The race for ultra-thin watches has been running pretty hot over the last few years, with near-constant jockeying from fan favorites Bulgari and Piaget. These two brands seemed very much like the incumbents until today, when, out of nowhere, Richard Mille, backed by the power of Ferrari, smashed through the competition with its debut entry, the RM UP – 01 Fighting for the Last Hundredths.

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.