FERRARI

Ferrari/Richard Mille UP-01: the $1.9 million mechanical watch

Usually, those who like and have a few cars in their garage with the Bugatti, Lamborghini or Ferrari emblem also appreciate watches with a certain exclusivity and with a corresponding degree of sophistication in the precision mechanism. Just remember that the Bentley Bentayga introduced the Mulliner Tourbillon by Breitling as an extra, with the watch costing €150,000, almost half of what is asked for by the British SUV.

It was with these types of customers in mind that, last year, Ferrari and Richard Mille signed a collaboration agreement. And the first result of the joint work developed by the Swiss watchmaker and the Italian manufacturer is intended not to equip a super sports car, but to go everywhere on the wrist. It's just the finest mechanical watch in the world, a work of art so delicate that it requires its own instruments to wind it and set the time. It so happens that being thin has a price, which in this particular case would be enough to buy half a dozen Ferrari 296 GTBs (more, less).

While the sports car that marks the return of the six-cylinder to the Maranello brand costs around €322,000, the Richard Mille UP-01 made in partnership with Ferrari has a unit price of $1.9 million, equivalent to €1,877. €051 at today's price. As plans to produce the Ferrari of punctuality limit it to just 150 units and exclusivity pays for itself, the (exorbitant) price is partially explained.

But the fact that it is produced in a limited series is not the only asset of the UP-01, whose ultra-thin and ultra-light design allowed it to take the place that until now belonged to the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra, considered the world's thinnest mechanical watch by account of its 1.8 mm thickness. The new machine with the Ferrari emblem overtakes it and moves to pole position, beating the Octo Finissimo Ultra by literally a hair: 0.05 mm (approximately the thickness of a human hair). At just 1.75 mm in “thickness”, the Richard Mille UP-01 has become the thinnest mechanical watch in the world, which is accompanied by extreme lightness, as the manual winding movement weighs just 2.82 grams. The set is so light that, if this were a “normal” watch, a person could even forget they were wearing it. But this is unlikely to happen, first of all because anyone who buys a piece like this tends to value the 6000 hours of development that were behind this creation with the ingenuity of Richard Mille.

Boasting a titanium case (51mm x 39mm x 1.75mm), in an alloy that includes 6% aluminum and 4% vanadium, the UP-01 is something of a pinnacle of miniaturization, having required from scratch for the architecture of the movement to “fit” in such a flat format. With a 45-hour power reserve, this watch requires specific tools for winding and setting the time, with the dial design being the main link to Ferrari, with the Cavallino Rampante logo highlighted, occupying much of the lower area. .

For the rest, the Swiss have taken great pains to make an object that appears to be quite fragile to cope, without problems, with a more “aggressive” use. According to Richard Mille, the UP-01 supports accelerations and decelerations of up to 5000 G, is waterproof to a depth of 10 meters and resists all types of shocks and vibrations. And, of course, gives the time.

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