Chopard Brings the Most Beautiful Race in the World to Manila, Porsche 356B Included

There are few pairings that make as much sense as a Chopard chronograph and a vintage Porsche. Both are products of precision engineering, both reward an appreciation for mechanical craftsmanship, and both become more compelling when their stories are measured in decades rather than seconds.

That connection came materialized on October 20th, when Chopard, Lucerne, and PGA Cars brought The Spirit of Precision: Chopard Gentlemen’s Evening to PGA Antonio’s in Manila. The highlight was a preview of the Chopard Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph Raticosa, displayed alongside a vintage Porsche 356B from the private collection of PGA Cars. Although the 356B was produced from 1959 to 1963, beyond the traditional eligibility cutoff for the Mille Miglia’s historic competition cars, its presence offered an evocative representation of the classic motoring culture that inspires the watch collection. Only earlier variants of the Porsche 356 were allowed to race in Mille Miglia.

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The pairing was more than a luxury-brand display. It brought together two expressions of a shared philosophy: that engineering excellence becomes timeless when it is accompanied by distinctive design, a sense of history, and a passion that transcends generations.

The Mille Miglia, which is Italian for “1,000 miles," was first held in 1927, tracing a demanding route from Brescia to Rome and back. The race crossed public roads, villages, mountain passes, and sweeping countryside, turning the Italian landscape into an integral part of the spectacle. Its combination of extraordinary machinery, dramatic scenery, and the human drama of open-road competition earned it the enduring description "the most beautiful race in the world."

Chopard Mille Miglia GTS

The original speed race ended in 1957 and was revived in 1977, and the modern Mille Miglia became a rally race celebrating the automobiles and traditions of its golden age. Its historical eligibility rules preserve the character of the original field, generally requiring participating cars to belong to models that competed in, or were eligible for, the original event between 1927 and 1957.

That distinction is central to the event’s appeal. The Mille Miglia is not simply about driving old cars; it is about preserving the history of motoring through machines that embody a particular era of engineering, design, and competition. The Porsche 356B, while not presented as an eligible entrant, fits naturally into that broader conversation. As one of the early generations of Porsche’s iconic sports-car lineage, it represents the enduring appeal of lightweight construction, purposeful styling, and mechanical ingenuity.

Chopard Mille Miglia luxury chronograph

The Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph Raticosa translates that heritage into a timepiece designed for contemporary wear. Its name pays tribute to the Raticosa Pass, one of the memorable sections of the historic route and one of the stretches whose roads still evoke the character of the 1955 race.

The reference 168619-3020 features a 40.5-mm Lucent Steel™ case and an eggshell-colored matte dial, with beige Super-LumiNova hour markers lending it a restrained, vintage-inspired character. Inside is a COSC-certified automatic chronograph movement with a 54-hour power reserve. The titanium caseback features a postcard-inspired engraving of a race car navigating the mountain pass amid cheering spectators, as a miniature tribute to the spectacle that continues to define the Mille Miglia.

Another highlight was the limited-edition Mille Miglia Classic Patina. Its Lucent Steel™ case, treated with a black DLC coating and a carefully controlled tribo finishing process, features subtly distressed edges reminiscent of a classic car that has accumulated character through years of use. The effect makes a point familiar to collectors: perfection does not always mean looking untouched. Sometimes, the marks left by time are precisely what make an object interesting.

Porsche 356

Chopard’s relationship with the Mille Miglia extends beyond designing watches inspired by a famous race. Since 1988, the Maison has served as the event’s World Sponsor and Official Timekeeper, a partnership rooted in Co-President Karl-Friedrich Scheufele’s personal passion for classic automobiles. His friendship with Belgian racing legend Jacky Ickx, a multiple-time Formula One Grand Prix winner and endurance-racing champion, has further strengthened the connection between fine watchmaking and motorsport.

Speaking at the Manila gathering, Darren Wang, Head of Wholesale for Chopard Southeast Asia, highlighted the Scheufele family’s longstanding commitment to the event and Ickx’s role in its story. Their continued involvement reflects a shared appreciation for mechanical excellence, sporting heritage, and the traditions that make collecting meaningful.

Chopard Head of Wholesale for SEA Darren Wang

This comes at a particularly appropriate time for the luxury watch house. Founded in 1927, the Mille Miglia approaches its centenary in 2027. Wang also hinted that Chopard is looking forward to something exciting next year as it collaborates on the historic event for its centennial celebrations. For a brand whose association with the race now spans nearly four decades, the milestone promises another chapter in a partnership that has endured well beyond changing trends in watches and automobiles.

The evening also offered guests a chance to appreciate Chopard’s broader watchmaking universe, including Happy Sport The First, which revisits the original Happy Sport design introduced by Caroline Scheufele in 1993. Its freely moving diamonds, suspended between sapphire crystals, provide a playful counterpoint to the purposeful engineering of the Mille Miglia collection.

Yet the evening’s central message remained firmly rooted in the connection between timepieces and automobiles. Both can be appreciated for their technical construction, but their lasting appeal depends just as much on the stories they carry. A classic Porsche recalls a particular era of engineering and design; a chronograph inspired by the Mille Miglia connects its wearer to a tradition of endurance, precision, and adventure.

That is what made the vintage-car setting so effective. It placed the watches in the context of the culture that inspired them, rather than treating them as objects to be admired in isolation. And with the Mille Miglia approaching its 100th anniversary, Chopard’s Manila preview served as a timely reminder that some passions are not measured simply by elapsed seconds or miles covered but by the history and craftsmanship that make every journey worth remembering.

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