A Closer Look At Chopard’s Mille Miglia 2022 Race Edition Watches

By Nancy Olson

 

Chopard has partnered with the Mille Miglia since 1988, and over the years has engaged its boundless imagination to create memorable timepieces in tribute to this classic car open-road race. This year’s limited edition Mille Miglia 2022 Race Edition chronograph collection comprises two 44mm variations: one is all stainless steel and the other is steel and ethical rose gold—the former includes 1,000 watches, the latter just 250. And, as in years past, each conveys the spirit of a finely tuned car, with masculine elegance and mechanical precision.

 

Chopard Mille Miglia 2022 Race Edition

Introduced earlier this year in honor of the 2022 rally held in Italy in June and the 40^thanniversary of the reestablishment of the race in 1977, the Mille Miglia 2022 Race Edition watches continue to create a buzz. Their appearance offers a bit of a departure from years past, this time featuring a silver-gray dial with a circular satin-brushed finish set off by large blue-rimmed hands and hour markers and a blue ceramic bezel inlay with a tachymeter scale in white.

 

Legibility is obviously important for any watch used in racing, thus the date window at 3 o’clock is magnified for easy reading. The bold chronograph counters at 6 (12-hour counter) and 12 o’clock (30-minute counter) feature a snailed pattern and red-tipped hands; the small seconds subdial, also with a snailed design, is at 9 o’clock. The large central sweep-seconds hand is also tipped in red, the official color of the race. The baton-style hands and hour markers are treated with Super-Luminova.

Inside, the COSC-certified self-winding chronograph movement has a frequency of 28,800 vph and offers power reserve of 48 hours. It measures in at 30.40mm in diameter, with a thickness of 7.90mm.

Versions of the Chopard Mille Miglia Race Edition

The all-steel limited edition is crisp and clean looking and retails for $7,700. Meanwhile, the 250-piece steel and ethical rose gold version uses 18-karat rose gold for the screw-lock ratcheted crown, which is engraved—like its steel-cased counterpart—with a steering wheel motif.Additionally, the large-ish mushroom-shaped engraved pushers are in rose gold, as is the bezel outs ring. This version retails for $11,400.

 

Both variations have satin finishing on the lugs and case middles, and both are fitted with a solid steel caseback decorated with a race-inspired inscription. The limited edition number of the timepiece is at the bottom of the periphery and the race’s route (from Brescia to Rome and back) is displayed at the top. At the center is “1000 Miglia.”

 

The watchstrap is perforated calfskin leather in a rich brown shade, and the blue rubber lining is enhanced by a Dunlop tire tread motif. A stainless steel triple folding clasp affixes the strap to the wrist.