Horological Meandering

Greetings to all,

As I remain a dyed in the wool Purists, I hope that I am not straying from the path by admitting that I have been thinking about the Tag Monaco V4. I am actually going to see it in the next day or two. I was wondering if anyone has had the opportunity to see it and/or think about it? I have been reading about it and it does sound interesting. But Platinum? Do the belts really work and what is their expected life-time? Is this goofy or is it truly a first and a leader into the next decade?

I look forward to your thoughts.

Holiday greetings to all,

Mitch

If it works it is an interesting concept. I tend not to prefer innovation unless it also improves functionality, and I have not seen it demonstrated that the V4 design will do so. That doesn't mean it won't; I haven't really looked into the matter. In any case, it should be interesting to have a look at the watch.

If you do a search on this forum, you will get the link.

I was very pleased by this watch, really.

2 cons, to me:

- The price tag ( sorry for the bad pun ).

- The engraved Tag Heuer on the bezel, which wasn't necessary, and which is too much, IMO.

A question: The reliability of this innovative system, but I'm afraid that we'll need time to know if it is reliable or not, and as it is a LE of 150 pieces, I fear that they will quickly sell, and that you'll don't have this time to think about it.

Tag is audacious with this watch, which is an excellent thing, and it is another interesting approach in Horology, which required a lot of time and help from people which are not in horology, to conceive it.

Why not considering it?

There is no shame about thinking of this watch!

Best, my friend.

Nicolas

Here's the link

home.watchprosite.com

That was an impressive Tag Heuer. Unfortunately, the price tag was also very impressive.

Plenty of watches have the companies logo or name on the rotor, some more "in your face" than others.  The reliability is a big question and I do intend to find out how they intend to stand behind the watch.  I think that the use of experts outside of the horological world may be a good thing as there is always a risk of "in breeding" and the desire to "improve" upon what has already been done instead of taking leaps towards innovation.  New fresh minds questioning the possibility of change even without a broad horological background, is a good thing.  Many brands repackage the same stuff in slightly different form while there are a few that do take a chance at moving the "clock" forward into the 21st century.  UN and AP rapidly come to mind although I am sure that there are others that are truly ahead of the pack.  In truth it is still all about telling time, something that hasn't or won't change, it's just the package that brings the information to us that is fun to consider.

Best regards for this "timeless" holiday season.

Mitch

Isn't that what innovation is all about?  Seems to be in line with our PuristS' credo.    Even if this Tag concept watch doesn't go anywhere in terms of enhancing movement longevity or discernible functional improvement, I admire the fact that Tag is taking the "go big, or go home" route, and not reheating tried-and-true recipes.  There's something noteworthy about that.  It's at least worth taking a look, right?  Can't wait to hear your thoughts after you see the timepiece in person.

Happy holidays!  Looking forward to seeing you in the New Year!

Cheers,

Daos 

i'm a big fan of technical innovation and it the V4 is one that has appealed to me since i first saw its concept. the Cabestan is another i would jump on if money were not a problem.

so if you can and you like the innovation go for it.

best

Graham

or something else?  It's like playing the lottery.  You know that you are not going to win but for a moment it does let you while away  some time thinking about what you would do if you did win and had the money to spend.

Mitch

...I have misgivings about the counterweight and the belts, but I have to admire their efforts and for persevering with something different.

As for whether TAG-Heuer is "purist" or not, if you like it, that's reason enough, regardless of brand.

I'll be curious to see what Mitch thinks of the watch in the metal.

Merry Christmas to you!

Cheers,

Daos

or for that specific watch, which is innovative?

If having a TAG Heuer is... I’m in trouble

NT

AT's first watch purchase that he made with his first pay check was a Tag and it started what will be a life long passion for sure.   I still have my old plastic Swatch. 

Same here. with my first good watch being a TAG and my second....oh and my third. My choice was driven by the brands huge presence in cycling, but later I became more intrigued by mechanicals and it has been a great ride since, maybe even an obsession. I think TAG will always have a place for me, but now with the help of PURIST the watch world has surely grown to include many other great brands and choices.

I will say though the the V4 is pretty cool and interesting, but it just doesn't fit into my current "want list" or budget at the moment.

Cheers,

Mark V

is there anything in being a Purist that says one may not be inquisitive ?
You will help testing a concept that still has to prove itself.
TAG may have some dubious policies, being the company that has made the most noise against tightening up the "Swiss Made" rules, for example.
But when they do something good and interesting, why not?
Have a great holiday!
Don

I am interested in seeing the watch and will see it later today.  If the belt drive system does truly work and does have a lifespan that is acceptable, it has got me thinking about another use.  I would like to consider its use in a certain complication that may be a benefit to all the watch community across the world (okay so I am stretching the truth JUST A LITTLE BIT).  But we should talk.

Happy holidays to you and your wonderful family.

Oh yeah, still love that No. 3!!!

Mitch

Hi Mitch:

Here is pure opinion.  It is personal and everyone is free to contradict it.  This is a brand that uses Tiger Woods as a spokesperson.  Says it all.

Jeff

Everybody loved and admired Tiger Wood before the last events...

Best,

Nicolas.

you never know whether there are any 'dead bodies in their cellar' (as a German proverb says). After all, they are humans like we are. Since I doubt that TAG (or any brand for this matter) knew this when they contracted him, we have to give them benefit of doubt.

A different scenario was the sponsorship of the Gumball Race a few years back by Jacquet-Droz. This was a management mistake from the start, as everybody knew that this race (i) was (and still is) illegal and (ii) often is associated with 'collateral damage' including killings of people not involved. So it was in this case.

Regards,
Magnus

No message body

or don't buy a watch due to a certain endorser? Wow! Marketing works!!! I shouldn't sell my marketing 101 text book

cen@jkt

any watch company's flirtation with the glamor set.  I wish that in this time of economic distress and elavating watch prices, maybe the watch companies could lower the end price by lowering overhead such as not paying off the "beautiful people" for the use of their names.  Aren't we all beautiful anyway?

Besides, maybe Tiger will wind up buying his wife and/or "friends" a nice TAG as a peace offering?

Happy Holidays,

Mitch

Hello, Mitch,

to me it's not that much a question of wether it would be in line with a true PuristS heritage  to buy or not - what could  be more "pure"  than buying
what you really like?
I've to admit, the finally availlable watch though doesn't appeal to me personally. While there are certainly many points to admire, as others already pointed out,
following an initial concept except all the difficulties  alone deserves a lot of respect.
I'm all for  "out of the box" solutions and approaches - many strokes of genious wouldn't have seen the light otherwise. I've trouble to respect designs
which are obviously following the "creating new solutions for the sake of beeing different" path. If that would lead to a final product with same functionallity,
but revolutionary looks- fine, not that appealing to me, but I could accept this. In case of the V4, I don't believe  this is the case....at least I can't see it.
Technically,  to my understanding none of the old novelties do make any sense - again, my personal oppinion. I believe no engineer would choose teethed belts
for this application (limited space and size - very low, uni directional forces - required total  gear ratio with as fe as possible "steps".....- already nicely sealed environment..).  Same with the linear oscillating winding - old concept, undoubtedly failed and surpassed by other designs - I could understand when reborn with
substantial changes - which here isn't the case (at least what I could gather). The sheer weight (mass) tells a story of inefficiency ......

All above of course strictly personal oppinion - to sum up, to me it's simply not exciting enough.....

Best regards
Suitbert

Nt

Hope all is well, and happy holidays.

TM