In case you’ve ever spent time trying to decipher what the numbers in Richard Mille watches correlate to—RM 52-01, RM 30-01, RM 88—I have some information that’ll help in that regard: there is no sequence, they are totally random.
The latest digits coupled together for the sake of a bonkers new release from what’s arguably the world’s most unpredictable—and genuinely exciting—watchmaker in the game right now mark the second collaboration between Richard Mille and Ferrari. 43 and 01 are the chosen ones and will now forever be associated with the new RM 43-01 Ferrari Tourbillon Split-Second Chronograph, which comes in grade-5 titanium ($1,300,000) and carbon TPT ($1,535,000), Richard Mille’s own special carbon fiber.
Hamish Brown
While Pharrell Williams might be a little teary there’s no continuation of his go-to RM UP-01—is it even possible to go any thinner than 1.75mm?—the new RM 43-01 certainly feels a lot more like it’s from Richard Mille and Ferrari’s wheelhouse. Demonstrating “the immersive interactions between engineers at Richard Mille and Ferrari,” Tim Malachard, Richard Mille’s marketing director, says it’s the end product of “a lot of challenging, a lot of ideas and a lot of meetings over two and half years.”
The timing of this limited edition RM 43-01’s release (75 of each will be made) coincides with the start of a hotly contested F1 season so all eyes will be on whether Lewis Hamilton or Charles Leclerc rock one at the Chinese Grand Prix this weekend. But Alexandre Mille, son of the founder and the current sales director, says that is not a given. “Today’s current Ferrari drivers are not the type of people you can just tell what to wear, so if they want to wear the watch, they are able to but it will be up to them,” he says with a wry smile on his face.
A candid video shot for the watch’s launch shows the F1 chess-obsessed duo are clearly fans of the RM 43-01, though, as they playfully jostle over who gets to wear which piece. Hamilton, in awe of just how light the watch feels on his wrist, persuades Leclerc to swap with him for the carbon fiber version as his preference is black watches. Leclerc, who has a more storied history with Richard Mille that extends past his time with Ferrari, is more than happy with the titanium version—the red accents feel more Leclerc compared to the yellow ones on the carbon piece.
