Fire up your engines! In 2022 the 1000 Miglia is celebrating an anniversary, the 40th edition of the legendary classic car race from Brescia to Rome and back which will be held 15 to 18 June. Swiss jeweller and watchmaker Chopard as the main partner and official timekeeper of the event since 1988, has released two new takes on their popular Mille Miglia Race Editions.

Housed in a 44mm case Chopard Mille Miglia 2022 Race Edition is offered in stainless steel or two-tone stainless steel and 18k rose gold, with silver-toned dial with circular satin-brushed finish, for a brighter look.
Chopard is an interesting brand. We like their watches. We’ve been to both of their factories and met their co-president. The problem is they aren’t big sellers. You don’t see the hype that follows brands like Rolex and Omega following Chopard around despite the fact their watches compete in dealers often. If you see one on the grey market, it’s usually at a great price, which again comes from the trickiness of selling them. Having said that, if you plan on keeping your Chopard, there’s a lot to like, and they’re a well-historied brand.
One key part of Chopard’s recent history is the Mille Miglia revival race. The original Mille Miglia of the 40s and 50s was a race from Brescia to Rome and back to Brescia in Italy, a round trip of 1000km. The danger of the race meant it didn’t last into the second half of the 20th century, but as humans are fickle and tradition-based folks, the race lives on as the Historic Mille Miglia, with owners of period cars taking part in the races, including co-president Karl-Friedrich Scheufele.
Every year, Chopard Mille Miglia 2022 Race Edition makes a special edition to mark that year’s Mille Miglia. It’s usually based on the athletic and masculine Mille Miglia GTS line, and this year is no different. A pair of watches have been made for the 2022 event, both with big 44mm x 13.79mm diameter cases in either stainless steel or two-tone stainless steel and 18k Fairmined gold.
We like the Mille Miglia GTS here at WristReview. There’s charm to the big, vintage-racer style watch. The chronograph pushers that look like engine pistons are a nice touch, as are the gentle shoulders leading up to the big crown. We also like that Chopard Mille Miglia 2022 Race Edition dedicated most of the real estate to the dial and so made the bezels very thin. For 2022, they’re also blue to match the lumed hands, markers on the dials, and detailing on the straps.
Underneath the solid screwed caseback is an automatic movement based on the Valjoux calibre 7750. Chopard has excellent decorations on its watches, and we’d assume this to be no different here, although we’re unable to confirm that. The watch has a 4Hz beat rate and a 48-hour power reserve. I remember when Chopard put its in-house made movements in these. Still, the 7750 is a reliable workhorse and undoubtedly meets Chopard’s strict standards. It is a COSC-rated chronometer, after all.