Chopard presents a limited edition of its iconic Mille Miglia timepiece in honor of its partnership with the annual Luftgekühlt
A great lover of cars and motorsports, Swiss watch and jewelry Maison Chopard is proud to partner with Luftgekühlt. A unique experiential event founded by race car driver and two-time Le Mans class winner Patrick Long, Luftgekühlt is an annual gathering that brings together car aficionados with a tightly curated selection of exceptional air-cooled Porsche cars. The exhibition returns this year with Luftgekühlt 7 which will be held at Bottleworks District in Indianapolis on September 10th. At the event, there will be a dedicated Chopard pop-up featuring a 1956 Porsche 550A Spyder Chassis Number 0142 on loan from Road Scholars. Additionally, to celebrate this partnership, Chopard has unveiled a second watch collaboration with the Los Angeles based lifestyle brand, the limited Mille Miglia GTS Luftgekühlt Edition. The sleek timepiece is featured with details inspired by vintage cars along with a dial in a silver tone reminiscent of the Porsche 550 Spyder.
Chopard first established its ties to the racing world by becoming the principal partner and official timekeeper of the 1000 Miglia endurance car rally in 1988, a collaboration stemming from the Scheufele family’s long-standing passion for owning and driving historic automobiles in which they also compete. In honor of this annual racing event, each year the Maison unveils new timepieces in the Mille Miglia Collection featuring classic race car inspired design elements. Since then, Chopard has gone on to partner with several car and motorsport events.
Contemporary aesthetic and vintage spirit
In honor of its partnership with Luftgekühlt, Chopard has unveiled a new watch collaboration with the Porsche gathering: the 50-piece limited edition Mille Miglia GTS Luftgekühlt Edition. Dedicated to Italy’s most beautiful car race, the 1000 Miglia, the timepieces of the Mille Miglia Collection are designed as wrist worn auxiliary navigation instruments. Modeled after the Mille Miglia GTS Power Control, the 43mm stainless Mille Miglia GTS Luftgekühlt Edition features a sleek satin-brushed silver dial – a first for the GTS collection. Reminiscent of the color of the Porsche 550 Spyder, this is also detailed with red and white accents in tribute to the aesthetics of vintage car dashboards, along with a power-reserve indicator at 9 o’clock evocative of petrol gauges typical of the 1950s. Encircling the dial is a varnished black aluminum bezel insert marked in 12 increments of five to facilitate elapsed time recording. The date aperture appears in the 1000 Miglia red-arrow race logo, a nod to the numbers on the doors and bonnets of the competing cars.
Turning the watch over reveals a sapphire crystal exhibition case back that allows a clear view of the meticulously decorated Chopard 01.08-C mechanical self-winding movement. The case back features an engraved Luftgekühlt logo surrounded by a steel ring marked with the ‘Brescia > Roma > Brescia’ route of the 1000 Miglia, while each of the 50 timepieces is engraved with its individual edition number. Made entirely in-house, the 251-part mechanism offers 60 hours of power reserve and is chronometer certified for accuracy by the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC). The timepiece is fashioned with a classic racing black leather strap with silver stitching and a special gift box featuring a special grill badge designed by the Luftgekühlt team and their artists. As a true collector’s item, it will be in high demand among car aficionados with a competitive spirit and distinctive style.
