The world’s most famous motor race returns this weekend. So while the eyes of the-great-and-the-good [and, sometimes, some not-so-good] focus on Max Verstappen and Co. zooming their way around the narrow street of Monte Carlo, Formula One’s official watch brand, TAG Heuer, makes its stake for pole position with the release a trio of limited-edition timepieces to its iconic TAG Heuer Monaco collection.
But before we get into the details of the trio of timepieces – patience, dear reader! – a little history for you…
One of the long-held goals at TAG Heuer is measuring speed accurately, in ever greater detail.
Back in the Fifties, the Swiss luxury watch brand was known for producing dashboard speedometers. By the Sixties it was producing motorsport-related watches, the Autavia, and the Carrera. It also made a number of timekeeping innovations. Chief among these was the development of the first automatic chronograph.
The first watch to feature the new tech was TAG Heuer’s Monaco. Debuting in 1969 it caused a seismic shift in the watch industry by defying what the expectations of a chronograph could be at the time. Oh, and yes, it was in a square case.
At a time when round watches dominated the industry, the square-sided TAG Monaco watch was chosen by Steve McQueen to accessorise his character Michael Delaney in 1971’s major film Le Mans. Discontinued later that same decade it was reissued in a new design in 1998 and reintroduced again with entirely new mechanisms in 2003, a response to McQueen’s soaring popularity with a new generation.
Today, the TAG Heuer Monaco is one of the watch industry’s true icons, with a new trio of pieces set to enhance that legacy even further. Let’s have a closer look…
TAG Heuer Monaco Chronograph Stopwatch
With both its design and black, white, and red colour palette inspired by the famous Heuer stopwatches from the ’60s and ’70s, this new limited-edition novelty pays homage to the adrenaline-fueled world of racing, featuring elements reminiscent of the Monaco Grand Prix.
Limited to 970, this timepiece is a direct link to the very circuit that has come to define the essence of Formula 1. The design codes of vintage Heuer stopwatches makes it a purposeful return to the era that made Heuer stopwatches the ultimate timekeeping instruments around the famed street racetrack.
The use of the original Heuer colour palette, acts as a direct link to the timing instruments that once defined motorsport precision, for a new timepiece true to Jack Heuer’s philosophy of functional design.
TAG Heuer Monaco Chronograph x Gulf
With the TAG Heuer Monaco so directly tied to Steve McQueen, this new collab addition is a tribute to racing, cinema and time itself. Created in partnership with Gulf, the limited edition run of 971 pieces is a direct nod to the year the film Le Mans was released (1971) which saw McQueen at the wheel of his Porsche 917K. It’s also to celebrate the Formula 1 TAG Heuer Grand Prix de Monaco, whilst celebrating the uniqueness of Gulf with orange and blue accents across the watch’s details.
TAG Heuer Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph
Crafted from a new form of titanium that introduces a bold expression of material innovation, this timepiece features the ultra-light rattrapante complication and is housed in a watch weighing just 86 grams. It boasts a fully transparent dial and caseback, accented with lime green racing-inspired details and meticulous hand-finishing throughout.