Chopard handles the execution, the ‘engine’ part and the chassis, while Zagato participates in creating the bodywork, the ‘passenger compartment’ and the upholstery.

Chopard’s enduring commitment as sponsor and official timekeeper of the Mille Miglia is now into its 25th 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.

Chopard and Zagato are both independent family businesses dedicated to creating intensely desirable technical objects crafted by qualified artisans. The entire process is governed by a constant concern for details and the pursuit of excellence conducted in keeping with a modern, sporty and refined spirit.

Since 1919, the atelier founded by Ugo Zagato in Milan has strived to create distinctively designed bodywork. 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). 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.

This is a Chopard Mille Miglia Replica Watches UK that has undergone the exclusive Zagato personalisation process. The ‘engine’ is a self-winding chronograph movement with date and dual-time displays. Chosen by Chopard for its reliability and sturdiness, this is the calibre that generally drives the Mille Miglia Omega Replica watches. It is officially certified by the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute, the COSC, a sure token of its high-precision rating. 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 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 Zagato. 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. Sharper and more angular, they epitomise the sporting and design-focused spirit of this cooperative effort.