Following a successful collaboration in 2021, Chopard is once again combining its creativity with Bamford Watch Department to create an exclusive edition of its Mille Miglia GTS Power Control timepiece.

With its orange, grey and black details, its oversized numerals and its woven-effect rubber strap, the new Mille Miglia GTS Power Control Bamford Edition ‘Desert Racer’ reflects the passion uniting Chopard with motorsport.

There will only be 50 timepieces which are crafted in bead-blasted titanium – a reliably sturdy material. Subtly combining sleek aesthetics and technical excellence, it is powered by the Chopard 01.08-C movement endowed with chronometer-certified accuracy.

The watch – a collaboration between Chopard’s Co-President Karl-Friedrich Scheufele and George Bamford – recently accompanied George Bamford in the desert of northern Mexico, on the occasion of the last edition of the National Off Road Racing Association, in which he participated aboard a Meyers Manx buggy. The Mille Miglia GTS Power Control Bamford Edition ‘Desert Racer’ survived its baptism of fire, thereby affirming its reliability, its precision and its ability to resist in a hostile environment.

This contemporary timepiece features a robust 43 mm-diameter case made of bead-blasted titanium – an extremely resistant, light metal – topped by a bezel with a black aluminium graduated inlay. Designed to ensure a perfect fit on the wrist, its short, streamlined lugs offer optimum comfort complemented by the integrated strap in rubber. This material, ideal for competitive sports, has been reworked with a woven effect conferring an extremely refined effect.

The subtle design of the Mille Miglia GTS Power Control Bamford Edition ‘Desert Racer’ houses an engine boasting equally remarkable precision and performance. Entirely developed, produced and assembled in Chopard’s watchmaking workshops, Chopard Calibre 01.08-C is chronometer-certified by the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC). This mechanical self-winding movement with its generous approximately 60-hour power reserve drives the hours, minutes, seconds and date functions.

“I was so pleased to say that I tried and tested it in the desert, on a desert race and the watch is built to survive on great expeditions and adventures. With this flame orange and tarmac black dial, the combination works in perfect harmony. I loved working on the Mille Miglia watch and when we were coming to create this one, I really wanted to have an alternative to the original Mille Miglia and that’s why we felt the Desert Racer would be the off-road cousin of the Mille Miglia.”
George Bamform, Founder, Bamford Watch Department

The oversized 6 and 12 o’clock Arabic numerals enhanced with black SuperLuminova^© stand out against the dial, meeting motorsports’ inherent legibility requirements. With the same aim in mind, the large facetted dagger-shaped hands and applied metallic hour-markers are likewise luminescent. Just as a driver keeps an eye on fuel levels during the 1,600 km of the 1000 Miglia, wearers of the Mille Miglia GTS Power Control Bamford Edition ‘Desert Racer’ will be able to check the power reserve of their timepiece thanks to the indicator provided for this purpose. This display is inspired by the fuel gauges of the cars competing in the race.

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