TAG Heuer has made a few limited edition Japan Series watches: Scottish Highlands, Great Ocean Road, Pacific Coast Highway, and now Italian Tuscan Hill Road. The standard distinctive dark green is ever present together with the Pegasus Toscana Hill Roads logo. Launched in October 2010, it is already available at dealers.
This is the timepiece where inspired engineering and radical looks blend in a futuristic whole. It expresses values TAG Heuer has always stood for: constant technical innovation, and a passion for ground-breaking design.
Inspired by supercharged cars, this chronograph puts the essence of the world’s toughest motor races on your wrist.
Racing cars spell ultimate power and performance. To achieve that, their makers constantly innovate. That’s what we’ve done with the Monaco Twenty Four. This is the most cutting-edge Monaco ever.
For a start, it’s powered by our 36 Calibre movement, beating 100 times faster than your heart, at 36,000 vibrations per hour. Then, it’s equipped with high-tech shock protection: the world’s first Advanced Dynamic Absorber system. The movement is suspended between four shock-absorbing arms. It seems to float, allowing you to see into the case.
The dial’s vertical blue and orange stripes echo the Gulf livery on the legendary Porsche 917K Steve McQueen drove in the movie “Le Mans”. The oversized number 24 at 12 o’clock pays tribute to the most famous endurance race in the world. Even the cover over the unique oscillating mass of the movement resembles a steering wheel.
Housed in a larger 40.5 mm case coated with black titanium carbide, the high-performance Calibre 36 movement runs at the stunning speed of 36, 000 vibrations (corresponding to a 5 Hertz frequency). Constructed of polymers used in aircraft and racing cars, the Advanced Dynamic Absorber system, developed to absorb any vibrations between 1 and 10 Hertz, protects the movement. The wide sapphire crystal case back lets you see the movement’s unique oscillating mass in action.
The four arms of the Advanced Dynamic Absorber System suspend the movement within the chronograph case, giving it a unique see-through look. The dial is fine-brushed black, with chronograph minutes at 3 and running seconds at 9 o’clock, and date at 6 o’clock.
The oversized number 24 at 12 o’clock references the world’s toughest motor race, while the orange and blue vertical stripes reproduce the livery of Steve McQueen’s Porsche. The orange is repeated in the second hand, on the supports of the Advanced Dynamic Absorber system, and in the stitching of the black alligator strap. The crown at 3 o’clock and the push buttons are polished stainless steel, while the folding buckle of the strap is titanium. Double-sided antireflective treatment on the sapphire crystal glass maximizes readability in all conditions.
Steve McQueen’s smile says it all. At the wheel of his sports car, he’s in charge. He’s free. This “King of Cool” is a hero on whom every man can model himself. Tough, a free spirit, sporty, he loved breaking the rules.
The original Monaco broke all the rules too. Launched in 1969, when everything changed forever, it achieved two firsts. The first water-resistant chronograph in a square case ; the first automatic chronograph movement. If its performance was exceptional, its unique look made it the must-have watch for designers and trend-setters.
In his motor-racing movie “Le Mans”, McQueen wore the Monaco. Tough, one of a kind, sporty, it perfectly mirrored his spirit. On his wrist it turned into a legend.
At TAG Heuer we take our design heritage very seriously. We respect what we’ve created, but constantly reinvent it. Our new takes on the Monaco collection have consistently won prestigious design awards.
To celebrate our 150th anniversary and our unique motor-racing heritage, we’ve created this Monaco special edition.
The classic square shape and the placing of the chronograph dials are the same. But look closer and you’ll notice what we’ve changed. The fine brushed and polished steel case perfectly complements the dial in grey. And grey is the perfect colour to emphasize sporty design details like the racing red on the hour, minute and second hands, or the daring placement of the indexes—horizontally.
To mark our company’s birth in 1860, we’re only producing one thousand eight hundred and sixty of these vintage but contemporary chronographs.
The unique vintage design of this chronograph makes it really stand out. The brushed, dark grey dial is the perfect foil to the hour and minute hands with their luminescent markers and subtle touches of racing red, the all red second hand, and the red hour markers. Chronograph minutes are at 9 o’clock, and running seconds at 3 o’clock and their sub-counters have striking black dials and rhodium-plated hands. The hand-applied horizontal indexes are an eye-catching feature. The design is completed by the Heuer logo at 12 balancing the angled date window at 6, while the polished crown at 9 o’clock adds another special touch.
The sapphire crystal case back shows off the decorated Calibre 11 movement. This limited edition of one thousand eight hundred and sixty chronographs has a black perforated strap fitted with a folding buckle and safety push buttons.
