Pro Golfer Bubba Watson has reached a new level with his recent win at the Master’s Tournament. This also represents a win for his sponsor Richard Mille, whose high-end watch was strapped to Watson’s wrist for the whole tournament. This very special watch, called the RM038, was designed for Watson to wear while golfing. This huge win for Watson has brought extra attention to the his watch, especially since wearing one is pretty much unheard of while competing in any professional sport.
The Richard Mille RM038 watch was custom built to showcase the finest in watchmaking, while doing nothing to inhibit Watson’s performance. This means creating a extremely light, durable and comfortable watch with the best that Richard Mille has to offer. Mille already has world champion-level experience in this area, most notably with his sponsorship of tennis star Rafael Nadal. Seen on the wrist of Nadal while he competes, several versions of his signature Richard Mille watch have been released, with the RM027 Nadal Tourbillon and the RM035 Nadal Chronofible.
The RM038 for Bubba Watson isn’t quite as light as the Nadal’s RM027, it was designed with shock-absorption in mind, to survive Watson’s big drives. The tonneau-shaped skeleton case measures 48mm x 39.7mm x 12.8mm and is made of an ultra-light and ultra-strong magnesium-aluminium alloy. Composed of 90% magnesium and 8.9% aluminium, the “AZ91″ alloy is mainly used for aerospace or medical applications.
The special case is then finished with a electro-plasma oxidation treatment called Titalyt II. This creates a cristalline oxide ceramic coating that is bio-compatible with the special alloy, becoming a more scratch and corrosion resistant coating, which also give the RM038 it’s unique off-white color.
Sapphire crystal covers the front and back, given a skeleton view of the pristine manual-wound titanium tourbillon movement within. Thanks to the ingenuity of Richard Mille’s design, the normally delicate tourbillon movement can handle the swing and shock from Watson’s massive 350+ yard drives. Revealed only just over a year ago, Richard Mille is already set to follow up with a new model for Bubba, caled the RM055. To see live footage of the RM038, check out the video at the bottom, courtesy of Hodinkee.
Limited to only 38 pieces, make sure to check out the Luxury Bazaar listing for the RM038 Bubba Watson Watch.
Related Post: New Richard Mille Watches for 2012.
