Michael B. Jordan Wore a Killer Richard Mille for His GQ Cover Shoot
WatchesThe RM 71-01 Le Mans Classic celebrates the world’s coolest vintage cars.By Oren HartovFebruary 12, 2025(Left): Michael B. Jordan covers the March 2024 issue of GQ, photographed by Jack Bridgland.Save this storySaveSave this storySaveMichael B. Jordan is a man with a lot on his plate. He acts, produces, and directs. He’s playing twins in the new Ryan Coogler movie Sinners. He even co-owns an English Premier League football club. And now he’s on the March cover of GQ. This is the type of dude who needs a good watch to manage that busy schedule.Thankfully, Jordan owns plenty and he’s wearing a particularly epic timepiece on this month’s GQ cover. Styled with a white Rick Owens jacket, frosty teeth, and vampiric eyes is a Richard Mille RM 71-01 Le Mans Classic. The watch is an excellent complement to the rest of Jordan’s all-white outfit. And Richard Mille is the only brand in existence that looks like it could be worn by a vampire who’s used their gift of eternal life to perfect getting fits off.Funnily enough, the modern-looking piece of tech is steeped in the tradition of past era. The RM 71-01 Le Mans Classic is the latest in a long line of watches made in collaboration with the famed vintage sports car event. (The Le Mans Classic features pre-1981 cars that have previously competed in the 24-hour endurance race duke it out against other vehicles of the same model.)Of course, any Richard Mille watch is effectively an automotive watch—the car industry’s advanced technologies significantly influenced Mille in his development of the brand and its wares. But the RM 71-01 Le Mans Classic is representative of a particularly long-standing relationship. Established by Peter Auto in 2002, the Classic began partnering with Richard Mille in 2008 to create special-edition timepieces in the event’s colors. Since then, each edition of the race has had an accompanying Richard Mille wristwatch.The RM 71-01 Le Mans Classic worn by Jordan is the 2023 edition. This reference is housed in a quartz TPT case saturated in white and green resin—the Le Mans Classic colors—and features 20 Grade 5 titanium spline screws and Nitrile o-rings to ensure 30 meters of water resistance. The movement, with a Grade 5 titanium baseplate and bridges, continues the high-tech theme: Skeletonized to allow the wearer to see the componentry via the dial, the automatic caliber contains a specially designed flyback chronograph mechanism that splits torque between the chronograph’s functions.Beyond the watch’s sophisticated movement and construction, it’s also got quite a lot going for it in the looks department. In my opinion, this is one of the best-looking models in the Richard Mille oeuvre. The green and white resin and white rubber strap are decidedly handsome, and the colored accents on the skeletonized dial are subtle enough to keep the watch from becoming overly gaudy. Orange and red indices and a black and white minute track pop against the green of the rehaut, while the “16” index in the chronograph’s hour counter is done up in red to signal the race’s traditional start time. With those good looks, it’s no surprise to see the watch on this month’s cover.
Michael B. Jordan is a man with a lot on his plate. He acts, produces, and directs. He’s playing twins in the new Ryan Coogler movie Sinners. He even co-owns an English Premier League football club. And now he’s on the March cover of GQ. This is the type of dude who needs a good watch to manage that busy schedule.
Thankfully, Jordan owns plenty and he’s wearing a particularly epic timepiece on this month’s GQ cover. Styled with a white Rick Owens jacket, frosty teeth, and vampiric eyes is a Richard Mille RM 71-01 Le Mans Classic. The watch is an excellent complement to the rest of Jordan’s all-white outfit. And Richard Mille is the only brand in existence that looks like it could be worn by a vampire who’s used their gift of eternal life to perfect getting fits off.
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Funnily enough, the modern-looking piece of tech is steeped in the tradition of past era. The RM 71-01 Le Mans Classic is the latest in a long line of watches made in collaboration with the famed vintage sports car event. (The Le Mans Classic features pre-1981 cars that have previously competed in the 24-hour endurance race duke it out against other vehicles of the same model.)
Of course, any Richard Mille watch is effectively an automotive watch—the car industry’s advanced technologies significantly influenced Mille in his development of the brand and its wares. But the RM 71-01 Le Mans Classic is representative of a particularly long-standing relationship. Established by Peter Auto in 2002, the Classic began partnering with Richard Mille in 2008 to create special-edition timepieces in the event’s colors. Since then, each edition of the race has had an accompanying Richard Mille wristwatch.
The RM 71-01 Le Mans Classic worn by Jordan is the 2023 edition. This reference is housed in a quartz TPT case saturated in white and green resin—the Le Mans Classic colors—and features 20 Grade 5 titanium spline screws and Nitrile o-rings to ensure 30 meters of water resistance. The movement, with a Grade 5 titanium baseplate and bridges, continues the high-tech theme: Skeletonized to allow the wearer to see the componentry via the dial, the automatic caliber contains a specially designed flyback chronograph mechanism that splits torque between the chronograph’s functions.
Beyond the watch’s sophisticated movement and construction, it’s also got quite a lot going for it in the looks department. In my opinion, this is one of the best-looking models in the Richard Mille oeuvre. The green and white resin and white rubber strap are decidedly handsome, and the colored accents on the skeletonized dial are subtle enough to keep the watch from becoming overly gaudy. Orange and red indices and a black and white minute track pop against the green of the rehaut, while the “16” index in the chronograph’s hour counter is done up in red to signal the race’s traditional start time. With those good looks, it’s no surprise to see the watch on this month’s cover.
