TAG Heuer Monaco Calibre 11 “McQueen” watch hands-on: worthy of reprint
Since the debut of Heuer Monaco 1133B in 1969 (then not TAG), Monaco has gone through countless iterations, from reprints and tribute works to belt-driven, high-tech versions equipped with tourbillons, such as V4 (hands it here). What we see today is the TAG Heuer Monaco Calibre 11 “McQueen” Reference CAW211P. It is interesting for many reasons: a) it is a handsome blue Monaco, b) it is expected to be a worthy re-version of the original, and c) the price In line with TAG Heuer’s recent (in fact very popular) more competitive pricing strategy.
Fans of TAG Heuer or Monaco (or indeed both) will surely be familiar with the history of this famous square chronograph-it is one of the few square dial watches that have become popular. However, refreshing our memory a little bit will certainly not hurt, so let’s start by doing this.
On March 3, 1969, Heuer launched the first square waterproof automatic chronograph-but remember another “big number one”: the original Heuer Monaco 1133B equipped with Chronomatic Calibre 11, this is the first in the history of watchmaking Automatic chronograph movement on sale. These achievements embodied two important debuts and breakthroughs in just one watch-no wonder that part of Monaco’s eternal charm is partly driven by these achievements.
A fascinating example of how history repeats itself is that the important role of making Monaco the globally recognized watch icon as we know it today is the appointment of TAG Heuer…you guessed it: the brand ambassador. In 1970, Jo Siffert became the first racer to receive sponsorship from a watch brand. It was with the help of Siffert that Monaco found the way to the track and became the focus of attention.
A year later, Steve McQueen “persisted in wearing” Monaco during the filming of Le Mans in 1971, which pushed Monaco from the track to the track, but was photographed on the big screen. At 70 In the era (and before), brand ambassadors and sponsorships were powerful and effective marketing tools. This is not news anymore-but it is still interesting to see how this applies to the watch and watch industry.
Over the years, starting in 2003, TAG Heuer has created many tribute works for the original 1133B, but except for the limited production of 1,000 pieces for the 40th anniversary of Monaco in 2009, it has always-arguably deliberately-avoided the first time Debut for the masses as close as possible to the real transaction, the original version…until now.
At Baselworld 2015, TAG Heuer quietly launched the product we saw today, TAG Heuer Monaco Calibre 11 Reference CAW211P. Apart from some really very subtle differences, it gave TAG Heuer Monaco fans a taste of the original version— —About half the price of the 1,000-piece limited edition before the hot sale in 2009.
The crown on the left is the same as before: tick. Red hour and minute hands, horizontal hour markers and red five-minute markers on the dial: everything is available. “Calibre 11” name: tick. Calibre 11 in it? No-for obvious reasons, this can’t happen. The biggest difference between the original model and the 2015 model is obviously the internal movement: on the Sellita automatic base that is likely to be replaced by ETA, the Dubois-Depraz timing module is responsible for the stopwatch function and the dual pair-the dial layout of the 2015 TAG Heuer Monaco Calibre 11 dial .
As (considered by many people) the first ever automatic chronograph movement, TAG Heuer’s Calibre 11 in 1969 is one of the few truly noteworthy and important movements, and every watch enthusiast should at least Understand a little…that’s why it is confusing, why TAG Heuer decided to name a modern movement Calibre 11-although it is very different from the original in many ways-and name a modern timepiece “Calibre 11”. Frankly speaking, although tributes and reprints have played a huge role in keeping traditions and idols good and vigorous decades after their birth, there is a fine line between paying tribute and causing chaos.
The decoration of the movement is quite exquisite-as always, at this price and comparable caliber, it is well decorated, but of course, you won’t find handmade beveling or other haute celebrity witchcraft. TAG Heuer fake decided to use a sapphire crystal back cover-compared with the previous version (and the original version) solid steel back cover, this is a very welcome change. There is no doubt that this movement is sufficient to justify this deviation from the original work-I think even purists have to agree.
The movement brings a second significant difference: the sub-dial layout of the square dial includes a 30-minute counter at 9 o’clock and a second counter at 3 o’clock-the original version from 1969 had 12-hour and 30-minute counters, respectively , There are no running seconds anywhere on the watch. Once again, the nuances that only the hardest fans will notice-and the “animation” added from the sweeper that runs at 3 o’clock is once again a welcome modification.
The new TAG Heuer Monaco Calibre 11 dial is very beautiful: deep non-metallic blue tone, although a little faded, but very close to the original version-2003 and 2010 blue dial Monaco previous version features shiny metallic blue dial look It looks like parts, but runs counter to the original dial. As mentioned above, the central hand now has an orange-red line and polished edges in its center-a perfect combination of the 5-minute markers of the same color around the circular minute track. fake aaa watches
The logo on the dial of the new 2015 TAG Heuer Monaco Calibre 11 represents Monaco and has a retro Heuer logo-the TAG part is omitted, and is historically consistent with the original about 46 years ago. TAG appeared very late. In 1985, Techniques d’Avant Garde Private Holding Company held shares in companies related to the aviation and racing industries and bought a majority stake in Heuer.
Even the “Swiss made” text is where it should appear, above the square date aperture at 6 o’clock-although the original text only speaks of Switzerland, today TAG tends to spell it out for you. Despite such slight differences in the beautifully printed parts, the 2015 version did a great job of replicating the charm and relaxed elegance of the original racing style dial.
The case of the TAG Heuer Monaco Calibre 11 measures 39 x 39 mm-1 mm higher than the original and 1,000 tributes in 2009. In addition to size, the case replaces the original round buttons with square buttons, adds larger lugs, and is decorated with raised sapphire crystals on the front.
Although it may seem simple at first glance, the square cushion-shaped case, sharp, completely vertical case profile, stubby, clear lugs, and the immediately striking crown and button positions all make Monaco stand out-and convex The sapphire crystal from this is really the icing on the cake. This case feels and looks strong, but it is also elegant, if we may say so, that it is relevant to today in an unusual way. Connected to the steel case is a perforated calfskin strap with a folding clasp, with a vintage Heuer logo, adding a touch of vintage.
It took TAG Heuer 46 years to get so close to re-release the original Monaco-because there was no real visual difference-but in 2015, that was exactly what happened. If you want the charm of the original Calibre 11, you will have to choose the vintage-but use the new one, and enjoy higher quality materials, exquisite execution, arguably higher long-term reliability, and the mileage you can Do it yourself.