Watch Paparazzi

Basketball player Danny Green spotted wearing Richard Mille

Danny Green, three-time NBA champion and perennial defensive stalwart, was recently spotted wearing one of the most technically demanding pieces in the Richard Mille catalogue — the all-white ceramic Richard Mille RM55 'Bubba Watson.' For a player known for quiet professionalism on the court, the choice is a loud one off it, and it says a great deal about where athlete watch culture currently sits.

The Richard Mille RM55 was born from an unlikely partnership between the Swiss-Caribbean manufacture and left-handed golf icon Bubba Watson. Introduced in 2012 and refined over subsequent editions, the RM55 houses a manually wound calibre with a baseplate and bridges machined from grade 5 titanium, delivering a movement architecture that Richard Mille describes as capable of withstanding shock loads exceeding 5,000 Gs. The signature feature, however, is the case itself: monolithic white ceramic, a material exponentially harder than steel, which Richard Mille mills using diamond-tipped cutting tools. The tonneau-shaped case measures 49.94mm × 38.74mm — unmistakable on any wrist, basketball player or otherwise.

From a collector standpoint, the RM55 'Bubba Watson' occupies a specific niche within the Richard Mille universe. It is neither the ultra-limited skeletonised showpiece of the RM56 nor the motorsport-coded aggression of the RM11. Instead it sits as a sports collaboration reference that, paradoxically, translates effortlessly to streetwear and courtside culture. The all-white ceramic execution commands particular attention because white ceramic is notoriously unforgiving — any imperfection in the sintering process scraps the case entirely, which keeps production volumes tight.

Green, who has won championships with San Antonio, Cleveland, Toronto, and Los Angeles, has developed a reputation as one of the more watch-literate players in the league. Choosing the RM55 over flashier tourbillon references suggests a considered collector sensibility rather than simple status signalling.

On the grey market, white ceramic examples of the Richard Mille RM55 'Bubba Watson' trade at a meaningful premium to list. With a UK list price of approximately £120,000 — translating to roughly $148,000 USD at current rates — secondary market demand keeps prices firm, rarely dipping below retail and frequently exceeding it for unworn examples in original packaging.