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TIMELESS
FINNIES THE JEWELLER
THE ITALIAN JOB
WHEN IT COMES TO ITALY’S SPECTACULAR MILLE MIGLIA VINTAGE RALLY, CHOPARD HAS BEEN ALONG FOR THE RIDE FOR 30 YEARS, BUILDING A WINNING LINEAGE OF DRIVER’S CHRONOGRAPHS THE WHOLE WAY
If you know, you know. In fact, the Mille Miglia could be every petrolhead’s ultimate vintage driving fantasy, short of winning the Monaco GP in a 1970s Ferrari F1 car. In this classic car rally staged every year along the titular 1,000-mile loop from Brescia to Rome and back to Brescia again, over 400 of the world’s most beautiful cars pass through some of the world’s most beautiful scenery. And despite the Mille Miglia having been a time-framed ‘regularity rally’ since 1977, after a hiatus caused by a horrendous crash into the crowds in 1957, these priceless cars are driven hard – the local Carabinieri literally encourage the drivers to speed through red lights along packed streets.
It is a gruelling three 18-hour days, but jubilant ones. And Chopard has been synonymous with the event since 1988, making it the single longest watch-brand automotive association – longer than Breitling and Bentley, Oris and Williams, even Rolex’s sponsorship of the 24 Hours of Daytona. Chopard co-president Karl-Friedrich Scheufele competes virtually every year, with either his wife or the racing legend and friend of the brand Jacky Ickx (in May 2017, in his silver Porsche 550 A Spyder); every year, each driver receives a special edition Chopard chronograph in his or her race pack.
The publicly available Mille Miglia watch has now grown into a collection in its own right – retro styled in accordance with the pre-’57 car criteria, but imbued with a vintage raciness that’s gone on
to influence plenty of other horological ‘carllaborations’. This year’s Mille Miglia offering alone includes updates of the Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph, inspired by the older cars of 1927–1940; even a 90th- anniversary flagship limited edition chronograph, celebrating the first year the Brescia Automobile Club started running the race, resplendent in rose gold. But short of owning an ultra-rare 1950s sports car, then even being considered worthy of participation, the Race Edition pictured here is the closest you’ll get to the watch worn by those 430 erstwhile Toads of Toad Hall, gadding about Lombardy and Tuscany in their automobiles.
Enzo Ferrari described the Mille Miglia as ‘the most beautiful race in the world’, and this handsome sports chronograph certainly fits the bill. Riffing on the design cues established so well back in 1988 yet bringing things bang up to date, the counters are still inspired by vintage dashboard instruments, set against bare engine-turned metal. Meanwhile, the anti-slip cross-hatch pushbuttons recall brake pedals, the rubber strap is of course alluding to tyre tracks, and all the while a precision ‘chronometer’ certified Valjoux 7750 automatic movement keeps things ticking over, under the bonnet.
Toot toot!
chopard.com
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