Richard Mille Watches Swing At The Lacoste Ladies Open de France Golf Tournament

Richard Mille Watches Swing At The Lacoste Ladies Open de France Golf Tournament

Adrienne Faurote
By Adrienne Faurote October 9, 2015
Cristie Kerr and Diana Luna
Cristie Kerr and Diana Luna.

Girls today play (almost) as tough as boys, and when the RM 007 Titanium Ladies’ Automatic watches go out on the golf course strapped to the wrists of Richard Mille brand partners Cristie Kerr (USA) and Diana Luna (Italy), the timepieces need to be able to withstand swing speeds of nearly 100 miles per hour to move the ball 240 to 275 yards down the fairway.

Ladies Lacoste Open © Celine Hamelin Photography (9)
Golf de Chantaco in Saint-Jean-de-Luz.

For the second year running, Richard Mille has sponsored the Lacoste Ladies Open de France. Played on the Lacoste family domain of the Golf de Chantaco in Saint-Jean-de-Luz in the southwest of France, the LLOF is one of 23 official tournaments of the Ladies’ European Tour, with 13 played in Europe. The LLOF attracts the best lady golfers from Europe and elsewhere, among which the strong-willed Kerr and Luna. As Richard Mille guests, we had the pleasure to meet them.

Ladies Lacoste Open © Celine Hamelin Photography (7)
Diana Luna.

Miami born Kerr, who turned pro at the age of 17, has “always loved golf, and enjoys earning money with an activity that gives her so much pleasure”, even though that day was not her best, and “bad golf bothers me”. This is her second year with Richard Mille and she loves to wear her RM 007 in titanium on the golf course – “I don’t even feel it”, and in the street “people recognize it, they know what it is”. She is “thrilled to have been chosen by the brand to wear their watches.” Does she like its feminine yet no-nonsense look? “I love it…I love diamonds too, the more the merrier”. Kerr does not keep it all for herself. She opened a women’s health center in 2010 in New Jersey, dedicated to breast cancer detection and treatment.

Ladies Lacoste Open © Celine Hamelin Photography
Cristie Kerr.

Born in Rome, “from a family where everyone played golf”, Diana Luna turned pro at the age of 19. Like Kerr, she vaunts the merits of the RM 007. “I was afraid it would distract me but the curved case and great fit – “it doesn’t move” – won her over. She takes it off. “See how light it is! Richard Mille is a genius! And I just saw a new model with a flower that opens up! It’s so beautiful!!” Luna is ravished with Richard Mille as a partner, but wishes that lady golfers had the same prize money as men “as they do now in tennis and other sports”.

RM 007 Titanium Ladies' Automatic
RM 007 Titanium Ladies’ Automatic.

Luna feels that “while golf is an individual sport, a team event is exciting” and she is looking forward to being Team Captain for Italy at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics next August. And hush! her own “modern and chic” clothing line will be in the shops next season.

Ladies Lacoste Open © Celine Hamelin Photography (4)

Meeting these two exceptional women, having private golf lessons, a spa treatment in the magnificent Grand Hotel, and delicious Basque cuisine were among the other special treats we enjoyed as Richard Mille guests. In addition to of course, strolling over the beautiful greens of the legendary Golf de Chantaco.

Photo Credit: Celine Hamelin Photography. For more information, please visit the official Richard Mille website. Follow Haute Time on Instagram to catch all of the new releases as they happen.