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Baselworld 2017: Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph – His & Hers Passion
La passione vissuta in duo
In the run up to the largest watch and jewellery show in the world - Baselworld 2017 - we preview the Chopard Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph duo appearing as His and Hers versions.
His has a black dial with large luminescent numerals, while Hers is resplendent with a white mother-of-pearl dial and bezel-set with diamonds.
Both sporty models follow a vintage theme with a retro touch and are powered by a COSC-certified high-precision mechanical ‘engine’.
Perfectly proportioned as a 42 mm His and 39 mm Hers respectively, the passionate duo embody a classic racing spirit cherished by Chopard.
Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph Ref. 168589-3002 and Ref. 178588-3001
Lezioni di paso doble
Chopard Co-President Karl-Friedrich Scheufele and his wife, Christine, compete together in the biennial “Corsa più belle del mondo” (Most Beautiful Race in the World). The new Mille Miglia Classic Chronographs are similarly meant for passionate partners sharing their finest motoring adventures as ‘mixed doubles’. Many such 'doubles' teams have competed over the years in the legendary Mille Miglia race from Brescia - Rome - Brescia for 1,000 miles of thrills through stunning Italian scenery.
Karl-Friedrich and Christine Scheufele set off on Mille Miglia Race
Mille Miglia Chronograph 1990
The new “His and Hers” chronographs are inspired by vintage cars that participated in the 'Mille Miglia' between 1927 and 1940.
Sporting two traditional pushers and a fluted crown from vintage dashboard chronographs, the steel cases of the Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph are a matched pair with classic lines.
Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph
Form is derived from Function; the dials provide perfect readability because of wide Arabic numerals that are luminescent in the dark, as are the hands. The slim cursive fonts and the counters are inspired by 1920s car dashboards and stand out clearly in sharp contrast with their backgrounds. The bright red tipped sweep-seconds hand makes for easy reading during a race.
The signature arrow-shaped “Rossa Corsa” red Mille Miglia logo is centred on the dial and on the rim of the exhibition case-back.
The two models are fitted with the famous rubber strap reprising the 1960s Dunlop Racing tyre-tread profile, in purist white for the ladies’ watch and a deep black for the men’s.
Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph
Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph Ref. 178588-3001
The Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph for women is a true counterpart the men's' model. The key motifs are all present but with significant girl-power evoked by feminine materials and colour palette i.e. mother-of-pearl dial, the soft white rubber strap, the sparkle of diamond-set bezel, as well as the slender 39 mm diameter case.
Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph
The masculine version of the Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph has a generous 42 mm diameter case with added tachymetric scale -- used for calculating average speed -- which is the winning criterion in endurance racing.
Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph Ref. 168589-3002
Certified Precision
Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph case-back
In keeping with their sporty performance raison d'etre, the new Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph models are fitted with a high-precision horological ‘engine’, chronometer-certified by the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC).
You can admire the winding rotor boasting a Mille Miglia logo through the sapphire crystal case-back.
It drives the hours, minutes, seconds, chronograph and date functions for the duration of its 42-hour power reserve.
Chopard and Mille Miglia: another pair bound by mechanical passion
For almost 30 years, Chopard and the Mille Miglia Race have shared a love of beautiful engineering and performance, stemming from Karl-Friedrich Scheufele’s personal love of classic cars. Chopard became partner and official timekeeper of the Mille Miglia Race in 1988; the partnership eventually spawned an eponymous watch collection.
Chopard believe that the Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph watches "will symbolise their owners’ authentic passion for racing, for classic cars and for the inimitable Italian dolce vita".
That is now available to both men and women: "La passione vissuta in duo."
Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph
Summary:
This is a fetching brace of chronographs, made glorious Spring, by having the same mechanical movement.
They share the same design motifs for complementary His & Her usage but the feminine version is not just a miniaturised version of the masculine model, as an afterthought.
It has some original feminine code engendered by the sum of its luxury parts ala mother-of-pearl and diamonds, as well as the deletion of the geeky tachymetric scale.
Although Chopard has been doing it since 1988, the 'retro' look of this brace of watches is very "on-trend" right now. Better still, it is a look that won't get dated (sic) in the future, by definition!
Of course, the next step may be to empower them with a Chopard in-house mechanical movement but that brings two further issues: Cost and Production Availability.
As a starting compromise, it allows couples or 'doubles' teams to share the affordable passion in watches now and upgrade later.
What do you think?
Regards,
MTF
Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph Technical Details
Ladies' Case: Steel
Total diameter 39.00 mm
Thickness 11.83 mm
Water-resistant to 50 metres
Steel crown 7.00 mm
Diamond-set bezel
Glareproofed sapphire crystal
Steel pushers
Exhibition case-back with Mille Miglia logo around the rim
Movement:
Self-winding chronograph movement
Total diameter 28.60 mm
Number of jewels 37
Frequency 28,800 A/h (4 Hz)
Power reserve 42 hours
“Chronometer” certified (COSC)
Dial and hands:
Circular satin-brushed silver-toned dial with opaline silver-toned inner bezel ring, or white mother-of-pearl dial
Anthracite grey railway-type transfers
Red Mille Miglia logo
Superluminova-painted hours numerals
Finely snailed silver-toned hours, minutes and seconds counters
Rhodiumed baton-type hours and minutes hands painted with Superluminova
Rhodiumed baton-type chronograph counter hands
Rhodiumed sweep-seconds hand with red tip
Functions:
Hours, minutes, seconds
Hours, minutes and seconds counters at 6, 9 and 3 o’clock respectively
Date in a window between 4 and 5 o’clock
Strap and clasp:
Rubber strap inspired by 1960s Dunlop racing tyres
Polished steel folding clasp
Ref. 178588-3001 – in steel with white mother-of-pearl dial and gemset bezel, fitted with a rubber strap
Gent's Case:Steel
Total diameter 42.00 mm
Thickness 12.67 mm
Water-resistant to 50 metres
Steel crown 7.50 mm
Diamond-set bezel
Glareproofed sapphire crystal
Steel pushers
Exhibition case-back with Mille Miglia logo around the rim
Movement:
Self-winding chronograph movement
Total diameter 28.60 mm
Number of jewels 37
Frequency 28,800 A/h (4 Hz)
Power reserve 42 hours
“Chronometer” certified (COSC)
Dial and hands:
Circular satin-brushed black dial with black inner bezel ring; or circular satin-brushed silver-toned with silver-toned inner bezel ring
White railway-type transfers and graduated tachymeter scale
Red Mille Miglia logo
Superluminova-painted hours numerals
Finely snailed black hours, minutes and seconds counters
Rhodiumed baton-type hours and minutes hands painted with Superluminova
Rhodiumed baton-type chronograph counter hands
Rhodiumed sweep-seconds hand with red tip
Functions:
Hours, minutes, seconds
Hours, minutes and seconds counters at 6, 9 and 3 o’clock respectively
Date in a window between 4 and 5 o’clock
Strap and clasp:
Rubber strap inspired by 1960s Dunlop racing tyres
Polished steel ardillon buckle
Ref. 168589-3002 – in steel with black dial, fitted with a rubber strap
Baselworld 2017: Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph – His & Hers Passion
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