Richard Mille is proud to announce the victory of its partner, American golfer Bubba Watson, at the Augusta Masters in southeast Georgia. Bubba Watson, 33, brought back the first Grand Slam title of his career on Sunday 8 April by winning the 76th edition of the famous Augusta Masters. The American golfer won ahead of South African Louis Oosthuizen after the four rounds of the competition, which the two players closed in par with a total of 278 strokes, (10 under par). Bubba Watson thus earned the first of four Grand Slam tournaments of the season thanks to a spectacular second shot on the second playoff hole. Like Rafael Nadal, Pablo Mac Donough and Felipe Massa, Bubba Watson wears a Richard Mille watch during the tournaments. The RM 038 tourbillon was created especially for him in order to test its technicality, precision and shock resistance. It was with the RM 038 on his wrist that Bubba Watson won the Augusta Masters. Last January, Richard Mille presented a new watch at Sihh, the RM 055 Bubba Watson, capable of withstanding accelerations of more than 500 Gs. The RM 055, following in the footsteps of the RM 038 Bubba Watson, is an extremely technical, innovative, sporty watch with hand-finished Haute Horlogerie finishing. Its grade 5 titanium mechanical movement, inspired by the RMUL1 calibre, is skeletonised to the extreme, with PVD treatment for the plate and Titalyt® for the bridges, in order to ensure great rigidity to the whole and excellent coplanarity of the surfaces, an indispensable combination for the perfect functioning of the gear train. The RMUL2 calibre can thus withstand accelerations of more than 500 G. The ATZ bezel is processed from powder composed of aluminium oxide nanotubes compressed to more than 2000 atmospheres. This high-pressure procedure gives 20 to 30% more rigidity and minimises the material's porosity to scratches. ATZ is prized for its great scratch resistance (1400 Vickers), and for its unalterable colour. It is, after diamond, one of the hardest materials in the world. A long and difficult process of machining and grinding with diamond tools was necessary to obtain this bezel with its complex shape and satin appearance. The case middle and back are made of grade 5 titanium coated with white rubber. The titanium case is also coated (using a high-pressure process) with rubber, which thus isolates the movement from all vibrations with progressive absorption.
