Chopard Launches Mille Miglia GTS Automatic Chrono California Mille 33rd Edition
For the sixth consecutive year, Chopard proudly served as the Official Timekeeper of the 33rd annual California Mille, which took place last month from April 21 to 25. Inspired by the original Italian Mille Miglia open road race from Brescia to Rome (of which Chopard has also been a global sponsor since 1988), the California Mille is a 1,000-mile, four-day excursion through Southern California’s most scenic destinations. To mark the occasion, the Swiss brand unveiled the new Mille Miglia GTS Automatic Chrono California Mille 33rd Edition, a chronometer-certified timepiece in Lucent Steel with numerous references to the legendary Italian endurance rally that enthusiasts effectively call “La Corsa Pùi Bella del Mondo,” the most beautiful race in the world. Typical of the collection, the watch exudes a very elegant yet functional elegance that evokes the spirit of the 1960s.
The C.O.S.C.-chronometer certified self-winding chronograph is clad into Chopard’s genuine steel alloy Lucent steel and water-resistant to 100 meters. Presented with a diameter of 44mm, it is equipped with mushroom-style chronograph pushers engraved with a knurled pattern and a ratcheted crown to ensure good grip and facilitate use.
The luminescent beige dial with green and red racing stripes and the California Mille logo has a textured finish that serves as a beautiful backdrop for the snailed small seconds and chronograph sub dials and the date window at 3 o’clock.
The watch face is framed by a thin and slender green 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. The case back is closed and bears a “USA Limited Edition 25” engraving. The Mille Miglia GTS Automatic Chrono California Mille 33rd Edition is fitted with a brown calfskin strap lined with rubber. In keeping with the codes established at the launch of the Mille Miglia collection, the lining is patterned like the tread of 1960s Dunlop Racing tires.
On April 21, 2024, over 70 classic cars manufactured pre-1958 began their four-day excursion covering over 1,000 miles through some of Southern California’s most scenic routes as part of the 33rd edition of the California Mille. For the sixth year in a row, Chopard served as the Official Timekeeper of the rally, which began in La Jolla and ended at Westlake Village in Los Angeles, with the journey taking drivers through Rancho Mirage, Lake Arrowhead, Pasadena, and Valencia. This is also the sixth time Chopard has released a watch for the race; this year’s edition is the Chopard Mille Miglia GTS Automatic Chrono California Mille 33rd Edition watch, which marries details from both the Italian Mille Miglia and its Californian counterpart.
The link between cars and watches is a personal one for Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, Chopard Co-President. He has a passion for classic cars, and it was under his leadership that Chopard became the world partner and official timekeeper of the 1000 Miglia in 1988. As he puts it, “Lovers of fine cars often have a great weakness for precious timepieces, and vice versa. Extreme precision and sporting elegance are important in both these fields.” The Chopard team entered the 2024 California Mille with a vintage blue Porsche 1957 356A (T2) Speedster, a.k.a “Bluebelle,” on loan from the incredible Ingram Collection.
