Mille Miglia GTS Azzurro Chrono

Mille Miglia GTS Azzurro

Made to stay the course

This spring Chopard will proudly reprise its role as main sponsor and official timekeeper of Italy’s world famous Mille Miglia classic car rally, a position it has held continuously since 1988. Each year, Chopard Co-President Karl-Friedrich Scheufele has demonstrated his passion for automobiles by competing in the gruelling, 1,000-mile contest that runs from Brescia to Rome and back – and each year the Maison produces a new Mille Miglia watch collection to celebrate what is regularly described as 'the most beautiful race in the world'. The brand-new models for 2020 comprise the Mille Miglia GTS Azzurro Power Control, an automatic time and date watch, limited to 500 pieces in stainless steel and 18-carat rose gold, with a power reserve indicator based on an automotive fuel gauge, and the Mille Miglia GTS Azzurro Chrono in stainless steel (750-piece limited edition) featuring a sub-dial layout inspired by a classic car instrument cluster. Both models are highlighted by elegant 'Azzurro' dials of a steely blue hue which contrasts beautifully with the 'Mille Miglia red' used for detailing the hands as well as the instantly recognisable '1000 Miglia' direction arrow that frames the date window.

A car – in a watch

Both the Mille Miglia GTS Azzurro Power Control and the Mille Miglia GTS Azzurro Chrono are rich in design touches inspired by the automotive world. Each steel case, for example, features sides that are grooved in the style of an engine’s piston, while the smoothly-sloping strap lugs are reminiscent of the curvature of hand-crafted coachwork. The oversized winding crown, meanwhile, recalls the chunky cap of a race-style fuel filler, while the chronograph's pushpieces are deeply engraved in the manner of the anti-slip pattern often applied to the control pedals of competition cars. Even the straps take their cue from the motoring world, combining the classic, perforated leather favoured by gentleman drivers of the 1950s and '60s with a rubber lining that replicates the tread pattern of a Dunlop racing tyre.

Blue is the coolest colour – in every way

The particular 'Azzurro' (Italian for 'blue') that adorns the dials of the new Mille Miglia GTS Collection was chosen both for its aesthetic appeal and its similarity to the shades often used in the past on some of the world's great classic cars. The colour both reflects the mechanical nature of the Mille Miglia timepieces and offers a versatile alternative to more conventional black or silver dials, enabling the robustly engineered Mille Miglia GTS models to fit in perfectly whether they are worn for business, at a cocktail party, on the sports field – or, of course, beneath the cuff of a favourite driving jacket.

The Mille Miglia GTS Azzurro Chrono – the watch for gentleman drivers who make every second count

The chronograph wristwatch is as inextricably linked with the world of classic motorsport as are fly screens, bonnet straps and wire wheels. Ideal for timing laps at a race circuit or monitoring special sections during a reliability trial, the Mille Miglia GTS Azzurro Chrono combines a central chronograph hand with a trio of dashboard-like sub dials designed to separately record periods of 60 seconds, 30 minutes and 12 hours, all to chronometer-grade accuracy. Robust 'pump' pushpieces ensure the mechanism is quick and easy to stop, start and re-set even when wearing driving gloves, and the varnished blue and grey bezel insert is marked with a tachymeter scale to enable speed and distance calculations. Also fitted with the same perforated leather and tyre-tread rubber strap as the Mille Miglia GTS Azzurro Power Control, the Chrono has a solid case back featuring a chequered flag pattern topped by a Mille Miglia arrow, while the 'Brescia > Roma > Brescia' legend and the individual edition number out of 750 is marked around the edge.