Sam Kerr is Richard Mille's first Australian brand partner

FOOTBALL WAS ALREADY on our minds with the men’s FIFA World Cup kicking off this month, but watches were the primary topic of conversation when we sat down for an intimate fireside chat with Sam Kerr at the Richard Mille boutique in Sydney this week.

Kerr, fresh off leading the Matildas to a win in a friendly match against Mexico the night before, arrives wearing the RM 07-04 Automatic Sport. She’s here because she has recently become a Richard Mille Brand Partner (the first Australian to do so) and has agreed to surrender some of her precious time to a small collection of media – Esquire included.

Since she appeared on the cover of this magazine in December of 2023, Kerr has become the joint all-time leading goalscorer for Chelsea, a club she is set to depart after calling it home for seven years. She’s tight-lipped about where she’ll be playing next season, but she does confide that she had only just signed her new contract a week prior. (Reports this morning suggest she’ll be returning Gotham FC in the USA’s NWSL. Looks like the word got out).

What she is more willing to discuss is her love of Richard Mille watches, which she first encountered through Formula 1 but has come to admire because the brand shares her values. “I’ve always wanted to be something bigger than just my sport, and I’ve seen the things that Richard Mille has done around the world. Everything is bigger than just one moment or one game,” she says.

“I’ve always wanted to inspire people all around the world with what I do in football,” she continues. “So to be doing this and working with Richard Mille and their athletes, whom I look up to, is a dream come true.”

She reps the brand, too. She’s wearing the mauve version of the RM 07-04 Automatic Sport on the day of our chat. “The colours just popped for me, and it’s a beautiful watch to wear that is so light and sporty,” she says. Indeed, the watch only weighs 36 grams with the strap included. Kerr says she can’t wear it while she’s playing (jewellery is not allowed), but she often forgets she’s wearing it due to its lightness and needs to be reminded to take it off.

The watch is powered by the calibre CRMA8, a skeletonised automatic-winding movement with an hours, minutes and function selector. It has a roughly 50-hour power reserve (give or take 10 per cent) and is a superlative piece: the lightest, boldest and most energetic in Richard Mille’s sports watch range. Kerr’s stamp of approval only adds to the allure.

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