Chopard and Bamford Watch Department present the Mille Miglia GTS Power Control Bamford Edition ’Desert Racer,’ a limited-edition timepiece crafted in bead-blasted titanium. This exclusive collaboration showcases a sporty design with orange, grey, and black details, oversized numerals, and a woven-effect rubber strap. The 50 numbered pieces, powered by the Chopard 01.08-C movement, blend sleek aesthetics and technical excellence.
Chopard Co-President Karl-Friedrich Scheufele and George Bamford’s creative dialogue results in a robust 43mm-diameter case, a black aluminium bezel, and a woven rubber strap secured by a DLC bead-blasted steel folding clasp. The watch, tested in the desert, affirms its reliability and precision. The COSC-certified Chopard Calibre 01.08-C with a 60-hour power reserve drives the hours, minutes, seconds, and date functions, while the frosted black dial with flame orange accents, luminescent Arabic numerals, and a power reserve indicator offers a distinctive style.
George Bamford emphasises the watch’s durability during the Norra 1000, stating that it was built for expeditions and adventures. The Desert Racer edition serves as the off-road cousin of the Mille Miglia collection, combining elegance and performance for enthusiasts of fine cars and timepieces.
Flying high
The Rolex Oyster Perpetual Sky-Dweller, designed for frequent travellers, features the Saros annual calendar and Ring Command system, allowing simultaneous indication of two time zones and date and month adjustments with a single gesture. Launched in 2012, the Sky-Dweller is a valuable tool for managing time differences, offering a technical and elegant solution for global synchronisation. With an intuitive system for adjusting functions, it displays local time on central hands and a 24-hour rotating disc for a second time zone. The patented Saros annual calendar requires only one adjustment a year. The fluted bezel, reflecting sunlight, incorporates the Ring Command system, facilitating easy access to the Sky-Dweller’s settings. You can choose and set the functions quickly and securely by interacting with the rotatable bezel, winding crown, and movement. When you turn the bezel counterclockwise, you can choose, notch by notch, the calendar – date and month, the local or reference time – before adjusting them with the crown. The Sky-Dweller is a sophisticated watch for those who perceive the world as a seamless territory, enabling them to navigate time zones effortlessly and stay ahead in their ventures.
Counting down
The Skipper, a popular sailing watch produced from 1968 to 1983, made a comeback this year after four decades’ absence from the TAG Heuer catalogue. The ‘glassbox’ Carrera design excludes a bezel, making the new Skipper highly legible in its robust 39mm case. This contains the latest TH20-06 movement with bi-directional winding and an 80-hour power reserve. The Skipper fastens with a high-end, resistant textile strap.
It pays homage to the original Skipper associated with the America’s Cup. The historical connection traces back to the 1940s when Heuer collaborated with Abercrombie and Fitch, eventually becoming the official timer for the America’s Cup.
The new Skipper replicates the original’s colourful design, featuring a Carrera signature blue dial, contrasting sub-dials, and notable markers. The 12-hour counter is ‘Intrepid Teal’ while the 15-minute regatta counter has segments in Intrepid Teal, Lagoon Green and Regatta Orange.
Maintaining the historical references are the prominent, triangle-shaped markers set at five-minute intervals around the outer curved flange, the bright orange central seconds hand and the inclusion of the ‘Skipper’ name at the base of the 12-hour counter.
Renewed interest in the Skipper began in 2017 with a limited-edition Hodinkee collaboration that paid tribute to the 1968 model, and original versions now command high prices at auctions, some reaching $80,000.
