Hands-On: Chopard’s New Mille Miglia Chronograph Bridges Old And New
Designing a watch around a car race is a curious challenge. You have the obvious and iconic pick, the Rolex Daytona, which has evolved over time, but always fits the era it’s designed for. But what about designing a watch for 2023 befitting a race happening in 2023, but with cars from 66 to nearly 100 years old? What would you make that encapsulates that weird overlap of modern technology and classic design? I’m not sure what I could come up with, but I think Chopard’s new 40.5mm Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph certainly fits the bill.
A few weeks ago I was able to spend some time wearing two of the new Mille Miglia Classic chronographs as I participated in the race itself. While shooting a “Dispatch” and navigating an open road race for upwards of 14 hours a day wasn’t exactly conducive to shooting a “Hands-On,” I was able to sneak some dedicated time to shoot the watches the night before the race started.
Throughout the race, I was instead fascinated by the strange dichotomy of past and present that you see driving alongside million-dollar classic cars through timeless landscapes while simultaneously seeing modern cars and McDonald’s along the highway. Creating a watch that bridges the gap without clashing (whether with the contemporary world or parts of itself) is a tough task. To do so, Chopard took cues not only from its long lineage of making classic chronographs as a part of its 35-year sponsorship of the Mille Miglia, but also from automotive history.
The classic landscape of Italy from the passenger seat of a 1955 Porsche 356 Speedster.
In fact, that nod to history caused one of my first issues: picking from the brand’s four new dial colors. Chopard’s Co-President, Karl-Frederich Scheufele, is a massive automotive enthusiast and chose four colors inspired by race cars. The dials in Verde Chiaro (light green) and Rosso Amarena (cherry red) each have a circular satin-brushed finish, while Nero Corsa (racing black) has an engine-turned finish – all in the brand’s proprietary Lucent steel (we’ll get to that in a minute). The red and black were the obvious choices – the black is more traditional for a chronograph and the red immediately evoked a Ferrari vibe – but the two-tone made with ethically-sourced-gold bezel, pushers, and crown – with the blue dial – was particularly eye-catching. Luckily, I’d get time with my two top choices, the red and blue dials, over the course of the race.
I’m going to take a quick break from the high-level view of the aesthetics of the watch to point out a few great details that make these fun choices no matter the dial you pick. The pushers, for instance, are knurled for slip-resistance while you operate the chronograph. The crown as well gives good purchase to your fingers as you set the time and date (and yes, has a nice steering wheel motif). The box crystal is super legible. And the inclusion of a red-tipped chronograph hand does stand out (even on the brushed red dial) when you try to read your tachymeter against the contrasting outer scales. If you’re looking at these watches for their intended racing purpose, all of this counts.
From the first day, I put the watches through tougher conditions than I normally would put my chronographs. The one chronograph I wear the most is vintage, so I tend to be a bit protective of any chronograph when water is involved. Instead, as we got ready to head to the race and the rain started lightly coming down, I leaned in and let the watch get plenty wet and used the pushers all the same. That would barely scratch the surface. By the end of day two, I was soaked as the rain drenched the Italian landscape, and I had no qualms with timing the intervals when we were able to sneak a bit of dryness in tunnels or under overpasses. The longest period out of the rain was about seven seconds.
The watch is fitted with a sapphire caseback, which, at this $8,000-$9,000 price point, isn’t always a given (or necessary, or even a good choice). I didn’t spend much time studying the finishing of the movement, but I can tell you it won’t give you an LUC-level of satisfaction. But the automatic movement is solid, operating at 4Hz, with a stop-second function, 12-hour, 30-minute, and small seconds subdials, and a date. And even more, it’s COSC-certified.
Yes, we’ll have to talk about the inclusion of a date. I genuinely believe that the 4:30 date window placement here is one of the few times a brand has done it well, with the window matching the dial color in a way that makes it easily dismissed if you’re not looking for the date, but practical if you need it.
The black and green dials aren’t bad, per se, despite me not grabbing them immediately when I had the chance. The black dial’s engine turning comes off like perlage and fits with the tire-track rubber strap in a way that alludes to automotive design without hitting you over the head with it. The pistachio-green dial just didn’t grab me though. With all the iconic greens in motorsports, I don’t quite get the choice to skip the obvious “British Racing Green” option. But a lighter dial probably added a bit of needed variety to the overall lineup.
Speaking of variety, one of the biggest reasons to love the new 40.5mm x 12.88mm watches is the size itself. Compare them to the 44mm GTS Chronograph that was given to the drivers of this year’s Mille Miglia and you’ve got a platform for a much more reasonable and more widely wearable offering. It’s a fine-looking watch, Italian themed, and some of the proceeds benefitted the victims of the floods in Italy earlier this year. The dial as well has a nice and interesting texture, but the watch is just very big, thick, and misses some of the details (like the color-matched date window) that make the Classic chronographs much better by contrast.
With the Classic chronographs, you still get the little touches that remind you it’s a Mille Miglia-themed watch. A picture of one of the iconic signs (signs that saved my questionable navigational skills on the route multiple times) that point the way during the race is printed on the dial and stands out very three-dimensionally on close inspection. On every watch, the hands and numerals also feature Super-LumiNova, so they can be legible even if you’re racing after dusk.
But as for the core question – “How do you make a modern chronograph with a classic feel?” – I give Chopard credit for their choices here. By bringing the watch back down in size it’s nearing (but not quite) a more classic size. The dial finishing, color, and even font hit a sweet spot between past and present. If this is the direction of Chopard’s future Mille Miglia offerings, I’m already jealous of the drivers for next week’s race.
Chopard Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph: 40.5mm x 12.88mm; Lucent Steel case water resistant to 50m with leather or rubber strap inspired by 1960s Dunlop racing tires with buckle in Lucent Steel; glass-box glare-proofed sapphire crystal and exhibition caseback with the 1000 Miglia motif around the circumference; engine-turned Nero Corsa dial, Verde Chiaro (light green) and Rosso Amarena (cherry red) dials each with a circular satin-brushed finish, bi-material version in Lucent Steel and ethical gold has a dial in circular satin-brushed Grigio-Blu (grey blue); hours and minutes, small seconds at 3 o’clock, chronograph with 30-minute counter at 9 o’clock, 12-hour counter at 6 o’clock, date aperture at 4:30, stop-second function, tachymeter scale; $8,830 for the black dial, $9,030 for the red and green, and $10,700 for the two-tone with blue dial.
Hodinkee
