Introducing the Richard Mille UP – 01 Fighting for the Last Hundredths, a new ultra-thin champion

Already, this Richard Mille is living up to its name, making those last few hundredths of a millimetre matter. What’s even more interesting is how they got there. Aside from how incredibly slender this watch is, it is technically eyebrow-raising that they managed to do it by making a separate caliber and case, rather than integrating the baseplate into the back of the movement. What’s also impressive — though not entirely unexpected given the insane scale they’re working on — is the new escapement. Patented, of course. This escapement, built, like the rest of the watch, from titanium, features a variable inertia balance wheel and ditched the balance and dart — two elements that added thickness — in favor of “anti-reversal elements with an elongated fork [and] new horns.” Technique aside, it’s remarkable how sturdy this caliber is, on paper at least. It offers 45 hours of power reserve and more than 5000 g of acceleration, and 10 meters of water resistance. The flat, mostly solid titanium ‘face’ of the watch has a distinctly Richard Mille shape and aesthetic, is wound by a special key in the bottom left, and has a function selector (winding or time-setting) in the top left. Ferrari’s prancing pony sits proudly in the bottom right.