Haute Complication: Richard Mille RM 38-01 Bubba Watson
Richard Mille is known to now only have celebrity ambassadors, but also work intensely with them together to create watches with unique complications, focussing on their particular sport. This is also the case with the watches that Mille created for golf pro Bubba Watson.
Not only is Watson a left handed player, but he is also known for his considerably long drives. For Richard Mille, this was the inspiration to fit the RM 38-01 with a G-sensor. This mechanical device registers the amount of G-forces created by the golfer during his swing and records this on the dial at twelve o’clock. For this Mille uses 50 moving parts.
That is however not the only thing that sets the RM 38-01 apart, as it is also fitted with a tourbillon. While this seems not out of the ordinary for a Richard Mille, it is quite unusual for a watch worn at golf to be fitted with this complication. Although you are hitting a relatively small ball, the g-forces and vibration that result from a swing can run havoc on a watch. The fact that Mille is capable of creating not only a watch but also a tourbillon that is robust enough to handle all this is an accomplishment in itself. At the same time, it is also testimony that the development work that Richard Mille does with its sports ambassadors really also pays out horological dividents!
Of course, the movement isn’t the only place where innovation can be found in this Richard Mille, as the case itself is crafted from “Quartz TPT.” This unique compound of mineral quartz with carbon is lightweight and highly durable, making it an almost obvious choice for a watch to be worn by a golf pro such as Bubba Watson. Additionally, the curved tonneau shape of the RM 38-01 also shows off nicely that the Quartz TPT is made out of different layers, which in white offer a subtle detail to this highly complicated and advanced watch.
