Richard Mille RM 055 Bubba Watson

A watch built for a golf swing

Golf is hard on a mechanical watch. The swing whips the wrist through a long arc, and the strike of the ball sends a sharp jolt up the arm, both of which can upset a balance wheel. Richard Mille's answer, first for Bubba Watson's RM 038 tourbillon of 2011 and then for the RM 055 of 2012, was to make the case absorb the shock before it reached the movement.

The brand describes the game it designed for as a mix of 'amplitude with precision,' slow Zen-like preparation, and the instantaneous shock of the shot. The RM 055 is a simpler, time-only descendant of the RM 038: no tourbillon, just hours, minutes and seconds on a skeletonized hand-wound movement, built light and tough enough to wear while playing.

Its look made it famous. The bezel is a bright white ceramic, the case middle and back are grade 5 titanium wrapped in white rubber injected at high pressure, and the strap is usually white rubber. On a course, and on television, it is unmistakable.

Bubba Watson

Gerry Lester 'Bubba' Watson Jr. was born on November 5, 1978, in Bagdad, Florida. He is one of the few left-handed players on the professional tour and one of its longest hitters, leading the tour in driving distance in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012 and 2014. He won 12 PGA Tour events in all.

His defining moment came the same year the RM 055 was released. At the Masters on April 8, 2012, Watson and Louis Oosthuizen finished tied at 10 under par and went to sudden death. On the second playoff hole, the par-4 10th, Watson was in the pine straw deep in the woods. He hooked a wedge nearly 90 degrees around the trees to within 10 feet of the hole and won his first major. He won the Masters again in 2014 by three strokes.

Auction catalogues describe Watson as a long-time friend and ambassador of Richard Mille and note that he wears his watches during tournaments. In 2022 he left the PGA Tour to join the LIV Golf League as a team captain.

Materials, movement and how to identify one

The white bezel is ATZ, a ceramic the brand says is injected at nearly 2,000 bars of pressure, which raises its rigidity by 20 to 30 percent; it reaches a hardness of 1,400 Vickers, resists scratches, and does not change color. Under it, the case middle and back are grade 5 titanium coated in white rubber that helps isolate the movement from vibration.

The caliber RMUL2 is a skeletonized hand-wound movement whose baseplate and bridges are grade 5 titanium with PVD and Titalyt treatments. It uses a variable-inertia balance with four small adjustable weights instead of a regulator index, and a double barrel to keep torque steady. It has 24 jewels, beats at 4 Hz, runs about 55 hours, and weighs just 4.3 grams. Auction catalogues describe four shock absorbers linking the outer frame to the movement. The brand's own page says it withstands accelerations of over 500 g.

To identify a standard RM 055, look for a white ceramic bezel, a white-rubber-coated titanium case band, a fully open skeleton dial with no complications beyond hours, minutes and seconds, and a tonneau case about 50 by 42 mm. Auction catalogues code the standard model RM055 AM Ti. The case number and warranty card are key to provenance.

Black versions and limited runs

Richard Mille made several darker editions. For the Americas, it produced an all-black titanium RM 055 in two versions, the 'Red Drive' and the 'White Drive,' each limited to 30 pieces, with a black PVD and Titalyt-treated movement, a departure from Watson's earlier white watches. Around 2016 came an Asia Exclusive with a black ceramic bezel and caseback over a rubber-coated titanium case band, limited to 50 pieces and sold only in Asia.

Those limited editions command premiums. Number 15 of the 50 Asia Exclusive pieces sold in Hong Kong for HK$1,890,000 against an estimate of HK$940,000 to 1,500,000.

The standard model at auction

The standard white RM 055 has climbed steadily. In November 2017, an early example from about 2012 was offered in Hong Kong with an estimate of HK$480,000 to 640,000, about $60,000 to $80,000. In 2019 another, from about 2014, was estimated at HK$800,000 to 1,200,000 in Hong Kong.

By June 2025 a white ceramic and titanium RM055 AM Ti from about 2014, case number 195, with warranty, service booklet and box, sold at auction in New York for $304,800, above its high estimate of $300,000.

The numbers

Reference

RM 055 Bubba Watson (RM055 AM Ti)

Caliber

RMUL2, manual wind, 24 jewels, 28,800 vph (4 Hz), about 55-hour reserve, 4.3 g

Case

White ATZ ceramic bezel, rubber-coated grade 5 titanium case middle and back

Dimensions

49.90 x 42.70 x 13.05 mm per one review; 49.5 x 42 mm per auction catalogue

Water resistance

30 meters

Production

From 2012; not a numbered limited edition in standard form

Timeline

1. Nov 5, 1978

   Bubba Watson is born in Bagdad, Florida.

2. 2001

   Richard Mille founds his brand with Dominique Guenat.

3. 2011

   Richard Mille presents the RM 038 Bubba Watson tourbillon.

4. 2012

   The RM 055 Bubba Watson is released.

5. Apr 8, 2012

   Watson wins the Masters in a playoff with a hooked wedge from the woods.

6. 2014

   Watson wins his second Masters, by three strokes.

7. Nov 11, 2014

   Date of the warranty for the 30th and last Red Drive edition later sold at auction.

8. 2016

   A 50-piece black-ceramic Asia Exclusive edition appears.

9. Nov 2017

   An early 2012 RM 055 is offered in Hong Kong at an estimate of $60,000 to $80,000.

10. 2022

    Watson joins LIV Golf and leaves the PGA Tour.

11. Jun 2025

    A standard RM055 AM Ti sells for $304,800 at auction in New York.

The world in 2012

• Feb 6, 2012

  Queen Elizabeth II marks her Diamond Jubilee.

• Jul 4, 2012

  CERN announces a particle consistent with the Higgs boson.

• Jul 27, 2012

  The Summer Olympics open in London.

• Aug 6, 2012

  NASA's Curiosity rover lands on Mars.

• Oct 22, 2012

  Hurricane Sandy forms; it kills 233 people.

• Nov 6, 2012

  Barack Obama is reelected president of the United States.

• Dec 14, 2012

  Twenty students and six educators are killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Price record

This is an asking price, not a sale. It is what a seller wanted on the date shown. Asking prices often sit above what buyers pay, but an ask is not a ceiling: a sale can land on either side of it. It is not a value.

By reference price, Richard Mille RM 055 Bubba Watson is number 15 of 100 in the watches entries of the FLOAT 100. 54 of those 100 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (75 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.

Did you know

• The RM 055's whole movement weighs 4.3 grams.
• Watson's winning shot at the 2012 Masters hooked nearly 90 degrees from deep in the woods.
• Watson led the tour in driving distance five times.
• The black 'Red Drive' and 'White Drive' editions were made for the Americas only, 30 pieces each.
• The RM 055 has no regulator index; its balance is adjusted with four tiny weights on the wheel itself.
• The white ATZ bezel is rated at 1,400 Vickers and will not change color.