Playing sport, will in all likelihood cause the watch to gain or lose quite a bit of accuracy due to the forces applied to it. Watches have been have previously been designed to accompany an explorer on a trip but this was usually done with an existing model.
Richard Mille was the first watchmaker to design a watch with from the ground up, to withstand the extremes faced by a sportsperson.
Felipe Massa the former Ferrari now Williams F1 driver was the first sportsman that Richard Mille chose. Usually an F1 driver only wears his watch after a race. Mille designed and produced a wristwatch that could withstand the g-forces that the driver faced while racing. He used materials that were found on the car its itself. He used carbon fibre as a baseplate which had never been done before.
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| Felipe Massa wearing his Richard Mille Chronograph while with Ferrari |
The watch worn by Massa did not lose accuracy even though it was put through extremes a normal watch would fail.
The next sportsman to have a watch specially designed for him is the Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal. Rafael Nadal is known to have fierce rituals when he is on the court, such as positioning of water bottles court side and various hand actions before serving. When first approached by Richard Mille he thought the idea was loco (Spanish for crazy). Luckily King Carlos of Spain was a fan of Richard Mille and showed Nadal his RM09 at a dinner.
The RM027 was the first wristwatch designed to be worn while playing tennis. It cost a cool $500,000 and weights a staggering 19 grams! It can even float on water.
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| Rafa Nadal and his RM027 |
The final sportsman I will feature is Bubba Watson. He is a golfer from the USA. He has one of the fiercest drivers on the tour. The amount of g-force and shock generated would send a normal watch's accuracy bananas. Bubba had the first watch specifically made for a golfer to wear while playing.
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| Bubba Watson and his RM038 |
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