By Keith Bombrys
Formula 1 and LeMans racing has become a very popular sporting event in today’s world. The racing world certainly had a captivating grasp on the fans in Monaco during the 1960’s, as well as with the fans today. The image of powerful race cars during this time period, speeding through the narrow streets of Monaco created such a thrill and experience for not only the racers of this time period, but for the race enthusiasts as well. Keeping that in mind, why not capitalize on these historic racing events? As a sponsor and official timekeeper of the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique since 2002, the Swiss luxury watch company Chopard has decided to take advantage of this opportunity in the release of two new watches. Introducing the Chopard Grand Prix de Monaco Historique 2016 Race Edition Chronographs.
The Grand Prix de Monaco Historique is a bonafide speed trial run and a key highlight in the racing calendar. This speed trial run brings in wide variety of cars from the world’s finest manufacturers, ranging from retrospective models to the fastest and most competitive models. This year is the 10th edition of the Grand Prix de Monaco, and what better way to celebrate it then with the release of two limited edition watches.
The Grand Prix de Monaco Historique 2016 Race Edition Chronographs are both diver-oriented timepieces, depicted by the Tachymeter on the side of the chronograph, which is used in calculating average speeds. What better feature on a timepiece to have for a watch used to celebrate the anniversary of the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique. The dials of each watch fade from light to dark silver tones, are laid out in a snail pattern, and feature large minute and hour dials that stand out from the faceplate design. The second dial is thinner and offset in a contrasting color, one that matches the offset color on the watch’s band. The blue offset color is used for the gold edition of the timepiece, and orange is used for the titanium/steel edition of the watch; both of which stand out and bring together the multiple tones and colors of each watch. The band of the watches are made in grey barenia leather, stitched with either of the two listed colors depending on which watch the buyer chooses. The stitching of each watch is fitted as racing stripes on either band, which has a perforated stitching, furthering the race stripe look, that borders each edge of the band. This style is very similar to the popular look of sporty racing watches of the 1970’s. Each watch comes with a grey NATO strap that can be used in place of the grey barenia leather. The NATO strap characterizes a single stripe in the center, the color either blue or orange depending on which watch the buyer purchases. The center stripe has two lighter grey stripes on each surrounding side, giving the watch an even stronger, masculine, and sportier look.
The buyer is offered either a choice of 18k pink gold or the sandblasted titanium as options for the finish on their timepiece. Each is very sporty and has a tough look to them, which is the ideal way of depicting any race activity, especially when picturing the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique. The casing of each watch is 44.5mm, highlighting the very manly design of both pieces. These timepieces have a self-winding chronograph movement within the case, 46 hours of power reserve, a Valjoux 7750 base, and a certified chronometer by COSC. Both pieces are water resistant up to 100 meters and display the date on the face, have snail grey counters at 12 and 6 o’clock, and have a hollowed silver-toned counter at 9 o’clock.
The titanium/steel edition of the watch will be priced at 6,790 Euros and the gold piece will be priced at 20,990 Euros. The price of each piece may be seem steep, but with only 500 titanium timepieces and 100 gold timepieces being made, the pricing is more than fitting for the limited time edition of the Chopard Grand Prix de Monaco Historique 2016 Race Edition Chronographs. Don’t miss out on your chance at a limited edition piece, commemorating the 10th-anniversary celebration of the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique. For more info, please visit chopard.com
