Chopard the “Mille Miglia Zagato” Chronograph

The exclusive, sleek and unmistakably technical Mille Miglia Zagato stems from the partnership between Chopard and a design legend: the Milan-based bodywork specialist Zagato. It benefits from the respective skills of these two prestigious Houses that both nurture a passion for cars. Chopard handles the execution, the ‘engine’ part and the chassis, while Zagato participates in creating the bodywork, the ‘passenger compartment’ and the upholstery. This limited series is imbued with the Grand Tourer spirit of Zagato, the strict horological discipline of Chopard, along with the authenticity of the Mille Miglia.

Chopard timepieces are intimately bound up with the field of motorsports. Its enduring commitment as sponsor and official timekeeper of the Mille Miglia is now into its 25^th year and is underwritten by the actual participation in the race of Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, co-president of the Geneva-based firm and a keen driver himself and collector of classic cars. It was indeed along the route of the legendary Italian car rally that he met Andrea Zagato, owner of the Italian bodywork specialist bearing the family name, and his wife Marella Rivolta.

Since 1919, the atelier founded by Ugo Zagato in Milan has strived to create distinctively designed bodywork. In almost a century of history, it has worked with some of the greatest car manufacturers including Ferrari, Lancia, Maserati – an impressive roster more recently joined by Aston Martin, Bentley and the brand that has most powerfully contributed to its reputation, Alfa Romeo (Zagato bodied Alfas won 4 Mille Miglias: 1928, 1929, 1930, 1933). Having come to specialise in extreme high-end and bespoke executions on sport or racing chassis, Zagato has remained an independent and family-owned company that cultivates a unique aesthetic philosophy: functional, sleek, rationalist, a typical “Milanese” design approach. Nonetheless, Zagato’s main specialist has always been that of Grand Tourer cars. It is this vocation, at the crossroads between luxury and sports-driven mechanical engineering, that inspired the first collaborative endeavour between the Geneva and Milan-based companies: the Mille Miglia Zagato.

The chassis is also Chopard’s responsibility: in this particular instance, a 42.5 mm steel case with a DLC coating – a technical treatment chosen for its extreme scratch-resistance. It comes in two variations: one all-black and the other fitted with a rose gold bezel featuring a red insert bearing the 24-hour dual-time graduation.

The details of the bodywork are a joint endeavour. The all-of-a-piece start/stop chronograph pusher matches the colour of the bezel – either black or in rose gold. In both versions, it has a red-lacquered tip, a nod to the symbolic colour of both Zagato and the Mille Miglia. The upholstery (the strap) typically evokes the work of the Milanese bodywork specialist. Its lines featuring a distinctive central groove echo the architecture of its ‘double bubble’ roof, while the bright red stitching on the leather is a classic Zagato signature feature. Its triumphant Z logo composes the motif adorning the crown and also forms the fine grey technical grid pattern occupying the entire surface of the ‘passenger compartment’ – meaning the dial. The fonts on the latter as well as on the bezel were also specially designed for the occasion. Visible sharper and more angular, they epitomise the sporting and design-focused spirit of this cooperative effort.

The Mille Miglia Zagato is issued in a 500-piece limited series for the black DLC-coated steel version and the same number for the two-tone version with an 18-carat rose gold finish. It is available in Chopard boutiques around the world.