious, yet it’s there. This manual-wind mechanism also features a 48-hour power reserve.

The hourly and minute indexes on the right dial and the second indicator on the left dial are used to read the time. The profound look inside the movement is wonderful. However, the Richard Mille would have been better readability if it featured all of the hour markings rather than just a few. The hands are relatively visible for their size and have integrated lume on both the hands and hour markings. Besides, the movement can be seen, which ultimately makes this timepiece attractive.

The design matter is yet another feature. With two bridges beneath them, every dial extends out of the casing. In this instance, the outcome appears to be cleavage. You can choose whether to show cleavage on the front or the back. The squinty eye design dials certainly put a smile on your face if the split doesn’t. 

Overall, there are just 15 of this Richard Mille timepiece, which is undoubtedly one of the strangest ones available.

Price market: unavailable, but a “regular” Pablo Mac Donough has a market price of $750,000.00

Photo: Joaan Bin Hamad