Chopard Mille
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Chopard 15-8933 Mille Miglia White Silver Dial Stainless steel Automatic Chronometer Chronograph Men's Watch (ashford) Price: $4,379.00 Chopard 15-8933 Mille Miglia White Silver Dial Stainless steel Automatic Chronometer Chronograph Men's Watch |
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Chopard 128900-3006 Mille Miglia GMT Silver Dial Rubber Strap Men's Watch (ashford) Price: $2,257.00 Chopard 128900-3006 Mille Miglia GMT Silver Dial Rubber Strap Men's Watch |
This is the third Mille Miglia model that honours the veteran Belgian racing driver Jacky Ickx who competed in 144 Formula 1 races between 1967 and 1979, and had a successful endurance racing career, winning the Le Mans 24 Hour race 6 times. Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, the co-president of Chopard, and Jacky Ickx are good friends and compete in motor racing events together. This friendship was undoubtedly the catalyst for the Ickx series of watches. (The fourth edition is now available, you can see that watch here .)
The movement inside this watch is a decorated and adjusted, 49 jewel, ETA cal. 2892-A2 which has a Dubois Dépraz designed chronograph mechanism. This calibre is a “modular” rather than an “integrated” chronograph, which means that the chronograph and timekeeping parts of the calibre are two independently designed modules coupled together.
With the modules ‘uncoupled’ you can see how they integrate, the first picture shows shows the top of the timekeeping module (where the dial would sit on a regular ETA cal. 2892). The power from the going train is fed directly into the chronograph module by the hour wheel and the ‘blank’ date ring advances the date, either normally at midnight or via the quickset.
The second picture shows the underside of the chronograph module, the arrows showing the parts driven by the timekeeping module.
The disadvantage of modular chronograph calibres is that they are generally thicker than their integrated cousins, which of course means that a thicker case is needed to go around them (although this is less of an issue in these ‘big watch’ times). The ETA 2892-A2 also has another quirk in that the crown and pushers are out of alignment when viewing the case from the side.
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How do you celebrate a very special anniversary? Well, if you’re Chopard and Alfa Romeo, you commission a very special line of timepieces.
To mark their birthdays – 2010 sees Chopard celebrating 150 years and 100 years for Alfa Romeo – the two decided to join forces and to launch three new classic sport watches. And the two brands have an intertwined history together. For more than two decades, Chopard has had a strong presence in the World of Classic Racing, serving both as a sponsor and Official Timekeeper for the Mille Miglia race. It also turns out the Alfa Romeo’s cars have the honor of bringing in the most wins in this particular race, with a grand total of 11.
The anniversary line includes the GT XL Chrono Alfa Romeo and the Gran Turismo XL Alfa Romeo. The GT XL comes in stainless steel or black DLC-coated steel, while the Gran Turismo features a black dial with red hands and indexes as well as the logo of both brands. Both come equipped with COSC-certified in-house automatic movements, 46-hour power reserve, anti-reflective sapphire crystal, 44mm cases and Chopard’s signature vintage Dunlop-inspired rubber straps. Like any special occasion, these timepieces won’t last long. Only 500 of each of the three watches will be offered, along with a table clock in PVD-coated steel and a black leather, red-stitched case, and an additional travel alarm clock.
Philip Ringier in a 1954 XK120 enjoyed the highest overall score in the Splügen Rallye 2010 and collected a Chopard Mille Miglia watch.
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one marque stands above the rest as the connoisseur's choice: Chopard. From its ongoing sponsorship and participation in the annual Mille Miglia revival |
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For more than two decades, Chopard has had a strong presence in the World of Classic Racing, serving both as a sponsor and Official Timekeeper for the Mille |
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Nevertheless, luxury French watch company Chopard didn't forget, releasing a whole new timepiece collection to mark the occasion as well as its own 150th |
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Chopard sponsor des Mille Miglia possèdent déjà de sublimes montres, pièces d'orfèvreries, à l'image du constructeur Milanais Alfa Romeo. |
