A watch by Richard Mille, made in partnership with Ferrari, will be auctioned in New York next week with a $2 million top estimate.
The “ultra-flat titanium limited edition” watch will be sold at Christie’s Important Watch sale on Monday.
Mille is celebrated for his innovation, and particularly for making ultra-slim watches.
And he is closely associated with sports.
When a sports star becomes a Richard Mille-endorsed athlete they must undertake to wear their watch while in action, so when sprinter Yohan Blake runs he does so not just with Mille’s partnership, but with a watch on his wrist.
Mille’s sports watches have to work while doing sport, as Yohan Blake shows here. Image from Richard Mille.
This watch is dated to May 2024, when a limited edition of 150 pieces was made.
Christie’s tell would-be buyers: “In true Richard Mille style, the ultra-flat RM UP-01 Ferrari is both an astonishing technical achievement and an entirely new aesthetic for the brand.
“It was created in pursuit of a single goal – to make the thinnest wristwatch possible that was practical to use as an everyday wearer.”
The movement is 1.18mm thick. The whole watch has a profile of just 1.75mm.
To make the watch so thin a new part was invented. A patented escapement mechanism eliminated the need for the two tallest parts in a conventional movement. It was made in grade-5 titanium, a material often used in aeroplanes, medical implants, and the most expensive, fastest bicycles.
Brand new Richard Mille watches are incredibly valuable. And they are in short supply, so as soon as they’re sold they become rare collectibles.
Mille’s skull watches are listed online for £1 million to £2 million.
And at auction they can go even higher.
The most expensive thus far is a Skull Tourbillon “Vanitas Vanitatum” that was sold for $5.7 million in 2020.
If this watch hits its top estimate it will be in the top 10 most expensive examples from the brand.
The second most-valuable item at the sale is another Mille; a white gold, skeletonized tourbillon that carries a $1.5 million top estimate.
The luxury watch market exploded during the COVID lockdowns. It brought a new generation of buyers into the market – largely shopping online – and the top end of the market remains extremely healthy.
The addition of the Ferrari brand to the mix adds an interesting extra element. No marque has a more dedicated fandom, and their vehicles have sold for nearly $52 million in 2023 and $70 million in 2018.
Mille and Ferrari together is a heady mix.
