Karim Benzema was the star of the show at the Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris on Monday. Being the overwhelming favourite to win the Ballon d’Or award, the first in his career, the Frenchman came well prepared to leave the audiences awe-inspired with his appearance.
The Frenchman was the talk of the town during the show, as he was celebrated by some of the best footballers of all time.
He won his first ever Ballon d’Or award, receiving it from his former Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane – who later went on to hail him as one of the best French footballers of all time.
Benzema’s attire, which got many people talking, was heavily inspired by the one which legendary rapper Tupac wore at the 1996 American Music Awards.
The Frenchman wore a slick black and white suit, with an interesting black collar that tied things down in his neck region.
He also wore John Lennon-inspired glasses, making him look more like a motivational figure rather than a footballer.
Benzema was well aware that all the cameras from around the world will be on him in the ceremony, so he decided to influence his fans with a very interesting get-up.
The Frenchman’s attire and his overall look got most of the praise from fans, but one particular aspect also caught the attention of some supporters.
It’s the watch which he wore on the day, which looked to have a very unique design to it and did not come off as a ‘normal watch’ at all.
That’s because it is anything but that. Indeed, the watch he was wearing was one from the Swiss brand Richard Mille.
They are the producers of some of the most expensive watches in the world and have been doing so since 2001.
Benzema won the Richard Mille RM 65-01 to the ceremony, coming along with one of the most expensive watches he owns.
The watch he wore is valued at a whopping €600,000 – making it one of the most expensive ones in Richard Mille’s collection.
It’s a very unique watch that has a skeletonised automatic winding movement clock along with three small sections to it.
One is a 30-minute counter, another a 12-hour counter and variable geometry rotor.
The watch can be used to check the time, as a potential stop-watch, check the date and many more unique features too.
The RM 65-01 is also considered the brand’s most complicated Automatic watch.
Here is what the brand themselves term it as: “A highly complex sports timepiece, a masterpiece of technical prowess designed for everyday use and for any situation, such is the latest execution of Richard Mille’s tireless quest for innovation,
the new RM 65-01.
The culmination of some five years of development, this automatic split-seconds chronograph is the most complex timepiece ever to leave the Richard Mille workshops.
“This model fully embodies the brand’s technical approach thanks to the combination of several additional functions, a very specific architecture and an extremely high-end aesthetic.
“All in all, a fabulous challenge of mechanical watchmaking that called for patience, technicity and utter perseverance.”
Benzema seems to have a very particular taste for watches and decided to bring his most valuable, and most complicated, one to the Ballon d’Or ceremony.