Il TAG Heuer Monaco is one of the most popular watches of Day, this year. The important presence on the wrist, which one would not guess from the contained measurements on the paper - only 39 millimeters wide -, combined with the out of the ordinary shape, make this chronograph a case in itself in the panorama of sporty luxury.
Il TAG Heuer Monaco today it is a watch appreciated by lovers of sports chronographs and by those who love to stand out. How was this very successful model born, so different from the other chronograph of the house Heuer, il Career with much more traditional forms?
TAG Heuer Monaco: a disruptive watch
Il TAG Heuer Monaco was born in great race to the 1969 automatic chronograph.
The Doubois-Depraz, Buren, Breitling e Heuer, from which the movement of the first will arise Heuer Monaco, adopts a design philosophy in which everyone contributes to a part of the movement, which is therefore born with a modular concept.
The result is a chronograph module developed by Dubois, with a micro-rotor, or planetary rotor, developed by Buren, which provides automatic winding. This construction implies the need to position the crown on the left side of the case. A point that is exploited in the commercial phase by Heuer, which emphasizes this feature as distinctive for the Monaco, advertising it as a chronograph that does not need to be wound and which therefore has the “superfluous” winding crown on the left.
TAG Heuer Monaco: the link with racing
Il TAG Heuer Monaco, with its particular square shape, it can stand out immediately. The crown on the left, as mentioned, becomes the distinctive feature of this watch animated by the movement Chronomat caliber 11. Heuer however, it is not satisfied with the unusual shape, to talk about its very advanced automatic chronograph: it chooses, in harmony with the history of the brand, to focus on the link with the world of motor racing. Hence, the name Monk, chosen precisely to evoke the famous Grand Prix held in the city-state of the same name.
Jo Siffert, a Swiss Formula 1 driver, becomes one of the first names in the sport to be associated with the TAG Heuer Monaco. But the fame of this watch, which even today attracts thousands of fans, is mainly due to the famous Steve McQueen, American actor and driver who wore the Heuer Monaco on the set of Le Mans 24 Hours.
The TAG Heuer Monaco today
L'Heuer Monaco remained a victim, like many other famous mechanical watches, of the Quartz Crisis: in 1975 it went out of production. It is worthless to have been the first waterproof watch shape, or the fame earned on the race tracks. But all is not lost. After the acquisition by TAG, the TAG Heuer Monaco has returned to make a fine show of itself on the wrists of collectors from all over the world, thanks to the return to production, albeit with a movement derived from ETA.
In the last few years, Tag Heuer decided to close the last gap that separated the Monaco from other luxury chronographs: here is the movement Caliber Heuer 02, the first in the history of Monaco to be of manufacture inside the House.
I TAG Heuer Monaco the most popular remain those with blue, black or vertical colored stripes - the "Gulf", named after the oil company sponsor of McQueen in the film "Le Mans" -.
Recently, TAG Heuer launched a model of the TAG Heuer Monaco distinguished by a dial green, in homage to current color trends.
