Chopard Mille Miglia GTS Power Control
Chopard and BWD team up to launch the Mille Miglia GTS Power Control Bamford Edition "Desert Racer" Chopard Mille Miglia GTS Power Control Bamford Edition "Desert Racer"
It features a solid sandblasted titanium case, matte black dial, orange accents, 60-hour COSC-certified movement
Most brands today specialize in a specific watch niche. Some lean toward strictly dress watches, while others lean toward sporty watches. But Chopard is a brand that excels in multiple categories. Whether it's the festive sheen of the Happy Sport, the unique textured dial of the Alpine Eagle, or the dress models in the LUC collection, Chopard has truly mastered a variety of watch styles. But it's always good to change things up a bit, and George Bamford and Bamford Watch Department are the best choices. Today, following up on their 2021 collaboration, Chopard x Bamford Watch Department unveils the Mille Miglia GTS Power Control Bamford Edition “Desert Racer” limited edition.
The nickname “Desert Racer” is no joke. The Mille Miglia GTS Power Control is, of course, a celebration of Chopard’s long-standing partnership with the Mille Miglia event, and a watch for racing enthusiasts. But the Mille Miglia GTS Power Control Bamford Edition “Desert Racer” was tested by George Bamford himself during the Norra 1000 rally in Mexico.
“I tried and tested this watch in the desert, in desert races, and it’s a watch built to survive great expeditions and adventures,” he says. “The flame orange and tarmac black dials on this watch go together beautifully. I love making Mille Miglia watches and when we started working on this one, I really wanted to design a replacement for the original Mille Miglia, which is why we felt the Desert Racer would be the off-road cousin of the Mille Miglia.”
Knowing George’s mission, the strategic choices in the design made perfect sense. This Bamford mashup features a solid sandblasted titanium case with the same dimensions as the standard model: 43mm in diameter and 11.43mm thick. While this “off-road cousin” is built for desert racing, it’s water-resistant to 100 meters and further secured by a screw-down crown, so it’s equally capable in the ocean as it is in the desert. This can be compared to Bamford’s mashup of the Aquaracer, which also mixes shades of black, grey and orange. However, this color combination is equally suitable for the GTS Power Control – it’s both beautiful and legible. As George himself said, the black matte dial was inspired by a racetrack, but being an off-road-inspired watch, I was curious to see how it would look with a sand-colored dial. There’s a fuel tank-inspired power reserve indicator at the 9’ and a black-orange date window at the 3’ that blends seamlessly into the dial. Surrounding the dial is a fixed titanium bezel with titanium inserts and orange numerals that complement the dial’s orange accents.
Under the colored sapphire exhibition caseback sits the COSC-certified Chopard automatic caliber 01-08.C with a 60-hour power reserve. Some may complain about the tinted crystal that slightly obscures the movement’s finish. But at the end of the day, this is one of the more industrial movements in Chopard’s arsenal. I’d say you can still make out the sunburst-finished bridges and the beveled edges of the bridges. Thankfully, given the watch’s water-resistance rating, it comes ready to wear out of the box with a textured rubber strap that secures to the wrist with a sandblasted steel folding clasp.