Chopard Mille Miglia Classic Chronographe "Edition France" automatic blue dial blue leather strap 40.5 mm

Mille Miglia: an automotive legend signed by Chopard

Some watches simply measure time… while others capture the spirit of an era. With the Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph Limited Edition France, Chopard continues one of the most beautiful love stories between fine watchmaking and motorsport, celebrating the unique world of historic rallies.

For nearly forty years, the Maison has accompanied the legendary Mille Miglia race, an Italian event that has become an icon, still affectionately known by enthusiasts as “the most beautiful race in the world.” Each spring, exceptional vintage cars retrace a route steeped in memory, blending mechanical performance, classic elegance, and a true competitive spirit. Chopard has been its official partner and timekeeper since 1988, a rare and profound bond, almost inseparable from the identity of the collection.

This passion is anything but abstract: it is lived out on the road. Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, Co-President of Chopard and a great collector-car enthusiast, takes part in the race year after year, embodying the sincere relationship between the Manufacture and the automotive world. At Chopard, the Mille Miglia is not merely a backdrop: it is a commitment, a tradition, an emotion.

It is within this context that this very special edition was born, unveiled in Paris during Rétromobile 2026, an unmissable gathering for lovers of classic automobiles. The setting is obvious: here, everything speaks of rolling heritage, timeless bodywork, engines filled with history… and chronographs designed to accompany these suspended moments.

This Limited Edition France also carries a powerful symbolic dimension. France holds a singular place in Mille Miglia culture: its cars have left their mark on the race, participated extensively, and achieved numerous category victories over the decades. Today, Chopard chooses to salute this legacy with a dedicated piece, dressed in the national colours.

And because a tribute only has value when it remains rare, this model is offered in a strictly limited and numbered series of 100 pieces, exclusively reserved for the French market. A confidential creation, designed for lovers of classic mechanics, sporting chronometry, and collectible watches with strong character.

Design: a tricolour chronograph with neo-vintage charm

If this Mille Miglia Limited Edition France captivates at first glance, it is because it achieves a rare balance: that of a deeply sporty chronograph, carried by perfectly mastered retro elegance.

Its 40.5 mm case adopts ideal proportions, inspired by the classic chronographs once worn on the wrists of gentleman drivers. A size designed for comfort and presence, but also for that discreet sophistication that allows the watch to transition naturally from the wheel of a vintage car to a more formal outfit.

Crafted in Lucent Steel™, Chopard’s exclusive steel, the case displays a singular brilliance and an exceptionally refined finish. This signature material, developed by the Manufacture, gives the piece a contemporary identity while fully respecting the vintage spirit of the collection. Alternating polished and satin-brushed surfaces, the bezel, crown, and pushers create a play of light reminiscent of the metallic bodywork of historic racing cars.

Automotive details are everywhere, even in the chronograph controls: the knurled pushers evoke brake pedals, while the fluted crown ensures optimal grip, like a nod to the mechanical instruments of a classic dashboard. The welded lugs, meanwhile, reinforce the impression of a watch “from another era,” crafted with remarkable artisanal care.

But it is undoubtedly the dial that gives this French edition its full personality. In a deep lacquered blue, it is enhanced by blue, white, and red transfers—an elegant tribute to the national colours. The silver-toned minute track and tachymeter scale frame the whole with great clarity, while the hands and markers, coated with Super-LumiNova Grade X1, ensure perfect readability even at night.

At the centre, the red chronograph seconds hand brings an immediate sporty tension, recalling the world of competition and the iconic Mille Miglia emblem.

Finally, a magnificent glassbox sapphire crystal completes this neo-vintage aesthetic. Domed and luminous, offering striking depth, it amplifies the dial’s perspective and reinforces the retro charm that defines the Mille Miglia Classic line.

With this Limited Edition France, Chopard once again demonstrates its talent: transforming an automotive chronograph into a true style statement, as expressive as it is race-bred.

Racing DNA: the Mille Miglia signatures

Beyond its neo-vintage elegance, this Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph Limited Edition France is first and foremost a competition watch at heart. Every element of its design recalls that the Mille Miglia collection was created to celebrate the world of historic rallying—mythical roads, timeless bodywork, and precision timekeeping.

Around the edge of the dial, the tachymeter scale immediately asserts this sporting vocation. Inherited from classic automotive chronographs, it allows the measurement of average speed—an emblematic detail that places the watch firmly in the tradition of instruments designed for racing, rather than mere decorative timepieces.

The red central chronograph hand further enhances this racing tension: vivid and dynamic, it sweeps across the dial like a speedometer needle in full acceleration, directly echoing the visual identity of the Mille Miglia.

But one of the most distinctive elements of this French edition remains its strap. Chopard equips the watch with a blue rubber strap featuring a tyre-tread motif, inspired by Dunlop tyres from the 1960s. This signature has become an essential code of the collection: a direct tribute to historic cars and their iconic rubber, as well as an affirmation of the piece’s sporting character.

This choice is far from insignificant: Chopard was among the first great Manufactures to integrate rubber into the world of prestige chronographs, bringing a touch of technical modernity to its Mille Miglia watches while maintaining a resolutely vintage spirit.

The attention to detail extends all the way to the caseback, visible through sapphire crystal. It is adorned with two crossed flags: on one side, the black-and-white chequered flag of racing circuits, a universal symbol of competition; on the other, the French tricolour, the exclusive signature of this limited edition.

Thus, everything in this watch evokes the road, speed, classic mechanics, and the elegance of exceptional rallies. More than a chronograph, this Mille Miglia France 2026 is a true object of passion, designed for those who resonate as much with the sound of a vintage engine as with the steady heartbeat of a Swiss movement.

Movement: chronometer precision in the service of speed

A chronograph inspired by racing cannot settle for an ordinary engine: it must offer impeccable precision, constant reliability, and that mechanical sensation that defines the beauty of watches built for performance.

At the heart of the Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph Limited Edition France, Chopard integrates an automatic chronograph movement whose quality is certified by the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC). An essential distinction, guaranteeing an exceptional level of accuracy under the most demanding conditions—an entirely natural nod to the world of sporting timekeeping.

This calibre beats at a frequency of 4 Hz (28,800 vibrations per hour), ensuring stable and rigorous time measurement, while offering a comfortable 54-hour power reserve. An ideal balance between modern performance and watchmaking tradition, allowing the watch to accompany its owner well beyond the fleeting moment of a race.

The chronograph function unfolds with great legibility thanks to a classic and efficient architecture:

• 30-minute counter at 9 o’clock
• 12-hour counter at 6 o’clock
• small seconds at 3 o’clock
• a discreet date window placed between 4 and 6 o’clock

Not to mention the presence of a stop-seconds function, ensuring precision when setting the time.

Visible through the sapphire caseback, this movement reminds us that this limited edition is not only an aesthetic tribute to motorsport: it is also a true piece of Swiss watchmaking, crafted with seriousness, rigor, and passion.

A collector’s edition: exclusivity for France

Within the Mille Miglia collection, certain references go beyond the status of simple aesthetic variations to become true rendezvous pieces, intimately linked to a place, a date, a particular tribute. This Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph Limited Edition France clearly belongs to that category.

Unveiled in Paris during Rétromobile 2026, it is anchored in a key moment of the European automotive calendar, at the heart of France’s greatest event dedicated to classic cars. A natural setting for a watch that celebrates both mechanical heritage and the art of chronometry.

But what makes this edition so desirable is above all its deliberate rarity. Chopard has chosen a voluntarily confidential production: only 100 pieces, all numbered, exclusively reserved for the French market.