Richard Mille, watchmaker has set up a home in Singapore! The luxury Swiss horological brand just opened a spacious 7,500 sq ft boutique being its largest in the world, on 1 St Martin’s Drive in the Lion City’s prestigious Orchard Road district. The new flagship boasts 11 lifestyle spaces inspired by Prohibition-era bars, and houses a horological secret. The occasion was marked the with a star-studded launch event last week.
Swiss luxury watchmaker Richard Mille just opened its largest boutique in the world in Singapore. The ‘speakeasy’ concept which took three years to construct, will not be replicated.
The St Martin flagship is lifestyle-centric, and features a sports bar, dining room, outdoor patio and even crafting space with a workbench, used for after-sales service as well as watchmaking workshops.
But the team was inspired by the secret cocktail bars of the Prohibition era to conceal a “home” behind the exterior facade of the boutique, instead of creating a typical watch store where the timepieces are displayed prominently.
Guests initially step into a den or central hub, where an impressive library featuring curved floor-to-ceiling shelves showcase a curated collection of tomes on a range of topics including film, music, history, architecture, and art. An olive tree, which was a work by French visual artist William Amor, takes root at the centre, evoking a touch of the Mediterranean basin that Richard Mille holds dear.
Brand director and Mille’s son, Alexandre, who was in Singapore for the boutique’s launch says, “This place must feel like entering the mind of Richard Mille, the man.” He went on to say that they sought to define his most important ideas and inspirations. He said his father had an insatiable curiosity, an incredible capacity for openness, although his extremely generous and humane personality is also very complex. The idea was to sum up this multifaceted personality in one location.
An in-house team that was based in the brand’s Paris head office came up with the concept for the boutique, which took three years to construct. While the team draws inspiration from the “mood and spirit” of the space for future boutiques, Alexandre says it will not replicate this exact design anywhere else.
He added “We never want to be too comfortable and copy-paste the concept everywhere else in the world.” He said that what they would take from this space was the thought process of designing it and how it inspired them and translate that to other locations.
The St Martin boutique comprises 11 different interconnected spaces that beckon guests to lounge, linger and explore, including a sports bar, a dining room, outdoor Moroccan-inspired patio and even a hidden library.
For instance, impressive made-to-measure circular wine cellars demarcate the dining room and sports bar, filled with grand cru wines from France, Italy and the United States. The dining room or restaurant, anchored by a six-metre oval table, is also connected to a seamlessly integrated professional kitchen where guest chefs may be invited to whip up unique, gastronomic experiences for specific events. And the brand intends to host live broadcasts of major matches at the sports bar, involving its brand partners.
But even with multiple lifestyle-centric spaces, horology enthusiasts will not be disappointed as the brand took care to incorporate a crafting space that features a watchmaker’s workbench. Tools and large-scale reproductions of components are provided for visitors to handle and gain a better understanding of the way the timepieces work while the space is used for watchmaking workshops as well as for after-sales service. The founder’s daughter Amanda, who is also the company’s brand and partnerships director, explains that every Richard Mille event was an opportunity for wonderful encounters. As well as a chance to meet and share, each one also highlights the brand’s strong convictions and commitments. She says that St Martin was designed in perfect harmony with this philosophy conducive to fostering human relationships.
