Yet, these two iconic luxury brands, absolute references in their respective fields, seem quite distant in terms of size and history. Ferrari will soon celebrate a century of existence and has 5,000 employees, almost ten times more than Richard Mille, whose phenomenal success has been built over two decades. After jointly presenting the world's thinnest automatic watch (the RM UP-01 Ferrari in 2022, 1.75 mm), they continued a long-term project deeply integrating the DNA of both brands: the RM 43-01 Ferrari Split-Seconds Chronograph Tourbillon. The event at which their teams unveiled it at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris revealed a rare and palpable connection.
On the road!
While Ferrari’s colors naturally dominated this launch, the ever-present automotive theme at Richard Mille permeated the event from start to finish, already bringing the two partners closer together. Having come specially from Brazil to attend, Felipe Massa speaks of “an exceptional and deeply human relationship that explains its success and longevity.” As Richard Mille's first partner in 2004 during his second season in F1, he wore Richard Mille watches on his wrist in every race, winning many with different models, including with Ferrari. Now retired from F1 racing, Felipe Massa still drives other race cars and remains a brand partner, fondly remembering his first RM 006 tourbillon, “already the lightest at the time”: “It’s an incredible feeling and an immense pleasure to remain a partner for so long and witness the brand’s rise.” As Tim Malachard, Richard Mille’s marketing director, points out, “After the races, we analyze the watch to test its power reserve, shock resistance, accuracy, and everything that can be improved through these extreme and real-world tests.”
Also present, "the professor" Alain Prost praises Richard Mille’s energy in maintaining this passion for motorsports. A partner of the brand since 2017, the multiple world champion highlights another merit of Richard Mille: “They inspire the younger generation to work in this field and spark passions—young people need to be stimulated by positive influences.” Lilou Wadoux, present at the event, would certainly not disagree: the young prodigy came through the Richard Mille Racing Team, a team that enables female drivers to access the highest levels of international motorsport, becoming the first female official driver for Ferrari Competizioni GT. The world is small among the greats.
Fueled by passion and performance
For Amanda Mille, brand and partnership director, every collaboration with a partner must involve a philosophical symbiosis and a dynamic: “In our vision of partnership, everyone must feel very comfortable, learning must go both ways with mutual respect for expertise. We choose them for their knowledge and not just their name, and we want to grow together and push each other higher.” Regarding Ferrari, Amanda Mille notes that exchanges and connections about design were very rich and enlightening. “There was a vision and a desire from Ferrari to be part of this project—we all loved working together, and that shows in the collaboration.”
On a daily basis, four members of the Ferrari team were involved in creating the RM 43-01. Gianfranco Saracino (Ferrari’s partnership projects design manager) smiles as he mentions an “incredible coexistence of beauty, performance, and technology alongside a merging of processes and methods between the two companies.” He also insists that every Ferrari partnership involves a feedback process, which went much further than usual in Richard Mille’s case, to the point of inspiring Ferrari designers for future automotive components. “We speak the same language and both strive for lightness, performance, and resistance.”
Indeed, the teams visited each other's manufacturing workshops and compared their machines and production tools—sometimes very similar—so much so that Tim Malachard (RM) highlights a phenomenal learning curve on both sides. “Both of us take on incredible challenges to invent new materials, carbon and titanium alloys, ultra-light and resistant.” The partnership also extends to endurance racing teams, its scope is vast, and it is growing increasingly deeper as the relationship strengthens, where each victory is celebrated by both brands.
Pushing limits remains a guiding principle for Ferrari and Richard Mille, who share the same drive: Francesca Vernia (Head of Licensing and Location-Based Entertainment) explains, “It’s easy to collaborate, more so than with other partners, because we share the same passion for excellence. It takes time to create these watches, and we work hand in hand as it represents the pinnacle of craftsmanship and innovation. In watchmaking, as in F1, everything is studied so that design maximizes beauty and performance without compromising the mechanism. We learn a lot from Richard Mille’s extreme attention to detail—our designers are fascinated by the tiny sizes of some watch components and rethink certain aspects of our cars.”
Regarding this particular RM 43-01 product collaboration, Tim Malachard notes a strong Richard Mille design influence, along with many details inspired by Ferrari throughout their weekly exchanges. In fact, the day after the event, the two teams were already meeting to pave new roads. “It will be an unexpected and spectacular new watch!”
Read also our article on the RM 43-01 here.
