One of the world’s priciest and most prestigious watch brands, Richard Mille, will open a freestanding store in Toronto’s upscale Yorkville area this spring. Swiss-based Richard Mille features some watch styles that are priced in excess of $1 million.

The eponymous Richard Mille brand was founded in 1999 in collaboration with Audemars Piguet, and is based in Les Breuleux, in the Canton of Jura, Switzerland. Its first product, the RM001 went on sale in 2001. Many of the company’s watches have opening prices in the six figures and in some instances, considerably more. The brand's most famous models include the Tourbillon RM 008 (chronograph tourbillon) and the sapphire split seconds (chronograph tourbillon) RM 056. The RM 008 combines a tourbillon movement with manual winding, a chronograph split-seconds, a torque indicator, and a power reserve indicator. The company claims that these are among the most advanced watches in the world, with starting prices in excess of $700,000.

*(Tourbillon RM 008, photo via Richard Mille)*

The Toronto boutique will be located at 118 Yorkville Avenue, at the base of the prestigious Hazelton Hotel. Jeweller Louis Black will operate the new Richard Mille boutique under a licensing agreement, and the new Mille space replaces the Louis Black store that previously occupied the retail space.

*(looking towards the new boutique from the south side of Yorkville avenue)*

Richard Mille boutiques are quite rare, with locations in selected cities that boast affluent locals and tourists. In the United States, there are five Richard Mille boutiques in four cities, including Aspen CO, Beverly Hills CA (222 N. Rodeo Drive), Las Vegas (Shops at Crystals), and two in the Miami area — at Bal Harbour Shops, and at Brickell City Centre.

(the pricey hazelton hotel includes luxury condominiums above, sized between 2,815 square feet and over 8,000 square feet for a penthouse. prices for hotel suites and residences are both stratospheric).

Richard Mille joins a number of other luxury brands that are opening stores on Toronto’s Yorkville Avenue. Last summer, Christian Louboutin opened its first freestanding Canadian store at 99 Yorkville Avenue, and pricey streetwear brand Off-White quietly opened a store in December of 2016 at 83 Yorkville Avenue. Chanel will open an 8,700 square foot store at 100 Yorkville Avenue in a few months, and earlier this month we revealed that Jimmy Choo will open its second Toronto store at 102 Yorkville Avenue, in a building that will be finished construction in late 2018. A number of other luxury brands have been in the area for over a year, including a Kiton shop that faces Yorkville Avenue, as well as Spanish jeweller Carrera y Carrera, which operates its only North American store just off Yorkville Avenue on Old York Lane.

Canadian Retail News From Around The Web: March 28, 2017