Mille Miglia 2022 Race Edition

In a 1,000-piece stainless steel limited edition along with 250 in stainless steel and ethical 18-carat rose gold A precision chronograph designed for motorsports enthusiasts

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A new vintage brings a new livery for the Mille Miglia 2022 Race Edition chronograph. Chopard's emblematic watch collection appears attired in grey and blue as a tribute to the most prestigious of the classic open-road races. The 1000 Miglia is celebrating the 40th edition of its re-enactment, for which its partner and official timekeeper Chopard is once again lining up on the starting grid. Featuring a 44 mm case in ethical 18-carat rose gold and stainless steel or all-steel versions, this chronometer-certified chronograph picks up all the codes that Chopard instils into the identity of this sporting collection: masculine elegance, mechanical precision, watchmaking performance, racing ergonomics – all dedicated to the beauty of driving.

Partner to the 1000 Miglia since 1988, Chopard is issuing a new limited series of its eponymous chronograph. Two series in fact, since this chronograph based on the design of the Mille Miglia GTS collection is available in two versions. The first all-steel iteration will roar off the starting ramp in a run of 1,000 timepieces; while the second interpretation featuring ethical 18-carat rose gold adorning the crown, pushers and bezel will be produced in a 250-piece edition.

A watch collection honouring a legendary race
The Mille Miglia 2022 Race Edition is a perpetually renewed yet always subtly different tribute to the "Corsa Più Bella del Mondo". The 40th re-enacted edition of the 1000 Miglia will be held from 15 to 18 June, and the route will be as intense as ever, running from Brescia (Lombardy) to Rome and back according to an itinerary that is slightly modified each year.

In the same spirit, the Mille Miglia 2022 Race Edition timepiece differs from previous editions of the collection in a number of ways. First and foremost, it features a silver-grey dial marked by a subtle circular satin-brushed finish, and the use of an intense blue for the hands, hour-markers and bezel inlay.

An appealing and legible dial
Like every model in the Mille Miglia collection, this new interpretation reflects the codes of masculine elegance, featuring refinement applied to all areas and paying tribute to a love of fine mechanics. Its design is characterised by three technical pillars of which the first is legibility, an essential quality for any watch intended for use in racing, especially on an open road. This attribute is embodied in the size of the baton-type hands, large and rimmed in bright blue, as well as in the finishing of the hour-markers based on the same principle of contrasting blue. This concern for legibility is also reflected in the size of the date at 3 o'clock, enlarged by a magnifying glass cut into the underside of the transparent sapphire crystal.

Finally, the separation of the functional zones is established by the choice of dial finishes. The chronograph counters at 6 and 12 o'clock stand out by their peripheral snailed pattern and their offset scale, which is airier than that of the small seconds at 9 o'clock. These counters are also distinguished by the hands which - like the large central sweep-seconds hand – are red-tipped in a nod to the colour of the 1000 Miglia.

A chronometer-certified high-precision movement
The second technical mainstay of the Mille Miglia 2022 Race Edition model is precision. While this is first and foremost a question of running accuracy - an indispensable concept for a racing chronograph – it also and primarily stems from a strong desire nurtured by Chopard Co-President Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, himself a keen lover of classic cars and amateur driver. The movement of the Mille Miglia 2022 Race Edition watch is therefore chronometer-certified by the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute.

Chopard has opted to equip this model with an ultra-reliable and well-proven self-winding calibre. It beats at a frequency of 4 Hz and has a 48-hour power reserve, making it an unfailing ally for drivers. The Mille Miglia 2022 Race Edition is rimmed by a thin, slender, intense blue bezel bearing a tachymeter scale. Its contrasting white transferred graduations serve to measure average speed ranging from 60 to 400 km/h by means of the chronograph sweep-seconds hand.

Genuine user friendliness
The third fundamental quality is grip - the sign of a well-mastered vehicle, of carefully controlled driving - and hence of optimal racing performance. It is therefore logical that the watch should reflect the same quest. First of all, the mushroom-type pushers feature a large surface engraved with a knurled pattern that holds the finger while it is operating them. The large-diameter crown is also ratcheted to ensure good grip and facilitate use.

Finally, the Mille Miglia 2022 Race Edition timepiece is fitted with a gold-toned calfskin strap lined with rubber. In keeping with the codes established at the birth of the Mille Miglia collection, its surface is patterned like the tread of 1960s Dunlop Racing tyres. In keeping with the overall colour theme of the piece, the leather has been perforated to reveal the underlying blue and deliver a final vintage racing effect.

The passion for motor sports
Behind the deep connection that Chopard cultivates with the 1000 Miglia are values strongly ingrained in the Maison. Loyalty to a certain vision of elegance; a passion for classic cars that the Scheufele family has passed down from generation to generation; the desire to be at the heart of major events; and, above all, a commitment to high-quality watchmaking whose concepts stand the test of time. The Mille Miglia 2022 Race Edition timepiece is the embodiment of this endurance, this constancy, this commitment.