I’ve been talking about Richard Mille since 2013 when I launched WCL and I have always been a big fan of the brand. Right before the watch market became unhinged, I was very close to pulling the trigger on my first Richard Mille. Having a soft spot for Mexican-inspired limited editions, I was on the verge of buying an RM 028 Mexico limited edition. Today, I regret not having done it as I truly loved the watch and even though it is a round-shaped Richard Mille, it’s still one of those RMs that screams RM all the way. However, I can’t say the same about the new record-breaking Richard Mille RM UP-01 Ferrari just released two days ago. Not much RM DNA going on in there in terms of design other than the spline screws.
Three months ago, Bulgari broke the record for the thinnest wristwatch in the world with their new Octo Finissimo Ultra at a mere 1.8 mm thick. Now, Richard Mille broke this record after launching the new Richard Mille RM UP-01 Ferrari at just 1.75 mm thick. While it is a feat of horology that Richard Mille was able to shave off 0.5 mm to beat Bulgari’s Octo, the cost they paid is too high in my opinion. A collaboration with Ferrari that seems disjointed with a very unalluring watch.
Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra at 1.80 mm thick
The fascination for ultra-thin watches seems to have no end and I am wondering at what point it will stop. Do we really need to make watches so thin that they look like a sheet of metal on the wrist? I don’t think so. While I applaud the constant and continuous search for improvement in the horological world, we are getting to a point where aesthetics are been drastically compromised in lieu of creating a feat of horology that serves no purpose. What has happened to ground-breaking watch designs that remain pure in their horological form and still manage to bring improvements to the industry? Are we done with ultra-thin watches? Or should I say, are we done with unalluring ultra-thin watches? In my humble opinion, I think at least I am there.
Going much thinner than the Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Concept with a thickness of only 2 mm already seemed too much of a stretch in my book when Bulgari released the Octo Finissimo Ultra —at least it is a great-looking watch that also looks like one.
While I admire the amount of R&D that went into developing the new RM UP-01 Ferrari, I feel there’s no Ferrari or RM soul in it. Adding a ‘Cavallino Rampante’ —Ferrari’s prancing horse— to the watch is the easiest route to make it a Ferrari collaboration watch. What does Ferrari really bring into the equation here other than the fact that their F1 drivers will most likely be wearing the watch on the circuit?
If at least the new RM UP-01 Ferrari had been bundled with a special Ferrari —as RM did with McLaren at one point— to justify the price tag, it would’ve been a different story. If you have $1.8 million dollars you can buy many incredible watches from the ‘Holy Trinity of Watchmaking’ instead of owning the thinnest watch in the world that doesn’t look much like a watch but a Star Trek bracelet.
You are paying for this watch $1,028,571 USD per millimeter, or $102,857 USD per a tenth of a millimeter. Is it really worth it?
I personally like ultra-thin watches but only if they are aesthetically pleasing and they feel like a real watch on the wrist. The Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Concept is exactly that, a well executed timepiece that pushes the boundaries of ultra-thin watches but where the watch still looks and feels like a true watch. A watch where the movement is fully visible on the dial side.
When it comes to the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra this is also a great-looking watch —minus the NFT on the dial— with movement components fully visible on the dial side, although with a prohibitive price tag for mere mortals like myself. The Octo Finissimo Ultra is available in a limited edition of 10 pieces and priced at $440,000 USD, while the Piaget was presented as a concept watch with no price tag at the time of its release.
Are the brands just wanting to show who’s d… is bigger? Is it really about pushing the boundaries of watchmaking or is it more about flexing?
Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Concept Watch vs. AP Royal Oak Offshore ‘ The Brick’
Even though I haven’t perused the new Richard Mille RM UP-01 Ferrari in the metal —my invitation to the release must’ve gotten lost in the mail—, this watch doesn’t do anything for me and it doesn’t even look like a Richard Mille at all.
Additionally, I don’t have $1.8 million USD to spare on this watch and even if I did, I wouldn’t buy a watch where telling time —the basic function of it— is not even that easy thanks to the three-spoke hour/minute indication on a very small subdial.
Just Imagine paying this much and not being able to tell time. Telling time on the new RM UP-01 Ferrari is as easy as much as I consider myself a Martian. Lastly, how do you wind the watch or set the time? Do you need to carry around your spline-shaped screwdriver to do so?
Just the thought that a watch brand could pocket $270 Million USD with one limited edition is sickening. Available in a limited edition of 150 pieces and for only $1.8 million USD. What a joke!
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