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Chopard Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph Automatic Chopard Lucent Steel™ 40.5mm Mens Watch
Ref. 168619-3001
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Stepping up in Chopard's range
Chopard has been the official timekeeper of the Mille Miglia regularity race for over 35 years, a partnership born from Karl-Friedrich Scheufele's genuine enthusiasm for classic motorsport rather than any marketing calculation. The watch exists to carry that connection into something you can wear, and most of the design decisions trace back to it: the Nero Corsa dial is named for racing black and arrives at its depth through a galvanic treatment rather than paint, the engine-turned perlage underneath catches light the way a prepared metal surface does in a workshop, and the rubber strap is moulded from the tread profile of a 1960s Dunlop racing tyre. The movement is COSC-certified, which for a chronograph means the timing function is held to the same standard as the hours and minutes — a meaningful requirement given what the watch is supposed to represent. The screw-down crown carries a steering wheel emblem, a detail you notice only once you are looking for it, and the exhibition caseback rewards that attention with a view of the self-winding calibre and its 54-hour reserve.
- Reference
- 168619-3001
- Brand
- Chopard
- Case size
- 40.5mm
- Case thickness
- 12.88mm
- Case material
- Stainless steel
- Case shape
- Round
- Dial
- Black
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Movement
- Automatic
- Functions
- Chronograph, Date, Small seconds, Tachymeter
- Water resistance
- 50m
- Bracelet / strap
- Rubber strap
- Strap colour
- Black
- Clasp
- Buckle
- Lume
- Super-LumiNova
- Retailer
- Mappin & Webb
Additional specifications
- Power reserve
- 54 hours
- Origin
- Swiss made
Learn more about Chopard
Louis-Ulysse Chopard founded a workshop in Sonvilier in the Jura in 1860, building pocket watches that sold well in Eastern Europe and Russia. The family ran it for three generations before the line ran out of successors, and in 1963 the company was sold to Karl Scheufele III, a Pforzheim jeweller.
The Scheufele family still owns it, and their dual background explains the house's character: Chopard is unusual in being both a serious watchmaker and a serious jeweller, with in-house capability in gem-setting and gold-working alongside movement production.
The Happy Diamonds concept of 1976 — loose stones rotating freely between two sapphire crystals — became the commercial engine of the jewellery side and remains instantly identifiable.
On the watch side, the L.U.C collection launched in 1996 with the calibre 1.96, a micro-rotor automatic that announced Chopard as a genuine manufacture rather than a fashion house buying movements. L.U.C watches have since collected Geneva Seal and COSC certifications and produced tourbillons, perpetual calendars, and minute repeaters made in Fleurier.
Chopard has timed the Mille Miglia since 1988, giving it a motorsport line with real provenance, and in 2018 moved its entire gold supply to ethically certified sources — the first major house to do so across all production.
- 1860
- Louis-Ulysse Chopard founds the workshop in Sonvilier.
- 1963
- Karl Scheufele III acquires the company.
- 1976
- Happy Diamonds introduces free-moving stones.
- 1988
- Chopard begins timing the Mille Miglia.
- 1996
- The L.U.C 1.96 establishes in-house movement production.
Also in 4 collections
This watch appears in Back in Stock (3,988), Stainless Steel Watches (2,814), Automatic Watches (1,546) and Chronograph Watches (1,087).
Best of 2 retailers
What the specifications mean
A mechanical watch for everyday wear.
Strengths
- Sapphire crystal, which resists scratching
- Luminous hands and markers for low light
- Sits in the lower half of Chopard's range as we list it
Worth knowing
- 50m suits rain and handwashing, not swimming
Chopard Mille Miglia Classic alternatives
Watches from other brands at a similar price, style and size, so you can see what else your budget can buy.
| Specification | 168619-3001 | 49555-11-131-11A | YA163321 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £8,480 | £8,700 | £8,130 |
| Case size | 40.5mm | 40mm | 40mm |
| Water resistance | 50m | 30m | 30m |
| Movement | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Strap | Rubber strap | Stainless steel bracelet | Stainless steel bracelet |
| Power reserve | 54 hours | 46 hours | 60 hours |
| This watch |
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Your new watch
Frequently asked questions, and things you should know about this watch
Can I swim with it?
Showering yes, swimming no. 50m covers splashes and brief immersion, but a swimming stroke generates well above the pressure that figure describes.
Water resistance explainedWill the glass scratch?
Unlikely. Sapphire is second only to diamond in hardness and shrugs off everyday marking.
Sapphire, mineral and acrylic comparedDoes it need a battery?
No. It is automatic — the motion of your wrist winds it, and there is no cell to replace.
Quartz, automatic and solar comparedHow long does it run for when it's not worn?
About 54 hours fully wound — enough to survive a night off the wrist, but not a full weekend.
Is it a men's or women's watch?
Listed as men's.
Cheapest place to buy
Both Mappin & Webb and Goldsmiths list it at £8,480, so choose on delivery and warranty rather than price.
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