Richard Mille RM 63 01 Dizzy Hands 2

Chantilly Arts & Elegance Richard Mille: cultivating similar passions

When elegance becomes a way of life, artists come together to pay tribute to it. And that is why Richard Mille has once again collaborated with vintage car competition Chantilly Arts & Elégance Richard Mille.

By Vincent Daveau
Contributor

The Chantilly Arts & Elegance Richard Mille vintage and prestigious car competition welcomed over 13,000 visitors on Sunday September 6, 2015. The event was an incredible success and it proved that aficionados do enjoy good car mechanics. This was a rather peculiar occasion, however, and it included a dress code that everyone needed to follow. The expression “come as you are”, which made the fortunes of a certain American label, did not apply to this festival that celebrated beauty, luxury and the art of conservation.

Chantilly Arts & Elegance 13'000 visitors at the Chantilly Arts & Elégance Richard Mille 2015 (picture credits: Evelina Jakovlevska)

This event required for everyone's outfit to pay tribute to collectors who strived to preserve an industrial and artistic legacy, the symbol of evolution in the 20th century.

Richard Mille RM011 FM Richard Mille RM 011-FM on the wrist with a Ferrari 250 GT Interim from 1959 in the background

Child's eyes

This competition was also the occasion for enthusiasts to commune with historical mechanics by being able to bring with them what materialized their passion. Some of them came with their family in their carefully maintained dream car to celebrate the great collection cars event.

Chantilly Arts & Elégance Richard Mille 2015 Chantilly Arts & Elégance Richard Mille 2015 (picture credits: Cyrille George Jerusalmi)

In a sportier endeavor, others tried to compete through brand clubs and were given the possibility of staging their presence around a picnic in one of the dedicated parks. There were also those who, dressed in seasonal clothes, chose their most beautiful watch to walk by the presented cars competing in the 15 classes the jury chose.

Richard Mille RM005 Richard Mille RM005 on the wrist with a Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona from 1973

The Chantilly Arts and Elegance Richard Mille has it all: activities throughout the day, equestrian games, steam boat events on the ponds and the chance to visit the castle and its collections. Many a visitor looked around wide-eyed, just like children do when they see a beautiful gift. Indeed, this Sunday dedicated to expressing passions while delightfully making the most of a unique place was for many like travelling in a time machine.

Wei Koh (The Rake Magazine), John Simonian (Westime), Bruce Lee (Revolution Press), Alexander Friedman (Watchonista) Wei Koh (The Rake Magazine), John Simonian (Westime), Bruce Lee (Revolution Press), Alexander Friedman (Watchonista)

The climax: an auction sale

Needless to say, it is the expertise of Peter Auto that the Chantilly Arts & Elegance Richard Mille can be described as the sum of various perfectly orchestrated moments. Every effort had been put in for this event to be as enjoyable as possible and hence the organization made sure that the event's actors - namely the collectors who take care of their cars down to the smallest detail - had the opportunity to discover the area. That was on the eve of what will no doubt become an indispensable rendez-vous for all aficionados which will undoubtedly be described as an "elegant Sunday on the countryside". Also on Saturday, British auction house Bonhams organized a big auction sale of prestigious cars.

Richard Mille RM052 Tourbillon Skull Richard Mille RM 052 Tourbillon Skull

Those enthusiasts who wished to embrace this great automobile festival as much as possible were thus given the chance to put in the highest bid and take home, perhaps, a vintage car that could compete in one of the 15 categories. In 2015, the themes of the fifteen categories covered a wide period of car history. The superstars of the competition were under the following categories: "Racing Bugattis", "Formula 1 between 1966 and1972" and "Grand Tourism: racing and city cars".Less sporty yet insanely original creations also found their place in the categories reserved for "Famous Ladies' Cars", "Iconoclastic Interiors", "European Chassis & American Engine" or "The Aga Khan Family's Cars".

Chantilly Arts & Elégance Richard Mille 2015 Richard Mille drives his 1967 BRM P 115 H16 lightweight chassis 01 (picture credits: Yves Riom)

Lenient weather

In 2014, the weather was particularly favorable in contrast to what had been forecasted for this year. Yet, whilst Saturday was a bit rainy, the weather was pleasant on Sunday. As watchmaking partner Richard Mille put it: “luck always plays a role in achieving success”. And that proved almost prophetic for the Chantilly Arts & Elegance, as the good weather conditions enabled the event to be successful down to the smallest detail.

Richard Mille partner and polo star Pablo MacDonough Richard Mille partner and polo star Pablo MacDonough (picture credits: Cyrille George Jerusalmi)

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