A 1,000-mile Driving Tour through the Hills of California
On April 23rd to April 27th, people from all over the world gathered for the 32nd annual California Mille, a 1,000-mile driving trip through the hills of Central and Northern California. Chopard sponsored the event, which showcased automobiles built before the 1957 end of the first Mille Miglia road race in Italy.
"Like fine watches, fine cars are meant to be used, and when it comes to driving, there's no better place to do that than the breathtaking byways we select each year for the California Mille," said Hagerty CEO McKeel Hagerty. "What really sets this annual tradition apart, though, is sharing it with other enthusiasts. We are always so grateful for the time we get to spend with people who get just as fired up about great cars and lovely roads as we do."
For Chopard President Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, the link between luxury watches and cars is entirely natural: "Lovers of fine cars often have a great weakness for precious timepieces, and vice versa. Extreme precision and sporting elegance are important in both these fields."
The winners of the Spirit of the Mille Miglia, Best Pre-War Vehicle, and Best Post-War Automobile awards all received watches from Chopard, who also designed the commemorative Mille Miglia GTS Automatic Chrono California Mille 32nd Edition. The watch, of which there will only be 30 made, is a tribute to the art of driving and has masculine elegance, mechanical precision, watchmaking performance, and racing ergonomics.
For the second year in a row, the California Mille was held without releasing any greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Hagerty and the California Mille have given $10,000 to the California Fire Foundation to help protect the scenic areas in which we live and drive.
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