Swiss watchmaker Richard Mille has a new home in Singapore. The brand, known for its large tonneau shaped watches, opened the doors to its new flagship boutique at 1 St Martin Drive in the district of Orchard Road.
The 700sqm boutique – which took three years to complete – eschews the design of a typical watch store. Instead, it adopts the fundamentals of a speakeasy, its facade concealing a surprising venue deeper within.
“The architectural organisation of St Martin creates a feeling of astonishment of not having guessed such a space could exist behind this door. Discovering it makes you wonder what the next surprise will be. Our intention was to play with visitors’ expectations,” shared Richard Mille’s brand director Alexandre Mille, the son of its eponymous founder.
The boutique is located at the ground-floor commercial unit of an apartment complex. It was formerly the site of a restaurant.
Richard Mille St Martin – designed by the brand’s own in-house architecture team – was conceived to reflect the mind of Richard Mille himself. Stepping into the space is akin to walking into a home. There are several sections, all seamlessly interconnected, including a dining area, a bar, a sports lounge, an outdoor patio and a hidden library. At the crafting space, visitors can interact with a watchmaker to learn how Richard Mille timepieces are made.