Chopard Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph Raticosa

Click here to accept marketing cookies and load this content

Key Highlights

• The Chopard Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph Raticosa features a caseback engraved with the legendary Raticosa Pass from the 1000 Miglia route.
• The engraving is conceived in the manner of a postcard, capturing a singular moment from motorsport history.
• The decorative work is executed by Chopard‘s Artisans of Emotions, the maison’s team of specialist craftspeople.
• The Raticosa Pass is identified as one of the most decisive moments along the historic 1000 Miglia race course.
• The piece continues Chopard’s long-standing tribute to the 1000 Miglia, one of the world’s most celebrated historic road races.

A Living Tribute to the 1000 Miglia

For decades, the 1000 Miglia has occupied a singular position in the world of historic motorsport — a road race of Italian passion, mechanical daring, and landscapes that have become as legendary as the drivers who crossed them. Chopard, the Geneva-based fine watchmaking and jewellery maison, has long held the role of official timing partner to the event, a relationship that runs far deeper than sponsorship. Each edition of the Mille Miglia collection carries within it a chapter of this shared story, translating racing heritage into horological craft. The Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph Raticosa is the latest expression of that devotion, and it speaks directly to collectors who prize the narrative behind a timepiece as much as its mechanical content.

The 1000 Miglia — known in full as the Mille Miglia — traces its origins to the roads of Italy, winding through mountain passes, ancient towns, and stretches of open country that have tested man and machine alike for generations. Among all the terrain the race traverses, certain points have taken on almost mythological status for enthusiasts and historians of the sport. The Raticosa Pass is precisely one such point: a mountain ascent whose gradients and character have defined more than a few editions of the race, earning it a permanent place in the collective memory of 1000 Miglia lore. It is this pass that Chopard has now immortalised on the caseback of its newest classic chronograph, transforming a mechanical component into a canvas of commemoration. The official Chopard website offers further context on the maison’s enduring connection with the 1000 Miglia.

The Raticosa Pass: A Decisive Moment Preserved in Metal

What sets the Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph Raticosa apart from other references in the collection is the treatment of its caseback. Rather than a standard exhibition or plain solid back, Chopard has commissioned the Artisans of Emotions — the maison’s team of highly skilled decorative craftspeople — to engrave the Raticosa Pass in a composition described as being crafted like a postcard. The choice of that framing is deliberate and evocative: a postcard implies something personal, something sent from one passionate correspondent to another, a snapshot of a place that holds meaning far beyond its geography.

The engraving technique itself requires the kind of patient, precise handwork that has always defined Chopard’s approach to finishing. The Artisans of Emotions bring to this caseback the same sensibility they apply to the maison’s high jewellery and watch decoration, treating the metal surface as a medium for storytelling rather than mere ornament. The result is a watch that rewards the act of turning it over — a scene from one of motorsport’s most storied landscapes revealed to the wearer and to those fortunate enough to be shown it. For collectors drawn to timepieces that carry genuine historical weight, this kind of detail represents the difference between a watch and an heirloom.

Chopard’s Artisans of Emotions and the Art of the Caseback

The Artisans of Emotions designation reflects a philosophy central to Chopard’s identity as a maison: that watchmaking and jewellery craftsmanship are inseparable from feeling, memory, and the human stories that give objects their enduring value. By assigning the Raticosa caseback to these craftspeople specifically, Chopard signals that this is not a production detail but an act of artistic tribute. The engraved pass becomes a permanent fixture of the watch’s identity, as much a defining characteristic as its dial configuration or its movement. This approach also echoes Chopard’s broader creative programme, which has produced boundary-pushing work such as the Zagato Lab One Concept, where artisanal ambition and collaborative vision converge.

For GCC collectors and enthusiasts who follow major releases at Watches and Wonders and beyond, the Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph Raticosa presents a compelling proposition. The motorsport connection resonates strongly across the Gulf, where a deep appreciation for precision engineering and heritage racing culture has long intersected with a passion for considered luxury. A timepiece that commemorates a specific, named mountain pass with the rigour of a fine engraving is exactly the kind of focused storytelling that distinguishes a serious collector’s acquisition from a purely aesthetic one.

Why It Matters

The Chopard Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph Raticosa affirms that the maison’s relationship with the 1000 Miglia is one of the most authentically realised partnerships in contemporary watchmaking — one where race history and horological craft genuinely inform each other. For collectors across the GCC who value depth of narrative and exceptional finishing in equal measure, this piece represents a thoughtful and precisely executed addition to one of watchmaking’s most celebrated sports collections. The Raticosa caseback, in particular, elevates it from chronograph to collector’s document.

From new releases to runway moments, follow WATCHESPEDIA for sharp editorial coverage of horology and luxury culture in the GCC.