BY DHANANJAY PATHAK
While there are plenty of motorsport-inspired watches out there in the market, only a few have real history or heritage to back them up. With over three decades of rich association with the Mille Miglia racing event, Chopard certainly falls in the latter category and their racing-inspired Mille Miglia watches are a testimony to this. Not so long ago we talked about the beautiful red dialed Mille Miglia Zagato chronograph and now the brand has introduced the Chopard Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph California Mille edition watch, a timepiece that commemorates the American version of the famous Italian race.
The dial of this new watch has been presented in a subtle shade of silver and has been nicely finished with a circular brushed pattern which adds to its visual appeal. It features a tri-compax layout with sub-dials at 3,6 and 9 to track running seconds, elapsed hours and minutes respectively. Surrounding the sub dials are bold printed Arabic numerals which give the watch a sporty look and have been coated with a thick layer of luminous paint to aid low light visibility. Sitting right behind numerals is a printed minute track which has been rendered in a nice reddish-brown color, which provides a nice contrast against the silver background and has been used at multiple instances throughout the dial. Finally, tying in the California theme with this watch are red and green accents which have been picked up from Californian State flag and have presented in the form a thick red stripe towards the bottom of the dial and a sloped green tachymeter scale on the outer periphery.
Made from stainless steel the case on this watch measures 42mm in a diameter which in my opinion is a good size for a modern chronograph. It is fully polished and features two elongated pushers at 2 and 4 and a nicely knurled crown at 3. The case is water resistant to 50 meters and has a sapphire crystal on both front as well as the rear.
Powering the watch is an automatic chronograph movement whose name is unspecified, but there is a high chance of it being the 2894 which has been previously used in other Mille Miglia chronographs with a similar layout. The movement operates at a frequency of 4 Hz and offers a power reserve of around 42 hours. It has been nicely decorated with Geneva stripes and perlage and can be viewed through the exhibition case back which also has the historic California Republic bear flag motif printed on it. Surrounding the glass is some more information related to the watch which includes the Mille Miglia racing logo, Chopard branding, water resistance rating and the limited-edition number.
While the Chopard Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph California Mille edition watch does not bring anything revolutionary to the table, but it does bring forth a nice aesthetic variation of a popular racing chronograph. The watch would come attached to a perforated town leather strap, would be limited to just 29 pieces and retail at a price of USD 6,590.
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