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Basel 2009: Tag Heuer
Basel 2009: Tag Heuer
by Timm Delfs
The Monaco Twenty Four Concept Chronograph.
The most exciting novelty from Tag Heuer in my opinion is the Monaco Twenty Four, a chronograph in the typical rectangular Monaco case, that has been equipped with visible shock absorbers. Tag has done everything to evoke the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans race, especially the one shown in the eponymous film with Steve McQueen. The link, of course, is the 40th anniversary of the "Monaco" itself. On the dial there are the stripes in the blue and orange of the Gulf logo found on the Porsche 917 driven by the actor. The orange is found again on the shock absorbers and the chronograph hands. Optically the watch looks rather spectacular because the round chronograph movement based on the Zenith El Primero is suspended in mid-air inside the rectangular black 40.5 mm case. From each of the corners a telescopic arm supports the movement. The fixations are visible on the outside of the case. To completely disengage the movement from the case, refined solutions had to be found to guarantee elasticity between the winding-stem and the crown as well as the pushers.
Transparent Back of the Monaco Twenty Four. Note the orange shock aborbers.
One of the orange shock absorbers is clearly visible. Next to it the stem of the chrono pusher.
One of the orange shock absorbers is clearly visible. Next to it the stem of the chrono pusher.
This view shows that there is a gap between pusher and movement to guarantee a floating suspension.
Detail of the Monaco V4 working prototype.
All of those not fortunate enough to inherit an original Monaco from the beginnings, can at least get a very faithful replica now. It has even been downsized to its original diameter of 38 mm (as opposed to the 39 mm of other current models). It shows the typical feature of the Calibre 11, the crown, positioned on the left, opposite the pushpieces. The only obvious differences consist in the shape of the pushers and of the hour and minute hands. Inside, of course, there isn't a calibre 11, but an ETA calibre fitted with a module from Dubois-Dépraz. It is supposed to be exclusive to Tag Heuer. The commemorative watch is limited to 1000 pieces.
The original Heuer Carrera from 1969. Note the different shape of the pushers and the hands.
Faithful Replica of the original Heuer Monaco.
There are further Monaco models that commemorate the 40th anniversary. One comes with a Gulf logo on the dial, the other with a blue dial, very close, but not equal to the original one's. Slightly confusing. All these models bear the crown on the right and have a diameter of 39 mm.
Already last year the "Grand Carrera" family was upgraded by the addition of the "Grand Carrera Calibre RS" equipped with a particularly ingenious device to read fractions of stopped seconds. The Calibre RS is in reality a Zenith El Primero, capable of measuring the tenth of a second. To actually enable the wearer to do this, the dial ring of the watch has been fitted with a vernier scale also found on vernier calipers. After stopping the seconds hand, its exact position between two markings can be determined by aligning a red marker on the dial ring with the tip of the seconds hand. The fractions can then be read from the other numerals on the ring. The principle resembles the one used by Longines on one of their big stopwatch models. There the vernier scale was applied to the end of the hand itself. As is a standard with the "Grand Carrera" models, the stopped minutes and hours are read from rotating discs in windows.
With a new Aquaracer lineup Tag Heuer addresses a young public who are looking for a robust divers' watch with a very good quality to price ratio. The looks recall elements from Omega's Seamaster, the magnifying glass over the date is a reference to another famous brand. A very nice detail is the rubber coating of the unidirectional bezel, that gives it a nice feel and looks great. The Aquaracer's new case has been made to resist the pressure of 500 m of depth.
The new Aquaracer diving watch.