Royal Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah spotted wearing a Richard Mille

The future King of Brunei has a wrist game that reflects both serious horological taste and dynastic purchasing power. Crown Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, 46, first in line to the Bruneian throne and eldest son of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, was recently observed wearing a 43mm Richard Mille RM 055 Bubba Watson — a watch that sits at the intersection of extreme materials engineering and professional sports partnership.

The Richard Mille RM 055 debuted in 2011 as a collaboration with two-time Masters champion golfer Bubba Watson, and the brief was straightforward: produce a skeleton sports watch that could survive the violent torque of a golf swing without sacrificing legibility or comfort. Richard Mille answered with a grade 5 titanium case measuring 43.15mm × 47.77mm × 13.13mm and a distinctive ATZ zirconia ceramic front bezel — a material harder than steel and far more scratch-resistant. The open-worked manual-winding movement, the caliber CRMT1, delivers 55 hours of power reserve through a baseplate and bridges machined from grade 5 titanium, keeping the entire assembly to a remarkable sub-40-gram finished weight on the wrist.

Among Richard Mille collectors, the RM 055 occupies a specific and respected niche. It lacks the complexity of the RM 008 or the tourbillon spectacle of the RM 027, but that restraint is precisely the point — the RM 055 is the brand's purest expression of high-performance skeletonization without the distraction of additional complications. The skeletonized dial reveals every component of the manually wound movement, and the ergonomic case architecture, with its signature tonneau shape and multi-part case construction, is among the most wearable in the Richard Mille lineup despite its assertive proportions.

Crown Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah is no stranger to extraordinary timepieces. Brunei's royal family is historically among the world's most prolific collectors of luxury goods, and the Crown Prince's selection of the RM 055 over more ostentatious options suggests a preference for technical substance alongside rarity.

At retail, the Richard Mille RM 055 Bubba Watson carries a list price in the region of $200,000 USD, though actual acquisition often depends on client relationships with authorized dealers. On the grey market, demand from Gulf and Southeast Asian collectors has kept values firm, with examples frequently trading at or above retail — a testament to the model's sustained desirability in exactly the markets where Crown Prince Billah moves.