Chopard and 1000 Miglia: Faithful to Tradition

A traditional novelty dedicated to the racing series.

June 16, Brescia, 13:30: the oldest car crosses the starting line of the 1000 Miglia, as is the tradition. Other classic cars follow on the endurance race covering 1,618 km, staged at one-minute intervals in order of age. The 375 cars racing in the this year's competition included the Chopard team captained by the red Mercedes-Benz 300SL 'Gullwing'.

Behind the wheel of this car from the Scheufele family collection was the co-president of the luxury watch and jewelry manufacturer himself, Karl-Friedrich Scheufele. He drove the same car when he took part in the race for first time in 1989, a year after Chopard had begun making special watch models for the drivers taking part in the 1000 Miglia.

This year was no exception, and the entire team received Mille Miglia 2021 Race Edition watches before the race got underway. Two versions of the chronograph were presented this year — 1000 pieces in a stainless steel case and 250 two-tone versions with ethical pink gold used for the bezel, pushers and hands. The route was turned counterclockwise this year for the first time since the competition was revived in 1977.

This has been done in the past, not in the modern history of the 1000 Miglia, but in the original Mille Miglia race before it was banned in 1957. However, this change in the direction of the route hasn't altered the direction of the hands on the Chopard Mille Miglia 2021 Race Edition. The main partner and official timekeeper of the race has created a watch decorated with a circular satin-brushed galvanized gray dial.

It has two vertically aligned counters (a 30-minute counter at 12 o'clock and a 12-hour counter at 6 o'clock), as well as a small seconds counter in the same shade of gray at 9 o'clock. The fourth place at 3 o'clock is occupied by a date window covered by a magnifying glass. The engine of the racecar driver's watch is a COSC-certified movement with a 48-hour power reserve. It's installed in a 44 mm case with the race's arrow logo on the caseback beneath a short inscription of the route: Brescia > Roma > Brescia.

Another detail highlighting the watch's the connection with the race is the perforated strap reminiscent of a driver's gloves. Since 2018, Chopard has been decorating the strap with a pattern that looks like the Dunlop racing tire tread used in the 1960s.