Chopard Mille Miglia Race Edition Replica Watch 161296-5002

Chopard Mille Miglia GTS Power Control Bamford Edition "Desert Racer" Chopard’s latest Mille Miglia GTS Power Control combines three major trends in watchmaking today: one is a collaboration with Bamford; the other is a collaboration with Bamford. Second, it uses contemporary sandblasted and matte textures; and third, it has a very long name! This latest collaboration is named the Mille Miglia GTS Power Control Bamford Edition Desert Race and was designed by George Bamford, the Mille Miglia's off-road cousin. The Bamford watch is limited to 50 pieces, giving the watch an avant-garde, tough modern spirit.

As our readers know, Karl-Friedrich Schaefer (Chopard Co-President) has been involved in the prestigious Italian Mille Miglia for 36 years as Official Timekeeper, Partner and Competitor. The Mille Miglia, a fearsome open road race held between 1927 and 1957, made history with some of the greatest cars driven by the bravest drivers of its time. The event returned in 1977 as the Mille Miglia Storica, a classic car event for cars registered or raced in the original Mille Miglia before 1958. You can read the full story in Robin's article.

The model chosen for Bamford touch is the sporty 43mm Mille Miglia GTS Power Control, which debuted in 2015 and features a power reserve indicator on the dial inspired by the dashboard gauges and in-house movement. George Bamford, founder of the London-based bespoke firm, shares KF Scheufele's passion for cars and watches, and the new GTS Power Control is actually the duo's 2021 signature Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph The second collaboration after the watch, Bamford's dark finish and burst of bright orange.

George Bamford is also a racing fan, and he's racing a Meyers Manx off-road vehicle at the National Off-Road Racing Association's (Norra) newest desert off-road event in Baja California, Mexico, in May 2023. Bamford exposed the new "Desert Racer" to the harsh conditions of desert racing, wearing and testing the watch in a baptism of fire. Needless to say, the performance of this watch is impeccable.

Like other GTS Power Control models, the case measures 43mm in diameter and 11.43mm thick. While it bears many similarities to earlier Grigio Speciale editions, the rosso corsa (racing red) trim associated with the Mille Miglia race was replaced by the iconic Bamford orange trim. The case is made of lightweight yet strong sandblasted titanium with black aluminum inlays and orange numerals on the titanium bezel. The rubber strap features short lugs for a better fit, a braided effect, and secures to the wrist with a DLC sandblasted steel folding clasp. The 100m water-resistant case features a screw-down caseback with eight black PVD-treated screws and tinted crystal with orange washers to admire the Chopard automatic movement.

The dark matte dial also has a gritty asphalt-like texture and bright orange accents on the oversized Arabic numerals at 12 and 6, the numerals on the date wheel, the 5-minute intervals on the flange, the Bamford inscription and the word "empty" decorate. ' Fuel gauge/power reserve indicator section. All brushed and metal hour markers (including the orange ones at 12 and 6) are treated with black Super-LumiNova, as are the large dagger-shaped hour and minute hands. The central seconds hand is also luminescent and has three orange stripes at the tip for a nice touch. Another difference from the Grigio Speciale is the absence of the red 1000 Miglia arrows around the date aperture.

The "Desert Racer" is powered by the Chopard COSC chronometer-certified automatic movement 01.08-C. The movement beats at a frequency of 4 Hz/28,800 vibrations/hour and offers a power reserve of 60 hours.

TECH SPECS – CHOPARD MILLE MIGLIA GTS POWER CONTROL BAMFORD EDITION "DESERT RACER"
Case: Diameter 43mm x Thickness 11.43mm - Sandblasted Titanium - 7mm screw-down crown in DLC-treated black steel with steering wheel motif - Titanium bezel with black aluminum inlay and orange Numerals - anti-reflective sapphire crystal over dial, screw-down - lower caseback with dyed crystal and orange gasket - 100m water resistance
Dial: Black matte dial - 12 and 6 brushed metal hour markers with black Super-LumiNova and orange outline - brushed metal hour markers with black SLN - power reserve indicator with black and orange decals - metallized black brushed hour hands and minute hand with black SLN - black central sweep seconds hand with cross-hatched orange tip - date window at 3 o'clock, black background and orange numerals
Movement: Chopard 01.08-C - Manufacture, COSC-certified automatic movement - Frequency 4Hz - 60 hours power reserve - 40 jewels - Hours, minutes, central seconds, power reserve at 9 o'clock, date at 3 o'clock clock position
Strap: Black rubber strap with braided effect - sandblasted stainless steel folding clasp
Reference number: 168566-3019