by Elizabeth Doerr

Diana Luna breezed into the clubhouse with the kind of grace that only professional athletes seem to have: confident, full of energy, happy to be alive on this particular sunny Friday just outside of Biarritz, France. Who wouldn’t be with an RM 007 in titanium as a standing companion on the wrist?

Luna, who turned professional in 2001 at the age of 19, became the first female Richard Mille sports ambassador last year. She wears the RM 007 in titanium.

Richard Mille ambassador Diana Luna practicing during the 2014 Lacoste Ladies Open at the Golf Club of Chantaco (photo Pauline Ballet)

Richard Mille is also the major partner of the French Ladies Open for the second year in a row, which is held at the Golf Club of Chantaco. The event pits the top 78 European female players against each other, with the winner taking home her own RM 007 in titanium.

Despite having to concentrate on the tournament, seven-time Italian PGA champion Luna kindly spared a few moments to speak to me about watches and golf.

Richard Mille ambassador Diana Luna (photo courtesy Pauline Ballet)

And was I ever impressed by her – her confidence, her fashion sense, her dedication to her sport, and to the way that she allows her sport and her family life to peacefully coexist. A true role model for determined women if there ever was one.

Naturally, first and foremost, I wanted to know how she feels about Richard Mille and about how she feels about playing with a watch strapped to her wrist, which is highly unusual for any athlete, but perhaps even more so for a golfer.

Richard Mille RM 016 and RM 007 on the golf course

“I think Richard Mille is a visionary, and it makes me very proud to represent him and his brand and watches; it is a real honor,” she matter-of-factly stated. “Richard is someone who really knows what he wants to do, and I am the same. I know what I want to do, and I do everything to reach my goals.”

Mille and Luna were put in touch by a mutual friend, and the partnership details were handled very quickly: within a month the agreement had been signed by both parties.

Richard Mille RM 07-01 with Diana Luna in background

Luna, who admitted a little apprehension at first about wearing a watch during match play, began wearing the RM 007 about a year and a half ago. And to her complete surprise, there was no period of having to get used to it, though prior to this, she never wore even jewelry on the course.

“Being a sportswoman, it is very important that the watch is comfortable to wear; the shape on the wrist is important, and impossible to find in any other brand. Additionally, it’s extremely light for its size.”

Richard Mille RM 016

For women, though, there is also one more criterion aside from keeping good time that is important. “It’s easy to wear and it matches everything,” said Luna, who is known in golf circles for her good sense of fashion. “I don’t even feel it anymore. It’s like part of me, and I feel naked without a watch.”

Richard Mille RM 07-01 in chocolate ceramic (photo courtesy Alice Keehn)

In fact, she says she wears it all the time: during tournament play, at practice, and otherwise.

Is time important for golf? “Yes,” she says. “Because you can’t miss your tee time!”

Richard Mille ambassador Diana Luna (photo courtesy Pauline Ballet)

When Richard Mille announced the new partnership with Diana Luna back in July 2013, the brand explained that it was with the wish to “support a technical sport for women.” Luna, the first female sporting partner of the brand, was joined by American golfer Christie Kerr as a Richard Mille ambassador earlier in 2014.

Richard Mille ambassador Diana Lune wearing her titanium RM 007

And as with the brand’s male sporting partners, this offers a great opportunity for Richard Mille to test watches under real-life sporting circumstances, enabling the team to create products suited particularly for the sport in question.

The author teeing up at the Chantaco Golf Club in France

I was given the opportunity along with a few other female writers to test out a few different Richard Mille watches myself on the golf course outside of the tournament. Though I have not often played, an afternoon on the driving range with a golf instructor is in no way easy on a watch: a few hours driving golf balls under real circumstances (some cleanly hit and a great number of badly mishit balls would take a toll on any automatic watch). I can attest that the Richard Mille RM 007 in black ceramic I wore showed no signs of misalignment after an afternoon on the driving range.

Nothing makes teeing up that little bit more pleasant than having a Richard Mille RM 007 on the wrist

Additionally, the new RM 07-01 variation, which was launched at SIHH 2014, features a patented crown construction that is not connected directly to the movement as such. This makes it nearly impossible to break or even displace the crown stem.

Richard Mille RM 007 Ti Lacoste Ladies Open

Luna, who has yet to co-design her own Richard Mille watch, came in 12th at the 2014 edition of the Lacoste Ladies Open de France. The winner was Spain’s Azahara Muñoz, who was awarded her very own titanium RM 007 along with her prize money.

I guess I’ll have to practice a bit harder if I want to have a chance at one myself someday!

For more information, please visit www.richardmille.com.

Quick Facts RM 07-01
Case: 45.66 x 31.4 x 11.85 mm, TZP ceramic with red gold case band
Movement: automatic Caliber CRMA2, skeletonized, base plate and bridges in titanium, free-sprung balance with variable inertia, variable geometry rotor for optimized winding
Functions: Hours, minutes