STEP INTO MY PARLOUR

In its new flagship store in St Martin in Singapore, watchmaker Richard Mille brings its unique world of luxury and refinement to life and turns the traditional idea of a watch boutique on its head.

- Renée Batchelor

There are watch boutiques and then there is Richard Mille’s new flagship boutique in St Martin, located in the Orchard Road shopping belt. Spanning 700sq m, the expansive one-storey space is the largest Richard Mille boutique in the world. It is also much more than a conventional store. Though the brand’s highly sought-after timepieces can be found at the front, the space inside is meant to invite the Richard Mille customer, both current and future, deep into the world of the brand.

One of the main inspirations for the flagship was prohibition-era speakeasies, with the facade and traditional boutique at the front concealing what lies inside. To give us a similar experience, those visiting the store for the first time were not told what to expect, but to discover the space at our own pace. While the facade of the building bears the traditional Richard Mille logo at the entrance, I am immediately conscious that this is no regular watch boutique as I stepped in. I was quite taken with the beautifully crafted wooden doors that leads into an elegant foyer area. A water feature and oversized sculpture of a woman, set against leaf-lined walls greeted me, giving me the distinct impression of an artistically designed space befitting of the Richard Mille universe.