Swiss luxury watch brand Richard Mille is taking some weight off the one percent’s wrist. The label, known for its complex timepieces, has just earned the title of the world’s thinnest watch with its new RM UP-01 Ferrari.
The previous record-holder, the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra, was announced just four months ago and measures 1.80 mm thick. Richard Mille and Ferrari’s collaborative timepiece measures just 1.75 mm, coming in 0.05 mm thinner than the Bulgari.
Watch this —
The new Richard Mille timepiece credits a new construction for its thinness. The 4Hz, manually wound movement is 1.18 mm thick and has its mechanics built into the case, not the caseback. Mille already makes lightweight watches favored by professional athletes, but the new feather-light timepiece weighs just 2.82 grams.
The movement plate is skeletonized and, thanks to a series of strength tests, can withstand accelerations over 5,000 Gs. It’s constructed from grade 5 titanium and even maintains a 45-hour power reserve. Two crowns on the bezel control the function selector and the adjustments.
Two 0.2-millimeter sapphire crystals protect the bezel components from friction while simultaneously making the watch water resistant up to 10 meters. An anti-reflective finish coats both sides, and the rest of the case design nods to Ferrari’s racing heritage with its logo on the inside of a divot.
Looking closer —
Developed by Richard Mille and Audemars Piguet Renaud & Papi, the movement’s escapement had to be reimagined with a titanium variable inertia balance wheel that let the designers build on a thinner canvas without losing any functions. The new ultra-flat escapement did away with the traditional guard pin and safety roller and added the banking function to the elongated and modified anchor fork.
The RM UP-01 Ferrari watch is the first project to emerge from Richard Mille and Ferrari’s five-year partnership, which was announced last year. It is limited to only 150 pieces, and the price tag sits at a hefty $1.888 million. Richard Mille doesn’t hold “the secret billionaire’s handshake” nickname for nothing.
