Pilot Sébastian Loeb spotted wearing a Richard Mille

Sébastien Loeb, the most decorated driver in World Rally Championship history, was recently photographed wearing a Richard Mille RM55 Bubba Watson — a tourbillon sports watch that sits at an intriguing crossroads between golf-course engineering and motorsport-grade construction. The sighting adds Loeb to a short list of elite athletes who reach instinctively for Richard Mille when the cameras are rolling.

The Richard Mille RM55 Bubba Watson was developed in close collaboration with two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson and first debuted in 2012. Its central engineering brief was radical: create a mechanical tourbillon that a professional golfer could wear mid-round without damaging the movement during the shock of impact at the ball. The result is a manual-winding calibre RFAT tourbillon beating at 21,600 vph with a 48-hour power reserve, suspended within a tonneau-shaped case machined from grade 5 titanium. The case measures 50.05mm × 42.70mm and sits just 13.35mm thick — large by traditional standards, but visually coherent against the bold architecture Richard Mille has made its signature.

The skeletonised dial is the RM55's most immediate calling card: every functional component of the movement is visible, framed by a sapphire crystal front and caseback. The baseplate and bridges are rendered in Carbon TPT or NTPT composites depending on the variant, giving each piece a unique layered grain pattern. A function selector at 9 o'clock switches between winding, neutral, and hand-setting — a pragmatic detail that protects the delicate tourbillon escapement from accidental stress.

For collectors, the RM55 Bubba Watson occupies a credible position in the Richard Mille catalogue. It is not the most rarefied reference the brand produces, but it represents genuine manufacture-level engineering at a price point that remains, by RM standards, relatively accessible. Secondary market values have remained firm, reflecting sustained demand from the sports-celebrity community the brand deliberately cultivates.

Loeb's affinity for the RM55 is not surprising. A driver who spent two decades managing mechanical systems at the absolute limit of their tolerances understands intuitively what Richard Mille is selling: not luxury in the traditional sense, but performance credibility in watch form. The Richard Mille RM55 Bubba Watson retails at approximately £51,000 in the UK market, with grey-market values tracking closely to list given consistent demand.