As is the custom every year, Chopard releases their Mille Miglia chronograph collection with two novelties – a 1000 piece steel limited edition along with 250 in stainless steel and ethical 18-carat rose gold.
Press Release information with Commentary in italics.
New: Chopard Mille Miglia 2022 Race Edition
The retail prices of the Chopard Mille Miglia 2022 Race Edition are Ref. 168571-3010 SGD 11,400 and Ref. 168571-6004 SGD 16,700. Both inclusive of GST.
Commentary
As usual, Chopard supports the Mille Miglia race with Race Editions of chronographs dedicated to this unique race for vintage cars. We have covered this collection with reviews over the years:
- Chopard Mille Miglia GTS Power Control 2015 and full review
- Chopard Mille Miglia 2016 XL Race Edition
- Chopard Mille Miglia 2017 Race Edition
- Chopard Mille Miglia 2018 Race Edition
- Chopard Mille Miglia Classic XL 90th Anniversary Limited Edition
- Chopard Mille Miglia 2019 Race Edition
This is the 40th edition for the event, and two novelties have been released. A 1000 piece steel limited edition along with 250 in stainless steel and ethical 18-carat rose gold. The two watches are identical except for edition size and the use of gold for the bezel, crown and pushers for the smaller edition.
Curiously, though the release documentation goes to some length to note that the movement is chronometer certified by the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute, there is no mention of the caliber used, though it is our suspision that the movement has remained the same since 2016 and it is our hypothesis that the caliber is the the venerable ETA 7750. We only have the specifications of a 4 Hz movement with a 48 hour power reserve as well as the tell take 6/9/12 sub-dial layout to go by. We also depended on the well as a visual look of the past movements (2016 Race Edition has an open case back), as the photograph in the release kit showed a solid engraved case back. However, all available evidence at hand supports this hypothesis.
The Chopard Mille Miglia has been market favourites, not only for watchmaking aficionados, but also fans of the race. The watches in the annual Race Editions have always been very attractive, and couple with the reasonable pricing Chopards asks for, there is no doubt in our minds that this year’s Mille Miglia 2022 Race Edition watches will be a huge commercial success.
Release information
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.
Technical Details Mille Miglia 2022 Race Edition
Ref. 168571-3010 – numbered 1,000-piece limited edition in stainless steel
Case:
Stainless steel
Total diameter 44.00 mm
Thickness 13.79 mm
Water-resistant to 100 metres
Screw-lock crown in stainless steel with engraved steering-wheel motif
Pushers in stainless steel with knurled crisscross pattern
Vertical satin-brushed case middle and lugs
Bezel in stainless steel with blue ceramic inlay – white transfers
Domed glare-proofed sapphire crystal with underlying date magnifier
Case-back in stainless steel bearing the 1000 Miglia motif
Movement:
Mechanical self-winding movement
Chronograph
Total diameter 30.40 mm
Thickness 7.90 mm
Number of components 240
Number of jewels 25
Frequency 28,800 vph (4 Hz)
Power reserve 48 hours
Chronometer-certified (COSC)
Dial and hands:
Silver-toned dial with circular satin-brushed finish
Red transferred 1000 Miglia logo
Snailed small seconds and chronograph counters
Applied blue CVD-treated hour-markers hands painted with Super-LumiNova®
Baton-type blue CVD-treated hours and minutes hands painted with Super-LumiNova®
Baton-type blue CVD-treated, red-tipped chronograph hands
Functions:
Central display of the hours and minutes
Small seconds at 9 o’clock
Chronograph
30-minute counter at 12 o’clock, 12-hour counter at 6 o’clock
Central seconds chronograph hand
Date aperture at 3 o’clock
Tachymeter scale
Stop-seconds function
Strap and buckle:
Brown perforated calfskin strap with blue rubber lining and backing
Stainless steel triple folding clasp
Ref. 168571-3010 –1,000-piece limited edition in stainless steel
Case:
Stainless steel
Total diameter 44.00 mm
Thickness 13.79 mm
Water-resistant to 100 metres
Screw-lock crown in ethical 18-carat rose gold
with engraved steering-wheel motif
Pushers in ethical 18-carat rose gold with knurled crisscross pattern
Vertical satin-brushed case middle and lugs
Bezel in ethical 18-carat rose gold with blue ceramic inlay – white transfers
Domed glare-proofed sapphire crystal with underlying date magnifier
Case-back in stainless steel bearing the 1000 Miglia motif
Movement:
Mechanical self-winding movement
Chronograph
Total diameter 30.40 mm
Thickness 7.90 mm
Number of components 240
Number of jewels 25
Frequency 28,800 vph (4 Hz)
Power reserve 48 hours
Chronometer-certified (COSC)
Dial and hands:
Silver-toned dial with circular satin-brushed finish
Red transferred 1000 Miglia logo
Snailed small seconds and chronograph counters
Applied blue CVD-treated hour-markers painted with Super-LumiNova®
Applied baton-type blue CVD-treated hours and minutes hands painted with Super-LumiNova®
Baton-type blue CVD-treated, red-tipped chronograph hands
Functions:
Central display of the hours and minutes
Small seconds at 9 o’clock
Chronograph
30-minute counter at 12 o’clock, 12-hour counter at 6 o’clock
Central seconds chronograph hand
Date aperture at 3 o’clock
Tachymeter scale
Stop-seconds function
Strap and buckle:
Brown perforated calfskin strap with blue rubber lining and backing
Stainless steel triple folding clasp
Ref. 168571-6004 –250-piece limited edition in stainless steel and ethical 18-carat rose gold
