March 28, 2024
TAG Heuer Monaco

When you think of TAG Heuer, what do you think of? Racecar drivers? That funky red-and-green logo? Sports watches? Possibly all of these things cross your mind, but for many of us it’s all about the 1969 Heuer Monaco, and the man who, coincidentally, made the watch famous: Steve McQueen. The TAG Heuer (formerly just Heuer) Monaco is a watch steeped in legend that many brands can only hope their pieces might one day achieve. While I would love to share my own experiences with the myth, I would much prefer to take a look at the modern-day Monaco, a watch I feel can very much speak for itself, even without Mr. McQueen.

The semi-square, 39-mm modern-day Monaco, with the Calibre 12 automatic chronograph movement, is plainly an interesting watch. In a variety of ways, this piece is unique: the sunburst blue dial, the tiered chronograph pushers, the raised sapphire crystal — if you want a watch as a conversation piece, this would surely fit the bill. The watch also has a small date window just above the six o’clock position, a water resistance of 100 meters (on par with TAG Heuer’s standards for its watches), and it’s all finished with a brushed steel case on a blue alligator strap. TAG Heuer lists this watch at $5,350, a mid-range price for the brand, and one I’m guessing it justifies by citing the model’s heritage and recent popularity.
TAG Heuer Monaco
To be honest, it’s not very often that am I more impressed by a modern watch than I am by its vintage counterpart, but the TAG Heuer Monaco Calibre 12 is one of those watches. It does a very good job of not only incorporating many of the aspects that made the original piece special, but in updating some aspects to address many of its initial flaws. The biggest update from the first Monaco (which actually took place way back in the 1970s) was the transition from the first automatic Caliber 11 movement to the much more precise Caliber 12. Another change, in line with today’s tastes, is that the modern Monaco now has a clear sapphire caseback displaying that movement.

Overall, the watch seems to have fit into its persona: the hands look cleaner without the red highlights, the hour markers seem to have purpose being on a diagonal instead of a horizontal, and the case now has a level of finishing that matches the price TAG Heuer is charging. The only issue I would take with the watch is the current crown position on the right side of the case rather than on the left. The original 1969 model featured a reverse-facing Buren microrotor base movement, and the the crown re-positioning it necessitated became unmistakably “Monaco.” Vintage Heuer fanatics have embraced this new Monaco nevertheless, but to me it’s a shame that part of the model’s heritage is being ignored.

The Monaco 24, in my opinion, is the luxury sports watch TAG Heuer has always wanted to make. A quick glance at the watch shows that, outside of case shape, it is not all that recognizable as a part of the Monaco line. Naturally it still has the chronograph, and the same general color scheme and hands, but the dial and all its inner workings have very little correlation to the original watch. I do not, however, think any of this is for the worse; the Monaco has always prided itself on being a cool, funky, even futuristic-looking piece, and the ‘24’ seems to embrace much of that philosophy. Do I think the price tag is a bit much? Sure, but TAG Heuer took a risk in designing its most luxurious piece to fit within a historical (what I would call no less than iconic) watch series, and to an extent succeeded, but the result is still a watch that stands on its own.