Every second counts: Richard Mille and Ferrari's latest masterpiece fuses precision with power
The heart of the RM 43-01—its movement—represents horological engineering at its zenith. The manual-winding calibre RM43‑01 integrates a split-seconds chronograph with a tourbillon, one of the most challenging combinations in contemporary watchmaking. Engineered from the ground up over three years in collaboration with Richard Mille's long-time partner Audemars Piguet Le Locle (APLL), the movement achieves a level of precision that matters not just theoretically but in the practical measurement of critical intervals—exactly as required in F1 timing.
Exceptionally lightweight yet strong, its intricate architecture rests on a highly skeletonised grade 5 titanium baseplate with bridges produced from both titanium and carbon TPT. This engineering marvel delivers 70 hours of power reserve, indicated at 2 o'clock on a 5N PVD titanium dial. The quality of this energy is visible through a second dial via the torque indicator, with a function selector indicator completing this technical dashboard.
The chronograph mechanism employs a column wheel system with vertical coupling, ensuring instant start with zero hesitation when activated—a direct parallel to the launch control systems in Ferrari's racing vehicles. The split-seconds function allows for intermediate timing with precision, crucial in a sport where fractional measurements determine victory or defeat.
The off-centre tourbillon escapement with a titanium carriage brings kinetic energy to the watch, enhanced by an innovative active seconds display using five radial blades read against a 12-second index. The tourbillon cage itself weighs mere fractions of a gram despite containing multiple components—an exercise in micro‑engineering that mirrors Ferrari's weight reduction strategies.
The material innovation is equally impressive. The baseplate and bridges undergo more than 50 hours of critical machining and finishing operations, achieving tolerances measured in microns—the same exacting standards applied to F1 engine components. Through intensive research and development and computer simulations, APLL developed a new generation of components optimised for power consumption, while delivering more consistent torque levels throughout the power reserve.
'Our work as movement manufacturers is becoming increasingly scientific, which is helping us create components that are even more durable while delivering even better performance,' explains Salvador Arbona, technical director for movements at Richard Mille.
The finishing of these components further establishes the Ferrari connection: the metallic finish of the baseplate echoes the industrial precision of sandcast engine components, while microblasted bridges recall the toughened matt surface of Ferrari engine covers. Angular structures with raised ridges, contrasting tonalities, and tiny X-shaped supports, interspersed with golden hexagonal socket-head screws, directly reference patterns and details found on Ferrari engine blocks and crankcases.
On the front, the clutch wheel of a V8 engine informs the design of the barrel jewel setting, while dynamic, angular exterior details from models such as the Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo, Daytona SP3, and SF90 Stradale influence elements of the case styling, pushers, and indexes. The skeletonised 30-minute totaliser dominates the dial like a tachometer on a Ferrari dashboard—a dramatic, three‑dimensional lynchpin of the chassis layout.
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