2019/20 JEWELS & TIME 27BIRTHDAY
BOYS
The image of actor
Steve McQueen
sporting the Heuer
Monaco in Le Mans
remains etched
in the memory
of people up till
today; the Monaco
1989-1999 Limited
Edition. Opposite:
The Monaco
1969-1979
Limited Edition
is the fi rst of fi ve
commemorative
designs that
TAG Heuer will be
releasing this yearIt was 3 March 1969, and the very fi rst
automatic chronograph was about to take the
world by storm. Heuer (what TAG Heuer was
known as back then), along with partners
Hamilton, Breitling and Dubois-Depraz,
had been working on the Calibre 11 for the
past three years, and it was fi nally ready to
wow the world. Unfortunately for Heuer,
the watch in which this calibre was set—
the Monaco—received an underwhelming
response upon its launch. And it was not
just because of the competition it faced
in the race to claim the title of the world’s
fi rst automatic chronograph—the Monaco,
with its square case and left-handed crown,
was just a little too unconventional for
unimpressed collectors. But 50 years on, the
TAG Heuer Monaco and its Calibre 11 have
both become industry icons.
“We wanted to create an outstanding
and innovative product, something
avant-garde. When I saw the square
case, I immediately knew it was
something special,” said TAG Heuer
honorary chairman Jack Heuer
about the creation of the Monaco.
That said, Jack admits he was not
exactly a fan of the design but
saw its potential. At the time,
square cases were usually only
used for dress watches, because the
shape made it impossible to make
the case water-resistant. Until the
Monaco, that is. On top of the fact that
it houses the Calibre 11, the Monaco
is also the world’s fi rst water-resistant
square watch. Paired with the metallic blue
dial, red and light-blue hands, and left-
handed crown, the Monaco made the perfect
case for thoroughly disruptive watch design.
The Calibre 11 is a much-beloved
movement, and is known for being one of
three creations that were vying for the title
of world’s fi rst automatic chronograph—
the other two being the Zenith El Primero
and the Seiko 6139. The Calibre 11
employed a modular construction, with
a Hamilton-Buren base movement and a
Dubois-Depraz chronograph module, and has
since undergone many evolutions.
Given the lukewarm initial reception that
the Monaco received, how did it become
the icon it is today? The credit is due to the
king of cool, American actor Steve McQueen,
who strapped on the Monaco and climbed
into a Porsche in the 1971 fi lm Le Mans,
forever sealing the link between the watch
and motorsports.
In the years since, the Monaco has stood on
its own unique merits and enjoyed numerous
remakes, all of which have been snapped up by
collectors enamoured of the distinctive watch.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the
Monaco, TAG Heuer will be launching new
versions of the legendary original, along with
a commemorative book about it and multiple
events to fete the occasion around the world.
As at this point in time, the brand has only
revealed three out of the fi ve limited-edition
commemorative versions of the watch. The
Monaco 1969-1979 Limited Edition references
the period in its name with a vintage-inspired
colour palette composed of a warm green,
grey, reddish-brown and yellow; the Monaco
1979-1989 Limited Edition features a bold
red dial and a black calfskin strap punctured
with holes lined in red—an ode to the world
of speed and style McQueen was synonymous
with; and the Monaco 1989-1999 Limited
Edition refl ects the industrial style of the
Nineties, with a largely blue and silvery
appearance complemented with a splash
of red.
The Monaco has come far from its
unceremonious debut, and we’re certain
that it will continue to wow collectors the
world over.er