Bubba Watson Wears Richard Mille Watch at British Open
When Bubba Watson won the Masters Golf Tournament back in 2012 he did it wearing a watch designed especially for him by Richard Mille, the Limited Edition RM 038 Golfer’s Tourbillon. Watson is hoping for similar luck this year as he sports a new RM timepiece on his wrist. When the golf pro hits the links at this week’s British Open he will have the Richard Mille limited edition RM 38-01 G-Sensor Bubba Watson model helping him keep up with tee times.
Following the introduction of the RM 038 in 2011, Mille developed the RM 055 for Watson in 2012. Mille gave this statement on the idea for the timepiece: “We had set our heart on developing this watch, directly linked to the developments that took place in creating the tourbillon model for Bubba Watson.
“I really wanted to revisit aesthetics of golf: I like the physical motions involved in this sport, which combine amplitude with precision, and the surprising sequence that contrasts moments of Zen-like preparation of concentration followed by the instantaneous shock of the shot, the long period of the ball’s trajectory and the subsequent walk to the next tee.”
The RM 38-01 was introduced in 2014 and only 50 were made. This mechanical tourbillon watch was designed for Watson right down to his favorite color, Augusta green, making the watch a perfect match for his green Masters jacket. The timepiece includes a feature that should come in handy for a golfer: a G-sensor on the face that can measure the G-force of Watson’s swing.
The mechanical G-sensor placed beneath the 12 o’clock mark contains more than 50 moving parts tucked inside a 17mm case and can record up to 20 G-s of acceleration. By pressing the aerodynamically formed pusher located at 9 o’clock the golfer can reset the sensor back to zero for the next swing. The tourbillon movement provides a 48-hour power reserve when fully wound.
Like all watches by Richard Mille, the RM 38-01 doesn’t come cheap. The price tag for this nifty timepiece is a cool $825,000, $50,000 more than the $775,000 RM 27-02 worn by tennis champ Rafael Nadel during the French Open in May. Alas, Nadel lost to Novak Djokovic.
