Richard Mille launched the new RM UP-01 Ferrari, an ultra-flat wristwatch that is 1.75mm thick. Price CHF1,7 mln. 150 pieces. World's thinnest watch
Working collaboratively alongside the Ferrari team and after dozens of prototypes and more than 6,000 hours in R&D and laboratory testing, the jaw-dropping RM UP-01 Ferrari has emerged, breaking with the design that we expect from the brand while remaining faithful to the guiding principles of precision, reliability, innovation and excellence.
From the very start of the project, the extremely demanding brief made the movement’s performance a priority, meaning it would have to be a calibre both extremely thin and equipped with a 45-hour power reserve with a balance beating at 4 Hz (28,800 vibrations per hour). The manual-winding RMUP-01 movement with hours, minutes and function selector presents a profile of just 1.18 mm and weighs in at 2.82 grams.
The aesthetics was clearly dictated by the technical goals.
Meeting the challenge of an ultra-flat watch precluded a traditional movement with superimposed gears and hands. Richard Mille therefore opted to distribute what could not be stacked over a broader surface area by creating a perfect symbiosis between the movement and case, each ensuring the necessary rigidity of the other.
Nonetheless, Richard Mille retained a traditional architecture in which the movement is assembled within the case, rather than a construction in which the caseback doubles as a baseplate, in order to ensure total shock resistance.
The baseplate and skeletonised bridges are made of grade 5 titanium to guarantee perfect flatness without losing any strength and ensure optimal functioning of the going train.
The patented extra-flat barrel has an extremely fine-gauge spring, while the escapement architecture was reimagined. In order to save height, the small plate of the balance and the dart (guard pin) – two parts that prevent the anchor from slipping back during the free phase of the balance wheel’s movement – were eliminated. The new ultra-flat escapement, also patented, replaced these ‘anti-reversal’ elements with an elongated fork with new horns.
Likewise, the index was set aside in favour of a variable-inertia balance crafted in titanium whose six weights allow for fine-tuned calibration of the regulating component.
The winding mechanism had to be completely rethought eliminating the winding stem, whose minimum diameter of 1.5 mm precluded its use in such a slim watch. In its place, the two crowns on the left side, one for function selection, the other to operate the selected function, have both been integrated in the case as movement wheels and ringed with black ceramic inserts that protect the bezel from any wear.
The two sapphire crystals, one over the time indicator, whose hands are transferred directly to the wheels, the other positioned over the regulating organ (balance and spring assembly) to showcase the movement, have also been reduced to a thickness of 2 tenths of a millimetre, with a diameter calculated to guarantee their resistance during tests.
An additional challenge consisted in ensuring their necessary water resistance, along with that of the case as a whole. Assembled using 13 grade 5 titanium spline screws and abrasion-resistant washers in 316L stainless steel, the 51 mm x 39 mm case is water resistant to 1 ATM (corresponding approximately to 10 metres / 33 feet).
The total weight of the watch, strap included, is 30 grams.
The challenging program of tests included wear (notably a 10-year accelerated aging of parts), water resistance tests, torsional tests, flex tests and last but not least, hours and hours spent testing shock resistance, especially using the notorious pendulum (Charpy impact test), which certifies resistance to acceleration exceeding 5,000 g’s (you can find more information on these tests in our feature article "Richard Mille factories tour").
The goal was not to design the RM UP-01 Ferrari as a concept timepiece that would make watchmaking history, but to ensure the 150 parts of this powerful series were fit for the purpose of daily wear.
And, as you might expect from a timepiece with a price of CHF 1,700,000 before local sales taxes, the Richard Mille RM UP-01 Ferrari delivers the highest standards in terms of finishes — even in areas invisible to the eye — with satin-finished, polished, microblasted and hand beveled components. The iconic prancing horse and all the references present on the case are laser-engraved. Production will be limited to 150 pieces. richardmille.com
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I can imagine several non-operational replicas. 😉
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