The Mille Miglia GT XL Chrono Rosso Corsa - Do Chopard Make the Unwearable. Wearable?

Chopard have been sponsor and official timekeeper of the "world's most beautiful road race" since 1988.  It should therefore be fitting to release a watch in tribute to Italy's traditional racing colours, Rosso Corsa.  A natural evolution, except for one problem - the perplexing red dial.  Now there have been some woefully bad red dial watches released in the past, some of them chronographs, most of them car-themed.  So the question to ask is - do Chopard make the unwearable, wearable?

The answer is yes, of course.  That vivid red dial is polished but relax, the 44mm titanium case tones it down and the three subdials use up enough space to make it all work.  The crowd-pleasing features are all there, the classic Mille Miglia GT dial layout with the silver toned subdials to the left allowing that big bubble date aperture at 3 o'clock lots of impact.

The characteristic outsize 12 and 6 numerals are etched straight onto the sapphire crystal and a sweep-second hand tipped with a red arrow is further evidence of the iconic Mille Miglia heritage of the collection.  There is a tachometric scale engraved onto the bezel and minute numerals on the inner ring.  Lots of information, all perfectly legible.  Inside is a COSC certified self-winding chronograph movement with 46 hours power reserve and the sapphire crystal case back features an engraving of the Mille Miglia route.

The Chopard Mille Miglia GT XL Chrono Rosso Corsa is a limited edition of 1000 pieces and comes presented on a rather racy perforated leather strap.