STYLE Edit: Richard Mille and Bubba Watson launch the Tourbillon RM 38-02, aka The Pink Watch, a limited-edition timepiece inspired by the golf superstar’s lucky colour

Of the many incredible athletes who light up the fairways of the professional golf circuit, Bubba Watson is among the most impressive of all. In addition to his two victories in one of the sport’s most prestigious tournaments – at the Masters in 2012 and 2014 – he is also one of the longest drivers of a golf ball ever to grace the PGA Tour: he has topped the chart of its longest hitters no fewer than five times, can generate ball speed of up to 312km/h, and once managed to hit a ball a scarcely believable 388 metres.

All of that makes him pretty much the ideal partner for Richard Mille. The highly innovative, widely coveted Swiss luxury watchmaker creates timepieces that combine incredible technical precision with hitherto unmatched levels of ruggedness, and the brand’s eponymous founder has been on a career-long mission to partner up with some of the leading names in the world of sport. Working alongside leading athletes gives Richard Mille the chance to test out its creations under the most challenging conditions – in Watson’s case, the huge forces of acceleration and deceleration that accompany his uniquely powerful swing.

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So it’s no surprise that the company signed the golfer up as a partner as long ago as 2011. It has since made four watches that bear his signature: the RM 038 Tourbillon from 2011, the RM 38-01 Tourbillon G-Sensor from 2014 and the RM 055 from 2015 – which have now been joined by a watch that pays tribute to his unconventional style, and in particular the iconic hot pink driver that he has wielded during some of his greatest triumphs.

Designed in close collaboration with the golfer, the Tourbillon RM 38-02 Bubba Watson – also known as simply The Pink Watch – is quite the head turner. The first things you’ll notice is the distinctively coloured case, made of a unique pink Quartz TPT, together with white Quartz TPT and Carbon TPT. Along with the openworked bezel and the Carbon TPT and pink Quartz TPT caseband, it surrounds an arrestingly unconventional dial that comes in a highly unusual shape, with a flat top and bottom offset by curved sides, higher on the right side of the dial than the left to create a pleasingly chiral effect – imparting a “handedness” to the watch.

Driving change with Amanda Mille, daughter of Richard Mille

Visible through that dial is the RM 38-02’s entirely skeletonised movement, a masterpiece of miniaturisation at just 9.19mm thick, built around a baseplate in Carbon TPT, a material that consists of numerous layers of parallel carbon filaments. A particularly striking feature is the openworked bridge, with the innovative addition of two tubes that pass through the movement on either side. The back of the movement features a micro-perforated bridge that echoes the pattern on Watson’s famous driver.

With its Quartz TPT and Carbon TPT construction, the Tourbillon RM 38-02 Bubba Watson is extremely tough, able to withstand shocks of more than 10,000g. Available in a limited edition of just 50 pieces, it’s a fitting tribute to golf’s greatest maverick superstar.