Chopard has released its latest limited-edition timepiece devoted to Italy’s Mille Miglia classic car rally, for which it has been official timekeeper since 1988. The new Chopard Mille Miglia 2016 XL Race Edition, a stainless steel chronograph limited to 1,000 pieces, was among the notable Chopard watches on display at this week’s Couture watch and jewelry fair at the Wynn Las Vegas.
The Chopard Mille Miglia 2016 XL Race Edition, whose look is influenced by the design codes of the classic cars that competed in the Mille Miglia race between 1927 and 1940, has a large, 46-mm-diameter steel case, making it one of the largest chronograph wristwatches Chopard has ever produced. It features two traditional chronograph pushers, a fluted crown, and a satin-brushed black dial with wide Arabic numerals and luminescent hands. The central chronograph sweep-seconds hand stands is in a highly contrasting bright red. The date appears in a window between 4 and 5 o’clock.
The dial is bordered by a tachymeter scale, another functional nod to endurance racing, and displays the chronograph readouts on snailed anthracite and black subdials (chronograph hours at 9 o’clock, chronograph minutes at 3 o’clock, and running seconds at 6 o’clock) that are reminiscent of instruments on automobile dashboards. The “Rossa Corsa” red-arrow-shaped Mille Miglia logo appears both at 12 o’clock on the dial and around the rim of the exhibition caseback. The dauphine-style hour and minute hands and the applied hour numerals are painted with Super-LumiNova. The case is water-resistant to 50 meters and has glare-proof treatment on the sapphire crystals.
Much like the vintage roadsters in the race it celebrates, the watch is equipped with a high-precision “engine'” namely the COSC chronometer-certified Chopard Caliber 03.05-C (front and back, below), which was entirely developed, designed and assembled in Chopard’s Swiss manufacture. A mechanical, self-winding movement equipped with a column wheel to drive the chronograph functions, it beats at a frequency of 28,800 vph and offers a comfortable 60 hours of power reserve.
In a final reference to classic racing, the Chopard is fitted with a finely weathered strap in “Suportlo” calfskin, an exceptionally water-resistant and supple material that emulates the leather tie-down straps on the bonnet of a racing car. The watch features a stainless steel folding clasp. It is priced at $9,850. Chopard is also offering a rose gold version, limited to 100 pieces, priced at $24,200.
