The Smiley saga is a family story that began in 1971 when France, governed by Pompidou, was basking in a gentle gloom. The journalist Franklin Loufrani, known as Frank, offered Pierre Lazareff, the then boss of France-Soir, largest national daily at the time, a major operation called “Take the time to smile”. His idea was to highlight good news in the paper, with a simple little pictogram, a round face with a smile across it, which had been imagined in 1963 by an American graphic designer, Harvey Ball, for an advertising campaign. The France-Soir operation was a great success, and was soon imitated by other European papers. Unlike Ball, Frank Loufrani, who is a clever businessman, had registered his own version of the logo. The rest is history. Now, Richard Mille, the Frenchman who broke down barriers in the fine watchmaking world with his unique and original approach, has just brought smiles to his customers with a joyful collaboration. Priced at more than one million euros, all 50 watches are apparently already pre-booked. As we look inside them, we discover all the symbols of the carefree 80s, palm trees, pineapples, rainbows and flamingos, miniatures in the back of a movement, as always, manufactured in the highest standards.