Tourist has NZ$2 million watch stolen on holiday

A tourist is reeling after his £1m watch was swiped off his wrist by a pickpocket in Ibiza. Photo / Richard Mille

A pickpocket in Ibiza stole one of the world's most valuable watches worth nearly £1million from a tourist.

Billed as the lightest tourbillon split-second chronograph ever developed, the RM 50-03 weighs just 38 grams, strap included.

The Richard Mille 50-03 McLaren F1 was stolen from an Azerbaijani tourist in Ibiza. Photo / Richard Mille

The thief, thought to be in his 30s, shoved an Azerbaijan tourist, aged 22, and stole the Formula One inspired wristwatch in broad daylight.

Police say the watch is worth €1.2 million (NZ$2 million). Only 75 of the watches exist in the world.

What's so special about them? The watch is a tourbillon - a specific mechanism of watchmaking - that means the entire mechanism inside the case rotates at a rate of one revolution per minute in order to nullify the effects of gravity.

In addition to that, the RM 50-03 features chronograph function of fractions of a second to measure lap times, a power reserve of 70 hours, and a torsion sensor to avoid winding.

The young tourist was walking along the seafront in Ibiza town with a friend when the unfortunate events happened. His wrist, arm, and ego was wounded.

The thief, who presumably can't believe his luck, is still at large.