The RM 43-01 Tourbillon Split-Seconds Chronograph Ferrari in Carbon TPT (All photos: Richard Mille)
Luxury watchmaker Richard Mille, together with supercar manufacturer Ferrari, launched the RM 43-01 Tourbillon Split-Seconds Chronograph Ferrari, in Paris on Friday, marking the second such collaboration between the celebrated brands. Their first masterpiece, the RM UP-01 Ultraflat Ferrari, a watch just 1.75mm thick, was unveiled in 2022.
The watch is a limited-edition offering available in two variants — micro-blasted and polished grade 5 titanium with a Carbon TPT case band and in full Carbon TPT, a lightweight and durable thin-ply composite used exclusively by Richard Mille. Only 75 pieces are available for each iteration, adding to the exclusivity of the watches.
Pegged with price tags of CHF1.35 million (RM7.02 million) and CHF1.15 million (RM5.98 million), respectively, for the carbon and titanium versions, the RM 43-01 Tourbillon Split-Seconds Chronograph Ferrari boasts 70 hours of power reserve indicated at the 2 o’clock marker on a 5N PVD titanium dial.
Richard Mille’s casing technical director Julien Boillat says: “We have two cases to express two distinct personalities — a ‘gentleman driver’ ethos for the titanium case, and a more high-octane attitude in the carbon version.”
It is noteworthy that the brand is laying the groundwork for a third watch with Ferrari, extending their joint venture contract by another five years.
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For both Richard Mille and Ferrari, the tourbillon split-seconds chronograph is seen as the foundation for an ideal new timepiece, rooted in the seamless fusion of two of watchmaking’s most complex and storied high complications — the tourbillon, which ensures accuracy, and the chronograph function, with its dual seconds hand for recording split times. The latter facilitates the recording of two events starting simultaneously and when they end, such as the time taken by two separate cars to cross the finish line in a race.
The RM43-01 calibre, described as an engineering masterpiece, comprises a staggering 514 components and was developed from the ground up over three years. It exhibits an exceptionally lightweight and strong character and intricate architecture on a highly skeletonised grade 5 titanium baseplate. Its engine is supported by bridges produced from both titanium and Carbon TPT.
Ferrari’s Centro Stile, its design centre in Maranello known as the Mecca for petrolheads and Formula 1 race enthusiasts, played an instrumental role in various key elements of the watch, from overall aesthetic to the details such as the crown, hands and strap. The timepiece also showcases a titanium plate laser-engraved Prancing Horse logo, inspired by the rear wing of the Ferrari 499P.
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Ferrari chief design officer Flavio Manzoni, says, “A collaboration like this is as much predicated on similarities in values as on the visual similarities between a Ferrari engine or a component and the elements used in a watch ... In terms of performance, anything that has a technical purpose can also be beautiful. The concept of functional beauty is something we really love.”
Designed in collaboration with Richard Mille’s long-time partner Audemars Piguet Le Locle, the RM43-01 calibre boasts multiple refinements on its split-second mechanism.
Through intensive R&D and computer simulations, a new generation of components was developed to optimise power consumption whilst delivering more consistent torque levels throughout the power reserve. Extensive shock testing ensured that every part met the watch brand’s uncompromising standards.
