Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. The 1.75mm Richard Mille RM UP-01 Ferrari Becomes the World’s Thinnest Mechanical Watch
Overtaking the current champion in the ultra-thin mechanical watch race, the RM UP01 claims victory with its 1.75mm case.
If anybody thought the main contenders in the battle for ultra-thin mechanical watches were Bulgari and Piaget, today’s news is going to come as a big surprise. Just months after Bulgari’s launch of the Octo Finissimo Ultra, the previous world’s thinnest mechanical watch with a 1.80mm profile, Richard Mille steps on the accelerator and steals pole position from Bulgari with its mind-blowing 1.75mm thick RM UP-01 Ferrari. However, there is another astonishing fact about the Richard Mille watch, which has to do with its construction. Unlike Piaget and Bulgari’s ultra-thin watches, which use the caseback as a baseplate, Richard Mille has assembled the 1.18mm manual-winding movement INSIDE the case. A limited edition of 150 timepieces, the RM UP-01 is the first watch to emerge from the brand’s recent alliance with Ferrari.
Il Sorpasso
Who could have seen this coming? In one of the most intrepid and exciting sorpassi (overtaking) in the watch world, Bulgari’s 1.80mm thin Octo Finissimo Ultra has been beaten by Richard Mille’s hyper-lean machine with a case thickness of 1.75mm. It might just be a 0.05mm difference (about the thickness of a thin human hair), but it has enshrined the RM UP-01 Ferrari in pole position.
Richard Mille and Ferrari teamed up in 2021, a natural alliance forged by two brands obsessed with precision, reliability and innovation. To celebrate this partnership with Ferrari, RM pushed the envelope to the extreme and created the hyper-flat 1.18mm calibre RM UP-01 in collaboration with the laboratories of Audemars Piguet Le Locle (formerly Renaud & Papi). Working alongside the Ferrari team and following countless prototypes and more than 6,000 hours of R&D and laboratory testing, the Richard Mille RM UP-01 materialised.
The extraordinary architecture of the movement – which does not rely on the caseback as part of the movement – is traditional and is assembled inside the case. The reason for incorporating the 41.45mm x 28.85mm calibre inside a case was mandated by shock-resistance and RM’s mission to create a watch for everyday wear and tear. What is not traditional is the distribution of the components. Instead of a conventional arrangement of superimposed gears, hands and stacked components, the RM UP-01 conquers its ultra-thin profile with a horizontal distribution of elements. To keep the thickness of the calibre at a minimum, engineers from AP Le Locle and RM developed a new escapement with a balance wheel in titanium. All the components, which have to meet tolerances of a single micron, are machined at RM’s movement department. Fitted with a fast-rotating barrel, the power reserve is around 45 hours.
Far from being a case study in ultra-thin watchmaking, the RM UP-01 Ferrari is made to be worn. Grade 5 titanium, a corrosion-resistant and rigid alloy, is used for the baseplate and bridges, conferring the required rigidity and surface flatness for the perfect functioning of the gear train. To ensure the movement can withstand accelerations of over 5,000 G’s, the skeletonised baseplate was subjected to extensive testing.
The Shape of Thin to Come
The rounded rectangular shape of the Richard Mille RM UP-01 Ferrari, which measures 51mm x 39mm x 1.75mm, evokes Richard Mille’s emblematic tonneau-shaped cases and is secured with 13 titanium spline screws on the case and bridges. Machined from grade 5 titanium, the monobloc case construction optimises rigidity. The front side of the watch, which is actually a large bezel, and the caseback are satin-brushed with polished bevels.
Time Indications
Obviously, a case this thin cannot incorporate a regular winding crown, and the solution resides in the two hollowed-out ‘crowns’ on the left side of the dial/bezel. The first ‘crown’ positioned between 10 and 11 o’clock is to select the winding (W) or hand-setting (H) function, while the second ‘crown’ between 7 and 8 o’clock is used to set the time or wind the barrel. Both crowns are framed by black ceramic inserts to protect the bezel from friction and ensure the 10m water-resistance.
The recessed time indication is placed in the centre of the dial/bezel with red hour and minute hands and is protected by a sapphire crystal, like the balance wheel to the right. Below the time and balance functions is an engraved depiction of Ferrari’s Prancing Horse logo.
Availability & Price
The Richard Mille RM UP-01 Ferrari is limited to 150 pieces and will retail for a quite substantial, to say the least, CHF 1,700,000 (excl. tax). For more information, please visit www.richardmille.com.
12 responses
Dang. Big L for Bulgari.
I’m happy with my 14270.
Have a nice day.
Usuario diana : Vista de aguila, muñecas delicadas y bolsillos profundos. Pero un hito es un hito.
The ugliest RM I’ve ever seen, which is saying a lot given their lineup.
Questions on the ‘crown’, you just press and wind with your finger or is an external tool needed?
@Steven – there’s a special tool that you insert in one of the two “slots” to wind and adjust the movement.
Just looks like a star-head screwdriver should do the trick. I suspect one would have to have a gentle touch winding it.
There comes a point where the single-minded pursuit of one particular aspect of a product leads into, IMO, cloud cuckoo land. This is way past that. I get that it’s bragging rights and technical genius, and it’s cool for that, but if this is what they have to do, then this race should be shut down.
A very impressive exercise in packaging. In keeping with traditional Richard Mille values, expensive and hideous. Not a million miles away from the concept of the key wound pocket watch, who knew that was cutting edge technology?
Obviously daft as a consumer product, but as a feat of mechanical engineering, it’s lovely. AP Le Locle (I never knew they’d stopped calling it Renaud et Papi – is Papi still with them?) do spectacular work. Shame it’s an RM. 😉
WHY????? why does this exist other than to show that RM was able to make the thinnest watch to date. Sorry, but this watch tops my list as the most ridiculous, impractical, superfluous watch ever made !!!. This watch is the champion of nonsense & depravity !!
Thinnest for now…….But Ugly forever.
La innovación técnica volcada aquí es impresionante (aplausos para la “Horizontalidad del movimiento”). Muchos coinciden en que estaría mejor sin el frontal encabritado con el logo de Ferrari. De todas formas no aguantaría un accidentado paso por curva en puños del Team Formula 1 Cavallino Rampante.