For their second collaboration with Ferrari, Richard Mille has unveiled the RM 43-01, a tourbillon split-seconds chronograph that has been developed with the famous car marque. After almost a quarter century, for the brand that always claimed to be a “racing machine on your wrist”, this is the watch that represents the latest in F1 and motorsport inspired horology.
Formula 1 racing was the original muse for Richard Mille when he started his company. It was integral to his watches in the use of esoteric materials and techniques, the architecture of the movement and the design of the case. Richard stressed that the spirit of F1, pushing the machine to the limits, was the guiding philosophy behind his watches. The brand’s first ambassador was the F1 driver Felipe Massa, and he helped develop some of the early “hyper horology” references starting with the RM 06.
Move the clock forward and Richard Mille is now timekeeping partner to two of the most famous F1 teams to ever grace the race circuits of the world, McLaren and Ferrari, supplying a number of drivers and their teams with watches over the years. As a tourbillon with split-seconds chronograph, the Richard Mille RM 43-01 Ferrari is not the first of its kind for the brand. That honour goes to the RM 008, first released in 2003, with other F1 inspired watches with the same complications in the years since being the RM 50 Felipe Massa, RM 50-03 McLaren F1 and RM 50-04 Kimi Raikkonen.
Applying the finishing touches to the new Richard Mille RM 43-01.
This is a return by Richard Mille to its classic tonneau case where the three-dimensional complexity of the movement can be viewed both front and back. Asymmetric in design and largely constructed from titanitym, the new intricate RM 43-01 calibre has been developed in cooperation with APLL (Audemars Piguet Le Locle). The chronograph system, including the split-seconds, is highly complex and uses a pair of column wheels to enable the phases of the timing functions. One aspect to note is the gold finish for the brake on the split-seconds, which harks back to the original RM 08 reference and now provides a better stop to the chronograph hand.
The complexity of the RM 43-01 movement, showing the gold-finished brake on the chronograph column wheel.
The complexity of the RM 43-01 movement, showing the gold-finished brake on the chronograph column wheel.The complexity of the RM 43-01 movement, showing the gold-finished brake on the chronograph column wheel.
There are are visual cues from Ferrari models such as the 499P, the SF90 and the Daytona SP3, including markers that match the shape of the air intakes and a small Ferrari logo plate in the lower left corner of the dial. The running seconds are found above the one-minute tourbillon on the lower right of the display, with a five-pointed “hand” that is segmented into 12-second parts. The chronograph minutes are at 9 o’clock. Top left, the power reserve needle (up to 70 hours) and opposite, a torque indicator. In the centre, we find the hour and minute hands, along with the two chronograph hands for the split-seconds function.
The new RM 43-01 Ferrari in micro blasted titanium and carbon TPT (left) and carbon TPT only (right).
There are two versions. The more classic one is crafted from micro blasted titanium with the mid case in carbon TPT (Thin Ply Technology), featuring gold and red accents as well as brushed surfaces. The other, in full carbon TPT, is more performance oriented. Operationally, the RM 43-01 is much like the other Richard Mille watches with the same complication. The crown is complemented by the function indicator, where you set the position for (W)inding, (N)eutral, or (H)acking. The chronograph is operated by a pusher below the crown for the split-second; on the left side of the case are two more pushers, the lower being stop/start, and the upper being the reset function.
The case measures 42.9mm x 51.2mm x 17.1mm and is water-resistant up to 50 metres. Either version comes with a rubber strap with a titanium double-folding clasp, where each is limited to 75 pieces, and with a price tag well in excess of one million Swiss francs, that makes the Ferrari car the accessory.
Author: Andrew Hildreth
Read about other recent Richard Mille releases, such as the Gold Quartz TPT Automatic Tourbillon RM 74-02 and the Automatic Extraflat RM 16-02.
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