To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Chopard‘s partnership with the Italian Mille Miglia race, 5 new models are being added to the Mille Miglia Collection – all in a slew of bold colors. The Chopard Mille Miglia Racing Colours limited edition watches channel the bright 1930s colors assigned to each of the 5 national teams this year. The colors selected were “Rosso Corsa” (Red) for Italy, Speed Silver for Germany, British Green for, well, the United Kingdom, Vintage Blue for France, and Speed Yellow for Belgium. Gimmicky adjectives aside, Chopard takes a step outside of the standard red, black, or white colors typical of the collection – something I feel has been long overdue.

Specifications

Brand: Chopard
Model: Mille Miglia Racing Colours Limited Edition
Dimensions: 42mm x 12.67mm
Case Material: Stainless Steel
Crystal/Lens: Sapphire on the front and back
Movement: Unspecified, though it looks like the ETA 2894-2 with specific Chopard decorations (In line with previous releases)
Frequency: 4Hz
Power Reserve: 42 Hours
Strap/Bracelet: Calfskin with Chopard’s signature “Tyre Tread” rubber lining
Price & Availability: TBD – expect to be right around $5,000.

Analysis

To start, let me say that I feel Chopard’s Mille Miglia Collection is a great example of a brand’s ability to successfully produce vintage racing-inspired watches without dipping their feet into kitschy waters. Many, many brands tend to fall into the over-branded, over-sized, and “over-vintaged” trap and I admire Chopard for their restraint when producing a vintage-inspired collection – especially a chronograph.

However, that’s also made a lot of the latest previously released Mille Miglia watches a bit stale (read: monotonous or “safe”). Minimal and largely unnoticed changes to justify a release tended to be prevalent in the last few renditions of the collection. The Mille Miglia Racing Colours models, while still arguably minimally changed, add a little spunk to the watch and give fans a little bit more to look at (I find the British Green dial particularly attractive). The lack of the “Tyre Tread” rubber strap, and the inclusion of the color-stitched leather was a good move for this release. While I would have still preferred the smaller sub-registers and tachymeter ring to avoid unnecessarily cutting off the Arabic numerals and cluttering the dial, the watches look great. Most of the colors are definitely bold, and will appeal to a more confident buyer than previous models, but all the standard Mille Miglia vibes remain intact.

Summary

Overall, I think the Mille Miglia Racing Colours will be a hit for Chopard. The colors are bold, but I believe that will attract more buyers. While I’m sure many will disagree with me, the extra color options don’t mean that these aren’t still undeniably a Mille Miglia – which is largely what attracts so many to the collection. Each color is limited to 300 pieces keeping the availability on the more minimal side and likely aiding in the ease of sale. Price for each is yet to be revealed and we will update this article as soon as we know more – but given the $4,800 price of the already available, non-limited version of these watches, we expect it to be right around $5,000. chopard.com