At Rétromobile Paris 2026, Swiss luxury watchmaker Chopard unveiled the Zagato Lab One Concept, a 19-piece limited-edition timepiece developed in collaboration with Italian automotive design house Zagato.
Chopard has a long association with motoring and co-president Karl-Friedrich Scheufele is a renowned classic car enthusiast. The watchmaker became the official timekeeper and world sponsor of the Mille Miglia in 1988 and finishers are awarded a Chopard Mille Miglia edition timepiece.
Zagato and Chopard’s relationship began when Scheufele met Zagato president Andrea Zagato, great-grandson of founder Ugo Zagato, during the Mille Miglia. This resulted in their first collaboration, the 2013 Mille Miglia Zagato Chronograph, followed by the Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph Zagato 100th Anniversary Edition in 2019.
The new Chopard Zagato Lab One Concept will be limited to just 19 pieces in reference to the design house’s founding on 19 April, 1919. The watch was unveiled at Rétromobile by Scheufele and Zagato global automotive leader Marcel Yoshida as the two companies’ most ambitious watch yet.
Created by Zagato chief designer Norihiko Harada, the Lab One Concept is the lightest titanium watch Chopard has ever produced, weighing in at just 43.2g including the strap. Boasting an automatic movement, the timepiece was designed using automotive and aerospace engineering principles.
One of its most innovative features – and a key reason for its lightweight design – is the tubular case that supports movement, like the tubular spaceframe chassis and engine of a racing car. Similarly, tubular open loops replace the lugs of a typical wristwatch to hold the strap and ensure the Lab One Concept remains perfectly positioned on the wrist.
The 42mm case’s side crown is inspired by car differential gears and is customised with an engraved steering wheel that has come to represent Chopard’s Classic Racing timepieces. Positive relief engraving displays the Chopard and Zagato motifs, while a sapphire ‘glass box’ crystal sits flush with the watch face’s caseband.
Powering the Lab One Concept is the venerable L.U.C 04.04-L automatic chronograph movement. The movement finishing, case, movement bridges and mainplate are manufactured from ceramicised titanium for similar shock and scratch resistance to ceramic.
The collaboration is limited to 19 examples, with pricing undisclosed.
For more on the Zagato Lab One Concept, click here.
