Richard Mille

In early 1999, Richard Mille and Dominique Guenat drew up plans for the brand in partnership with Montres Valgine and Audemars Piguet. They founded Horométrie SA, their distribution company, in 2001, headquartered in Les Breuleux, Switzerland. Their first watch, the manually-wound RM 001 Tourbillon, debuted at Baselworld 2001 with a tonneau-shaped case, visible mechanics, torque indicator, and power reserve display. Dominique Guenat entered Montres Valgine in 1986 and took the reins of the firm in 1991. Audemars Piguet held a minority stake. The brand grew through sports partnerships, beginning with Formula 1 driver Felipe Massa in 2004 and tennis champion Rafael Nadal in 2010. In 2013, the company acquired ProArt for in-house case production. The Richard Mille Group comprises Horométrie SA (distribution), Guenat SA Montres Valgine (design and assembly), ProArt (components), and VMDH (decoration). Dominique Guenat passed away in 2018.