Richard Mille Nadal (RM 27 & RM 35): History & Super Clone

The “Nadal” is collector shorthand for the Richard Mille watches developed with and for Rafael Nadal since 2010: the RM 27 tourbillon series (RM 027 through to the RM 27-05) and the closely related RM 35 line. All are ultra-light, tonneau-cased sports watches in carbon composites, engineered to the same brief — they must survive being worn on court during professional tennis — and every reference carries Nadal’s name.

Why is it called the Nadal?

Richard Mille signed Rafael Nadal in 2010 and, unusually for a watch ambassador, insisted he actually play in the product. The first result, the RM 027, was a tourbillon weighing under 20 grams including its strap, and Nadal wore it while winning that year’s French Open. Each generation pushed further: the RM 27-01 of 2013 suspended its movement on braided steel cables just 0.35mm thick, the RM 27-03 of 2017 was rated to shocks of 10,000 g, and the RM 27-04 of 2020 mounted its calibre on a woven cable net inspired by racquet stringing. Ten of Nadal’s fourteen French Open titles came after the partnership began, most of them won with a tourbillon on his wrist. The RM 035 and its successors — nicknamed the “Baby Nadal” — brought the same construction to a non-tourbillon format.

References

The family splits into the extremely limited RM 27 tourbillons and the more attainable RM 35 line.

Reference Year Key spec Status
RM 027 2010 Tourbillon, under 20 g including strap Discontinued (limited)
RM 27-01 2013 Cable-suspended tourbillon, 50 pieces Discontinued
RM 27-03 2017 Quartz TPT, 10,000 g shock rating, 50 pieces Discontinued
RM 35-01 around 2014 Carbon NTPT case, manual wind Discontinued
RM 35-02 around 2016 Automatic, Quartz TPT colour options Discontinued
RM 35-03 2021 Automatic with “butterfly” rotor In production

Super clone availability

We stock nine super clone models across the Nadal family, covering the RM 35-01, RM 35-02 and RM 35-03 alongside the RM 27-03 tourbillon, in colourways running from plain carbon to the red-and-yellow scheme that nods to the Spanish flag. Pricing is flat: every piece is £1,144, as this family is built to a single movement tier rather than the Swiss/Japanese split found elsewhere in the catalogue. Straps follow the originals, including the Velcro type Nadal wore in play.