Chopard - California Mille Race
Drawing upon the original Italian race from Brescia to Rome and back, the California Mille is a 1,000 mile, four day excursion through the picturesque back roads and historical highways of Northern California, featuring over 70 vintage race cars made before 1958. In honor of the race, Chopard designed a special edition Mille Miglia Gran Turismo XL watch exclusive to participants.
The Drive
The California Mille race began on April 25th at 8:30am, departing from Mason Street in San Francisco. The drivers spent the morning passing through key points such as the Golden Gate Bridge, Mt. Tamalapais, and the Infineon Raceway in Petaluma. After spending the afternoon on Highways 116, 121, and 29, the drivers finished the first day at the Solage Calistoga. On Day Two, drivers made their way through Geyserville, Lake Sonoma, Skaggs Springs Road, Highway 1, Highway 128, Cloverdale, Asti Road, and back to Calistoga. On the third day, the drivers traveled along the Silverado Trail and took laps at Thunderill Race Track. The race path took them along Highway 162 and 206, Danley Road, Freshwater, and Highway 20 with a return trip back to the Solage Calistoga. The concluding day featured a route through Mill Valley, which was renamed "Mille Valley" for the day, and ended in Sonoma with a final banquet and awards dinner at the Lodge at Sonoma. Throughout the race, the drivers make lavish pit stops that included dining at world-renowned restaurants, staying at luxurious hotels, and a visit to a private Mercedes-Benz collection, considered to rival the carmaker's own collection in Stuttgart, Germany.
Chopard and the Mille Miglia Watch Collection
Passionate about vintage cars, Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, Co-President of Chopard. has been playing an active part in the Mille Miglia since 1988, when Chopard supported this event for the first time. Scheufele has twin passions for classic cars and fine watch making, and has a remarkable personal collection of cars including many pre-war and post-war English and German makes. In his words: "Lovers of fine automobiles are said to have a weakness for precious timekeepers and vice versa. In both domains, extreme precision and sporting elegance play an important role". Lifting the hood of a car provides an understanding of what is going on inside the engine, and the same goes for horological mechanisms that may be admired through a watch case-back. Chopard and Classic Car Racing have thus become synonymous, giving rise to a collection of Mille Miglia watches which represent elegance and high performance needed in both the watch and classic car race industries. To commemorate The California Mille 2011 event, Chopard created a Mille Miglia Gran Turismo XL watch featuring the logo of the California Mille 2011 race, available exclusively to participants of the California Mille. Five watches were presented to five extraordinary drivers, selected by the Mille mechanics and crew.
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