TAG HEUER IN JULY LAUNCHED THE THIRD OF FIVE
LIMITED-EDITION TRIBUTES TO THE MONACO’S 50TH
ANNIVERSARY. THE NEW MONACO 1989-1999 MONACO
LIMITED EDITION TAKES ITS INSPIRATION FROM THE STYLES
AND TRENDS OF THE 1990S WITH ITS GRAINED GRAY
DIAL (MEANT TO RECALL INDUSTRY AND CONCRETE) AND
SANDBLASTED SUBDIALS FEATURING BLUE COUNTERS.
You might recall that to celebrate the Monaco’s anniversary, TAG Heuer is
launching five new Monaco watches throughout the year, each inspired by the
different decades from 1969 to 2019. The first of these models, inspired by
the years 1969 to 1979, was unveiled at the Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix in
May, while the second limited edition, draped in racing red and celebrating the
period from 1979 to 1989, was presented in June in Le Mans, France.
During that red-dialed model’s debut in France, Jack Heuer himself favored
the watch and placed it on his wrist. He then surprised those who gathered
for the event by proclaiming the action as the first time he’d actually worn a
Monaco, according to Catherine Eberlé-Devaux, TAG Heuer heritage director.
“The shape was always a bit too Avant Garde for his taste,” she explains.
Regardless of whether he ever wore it, it was Heuer who led the Monaco’s
development and marketing in 1969.
This new model is decidedly not red, though its does have red indexes, a
red central seconds, red-tipped hands and a red logo frame in the dial’s center.
The blue of the Heuer logo and minute and second counters contrast with the
various red accents. The color scheme continues with the blue perforated calf-
skin strap with red stitching. Inside is Caliber 11, the modernized version (with
a Sellita base and Dubois-Dépraz module) of the historic automatic chrono-
graph movement Heuer built in 1969 with Hamilton and Breitling.
RIGHT TO LEFT
As with the original, the pushers here are on the right of the case while the
crown is on the left. According to Eberlé-Devaux, there are two stories told
over the past five decades that purport to explain the left-side crown. One has
it that the winding gears in the initial models are closer to the crown on the
left, which is technically more efficient.
The other story notes that by placing the crown on the left Heuer was
emphasizing its groundbreaking automatic chronograph movement, differen-
tiating the Monaco from traditional manual-wind chronographs with right-side
crowns. In fact, the move of the crown from right to left was highlighted in
Monaco advertisements of the era.
The latter story of course seems to be a logical marketing angle that
explains a built-in technical feature of the premiere Caliber 11. Later Monaco
models utilized right-side crowns, and several current versions fit with Sellita-
based Caliber 12 still do. Two additional celbratory Monaco 50th models are
scheduled for 2019. Price: $6,550.
SPECIAL PACKAGING
Like the watch itself, the watch box is also inspired by the original. Each of
the special-edition models comes in a box with colors that match the watch
and the decade it represents. The 1990s-inspired model is packaged in a
dark blue box decorated with the Heuer logo and a horizontal check-pattern
stripe. The watch is placed on a red cushion and surrounded by a grey
interior – the same colors found on the dial.
FALL 2019 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | 81