RICHARD MILLE

ENGINEERING CHALLENGE!

Mathilde Binetruy

You might be familiar with this: a prancing horse on a yellow rectangle, the emblem of the city of Modena in Italy. It is also a symbol of testosterone, power, and speed, not to mention that distinctive red colour that is much more than just a linguistic feature. Somewhere in the male consciousness there is a word written in large letters: FERRARI. The company established in Maranello by Enzo Ferrari has written some of the most beautiful pages in the history of motor sports. Its numerous racing cars have carried its colours high on circuits all over the world. And beyond that? That's where Richard Mille comes in. The watchmaking brand possesses the invaluable gift of knowing how to amaze and for over twenty years has been designing watches with an assertive identity offering an unprecedented level of technical sophistication. Its credo:

innovation and precision, vectors of emotion. It is not by chance that Ferrari and Richard Mille allied their forces in 2021 through a multi-year partnership concerning in particular Formula 1, WEC endurance, GT races, and E-sport, which is in full expansion. The only thing missing was an exceptional timepiece to seal the alliance between the two houses. The RM UP-01 Ferrari is the perfect answer.

"WE HAD TO PUT ASIDE OUR YEARS OF EXPERIENCE TO CONCEIVE THIS WATCH."

It's a model that's right on the money. Just imagine: 1.75mm thick. "With a project like this, all the knowledge acquired over years of hands-on experience and all the watchmaking standards have been side-lined," explains Julien Boillat, technical director for watch design at Richard Mille. "We had to put aside our years of practice in order to conceive this ultra-thin watch, while maintaining the brand's own

RM UP-01 FERRARI, AN ULTRA-THIN TIMEPIECE JUST 1.75MM THICK, A WORLD RECORD FOR THINNESS.

WATCHES-NEWS.COM X RICHARD MILLE technical features." This is because the other key point of the project was the performance of the movement, namely the RMUP-01 calibre measuring only 1.18 mm and weighing 2.82 grams, yet endowed with a 45-hour power reserve with a balance running at a rate of 4hz with 28,800 alternations per hour. At Richard Mille, we enjoy meeting challenges. For a long time now, the brand has been identifying new obstacles to be overcome. Salvador Arbona, technical director for movements, sums up the company's philosophy embodied in the project: "The minimal thickness of the movement prevented us from positioning a traditional movement superimposed with cogs and a switch. We then proceeded to occupy the available surface area while obviously limiting the size of the case, working with Julien (Boillat, editor's note) to find the most optimal ergonomic case shape

possible." In the end, the result was a barrel-shaped titanium case with a supersonic look, ready for the adventures of everyday life. It is aerodynamics for the wrist, at least for the clients who are lucky enough to wear one. The others will follow the same way as usual: using the fantasy machine that is watchmaking to imagine acquiring this gem one day. And, why not a Ferrari to go with it.