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Muscle cramp puts Rafael Nadal's US$725,000 Richard Mille watch in spotlight

Rafael Nadal of Spain – wearing his Richard Mille M27-03 watch, valued at US$725,000 – prepares to serve on his way to victory again Austria’s Dominic Thiem in the French Open men’s singles final on Sunday. Photo: Xinhua

Rafael Nadal won the French Open for the 11th time and one incident brought attention to his most expensive piece of equipment – his US$725,000 Richard Mille watch.

During Sunday’s men's singles final, Nadal's left hand began to cramp.

As the Spanish tennis star received treatment for his hand – and continued to massage it for several minutes afterwards – the television cameras frequently zoomed in on his hands – and the orange watch.

 

Nadal's latest version of the watch is the orange RM27-03, valued at US$725,000, according to Forbes.

That is actually a less than the US$775,000 price of his previous RM27-02, which Nadal first wore at the 2015 French Open.

 

Nadal is no stranger to the world of high-end watches.

In 2010 he began wearing another Richard Mille timepiece valued at US$500,000.

In 2013, he was wearing the first incarnation of the RM27, one valued at US$690,000.

In the beginning there was a little bit of transition, we had to work together to adjust everything to my wrist. It’s like you are wearing nothing. It’s part of my skin
Rafael Nadal, tennis star, wearer of a Richard Mille RM27-03 watch

Richard Mille has made only 50 of the RM27-03.

Its most impressive features are its lightweight (only 20 grams or 0.7 ounce) yet durable construction – it can withstand a gravitational force of 5,000Gs.

Nadal, who is left-handed, wears it on his right wrist.

Nadal told Tom Perrotta of The Wall Street Journal that he was sceptical about wearing the watch at first.

“In the beginning there was a little bit of transition, we had to work together to adjust everything to my wrist,” Nadal he said.

“It’s like you are wearing nothing. It’s part of my skin.”

 

According to Perrotta, Nadal has lost two Richard Mille watches, which were stolen – one was later recovered -– and nearly lost a third when a fellow player found one in a locker room.

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This article originally appeared on Business Insider.

Cameras repeatedly focus on Spanish tennis player’s hand – and his limited edition orange RM27-03 watch – as he has treatment in men's single’s final