Rafael Nadal and the Former King of Spain Shook Hands, and the Watch World Exploded

Welcome to Watches of the Week, where we’ll track the rarest, wildest, and most covetable watches spotted on celebrities.

The center of the horological universe shrank to the size of a fist last weekend. After Rafael Nadal won his 12th French Open in Paris, he ran over to the stands to say hola to some very famous fans. He reached up and clasped hands with the former King of Spain Juan Carlos, uniting two Richard Mille watches in the process like a real-life version of one those handshake memes.

What a time to be alive. Speaking of amazing times to be alive, Drake continued to trot out his most explicit watches at the NBA Finals. Plus, did you know Ed Sheeran, like seemingly every other celebrity, is a massive Richard Mille fan?

Rafael Nadal’s RM 27-03 and the King of Spain’s RM009

It’s hard to outdo a literal king, but Rafael Nadal did just that last Sunday. Not only was he coming off his twelfth French Open win, but he out-flexed royalty. You know what’s cooler than wearing an admittedly very rare RM009 like Juan Carlos, former king of Spain, did? Wearing a Richard Mille specifically designed just for you. Nadal’s RM 27-03 is a collaboration between him and the watchmaker—the red-and-yellow striping across the case is made to match the colors on the Spanish flag.

Carlos’s RM009, meanwhile, was made for Brazlian racecar driver Felipe Massa and was the lightest tourbillon watch in existence when it debuted in 2005. And wouldn’t you know it, the watch that beat it out several years later is none other than Nadal’s RM 27-03. Game, set, and match to Rafa.

Ed Sheeran’s Richard Mille RM 27-03

The RM 27-03 is apparently not just for peak-of-their-powers athletes but also chart-topping crooners. Ed Sheeran played a concert in Madrid, Spain, this week while wearing the Nadal Richard Mille.

Sheeran has an epic collection of RM watches. In addition to the 27-03, he also owns the blazing RM 26-02 “Evil Eye,” the RM 38-01 Tourbillon “Bubba Watson” in white, and the RM 030.

Trevor Noah’s Patek Philippe Nautilus

I believe it is now fair game to call the Patek Philippe Nautilus the official watch of the Illuminati. The shadowy group of supremely famous people that definitely doesn’t exist must hand these things out at their introductory meet-and-greets. Over the past three months, the watch that regular people allegedly wait up to almost a decade for has been worn by Drake, Jimmy Butler, Henry Golding, Virgil Abloh, Kevin Hart, Ellen Degeneres, and Luka Sabbat.