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An Insanely Thin Wristwatch, by Ferrari and Richard Mille

The RM UP-01 is just 1.75mm thick

By Rain Noe - November 21, 2023

in Object Culture

This insanely thin RM UP-01 wristwatch was created in collaboration between Ferrari and Swiss watchmaking brand Richard Mille.

FIGHTING FOR THE LAST HUNDREDTHS

With the RM UP-01 Ferrari, Richard Mille is proud to present an ultra-flat watch just 1.75 millimetres thick. This mind-blowing technical feat owes as much to approaching watch mechanics with fresh eyes as it does to reframing design methods in ways that make the spectacular available for use in everyday situations.

For such a project, it was necessary to set aside all the knowledge we had amassed over years of practice, and every conceivable standard of watchmaking. This is precisely what we did throughout our collaboration with the laboratories of Audemars Piguet Le Locle. Shaving off those last hundredths of a millimetre of depth was an extremely demanding and lengthy process.

PERFORMANCE AS AN ACCELERATOR OF STYLE

Working collaboratively alongside the Ferrari team, the RM UP-01 is a model resulting from many year's work, dozens of prototypes and more than 6,000 hours of development and laboratory testing.

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.

CASE

The design and execution of the entire watch bears witness to a comprehensive conceptual approach to the movement and the case, which are developed in complete harmony. It represents the first appearance of this new and highly identifiable form within the Richard Mille collection. Its uncompromising slimness perfectly symbolises the Richard Mille philosophy of letting technique dictate aesthetics, once again transforming the tonneau shape and adapting it to new circumstances.

The RM UP-01's case has the same characteristics and exhibits the same sleek lines and attention to minute detail, as the large number of manufacturing operations required for its bezel and its monobloc caseband and caseback attest.

If you're a watch nerd, there are more technical details here.

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Stephen Christ

a year ago

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The problem is that the internals are the interesting part. The exterior case covers up all of the engineering and the beauty of the watch.

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- Ryan Cee
  
  Stephen Christ
  
  a year ago
  
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  Yes, a transparent panel would do it some favors. Artificial sapphire would probably be perfect and add to the value of the piece.
  
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Richard C

a year ago

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I dont think my Haas can machine that.

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Ryan Cee

a year ago

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I like it when rather than just slapping a logo on something, the IP holder takes the time to make something interesting.

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- Dee An
  
  Ryan Cee
  
  a year ago
  
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  I agree, a Ferrari logo is usually slapped on a t shirt or keyring... I really don't get why these watchmakers, having a genuine 'world's thinnest' claim, felt the need for a another company's logo.
  If I were to ever own a Ferrari car, I would never wear any Ferrari branded clothing or accessories... It would just be too guache!
  
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- Simon Turgeon
  
  Ryan Cee
  
  a year ago
  
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  *slaps Ferrari logo on the front*
  
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    Simon Turgeon
    
    12 months ago
    
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    ...of a unique watch they commissioned instead of a t-shirt. Read the words that are written and respond to those instead of making up something in your head to react to.
    
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