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A Brief History of the TAG Heuer Monaco
News
A Brief History of the TAG Heuer Monaco
The story of the Heuer Monaco began in 1969 with the introduction of a square cased watch, which was water-resistant to 100 meters. Powered by Calibre 11, another great name from the 20th-century history of watchmaking, the Monaco with its peculiar shape and aura was all set to become an icon in the world of sports watches.
Tag Heuer Monaco, the Origins
In 1969, Heuer in association with Breitling, Hamilton-Buren and Dubois-Depraz, unveiled the final version of what was called the “Project 99”: the Chronomatic/Calibre 11 automatic chronograph movement. It was a formidable moment in watchmaking because that same year, both Seiko and Zenith introduced their own automatic chronographs, ensuing a fierce competition that forced Jack Heuer, the then head of the company, to make a difference with something more powerful. In the years leading up to 1969, Heuer planned to launch the Calibre 11 in the Carrera and Autavia collections but that wasn’t enough for Jack, who wanted to make a significant impact with his new movement. So he joined forces with Erwin Piquerez, a Swiss case manufacturer, who developed Monaco’s water-resistant square case, a first for the industry then. Soon enough, Jack Heuer ensured the exclusivity of the design for Monaco and on March 3, 1969, Heuer introduced the world to the Monaco 1133B, writing the first chapter of its illustrious history.
Tag Heuer Monaco Steve McQueen – Enter “The King of Cool”
We all know that the Monaco rose to fame as Steve McQueen’s watch featured in the 1971 movie “Le Mans”. But this fact was preceded by another fortunate decision by the visionary Jack Heuer. Around the launch of Heuer watches with the Calibre 11, Jack established a commercial deal with his friend and Formula 1 driver Jo Siffert, a fan of Heuer watches and the brand’s first ambassador.
Getting Better with Age
In recent years, the legacy of the original Monaco Calibre 11 has been represented by the base reference CAW211x. In 2009, on the occasion of the watch’s 40th anniversary, TAG Heuer introduced the CAW211A. Limited to 1,000 pieces, the brand presented this special edition in the “McQueen” color scheme —blue dial with white subdials— a 38 mm case, the crown on the left side, and chronograph pushers on the right. The dial offered the classic horizontal indexes but the pushers became rectangular instead of round as seen in the original Monaco. The caseback had a unique decoration with Jack Heuer’s signature and the edition number. Hidden under this decoration was the in-house Calibre 11, a modular movement based on the Sellita SW300 and a Dubois-Dépraz module. This was a nice coincidence that echoes the original Calibre 11 and its chronograph module, a Dubois-Dépraz as well.
The Ref CAW211B is a grey version of the 40th Anniversary Monaco released in 2009. The watch’s case is finished in a subtle charcoal stainless steel and it is quite similar to the original design from the 1960s. It is powered by Calibre 11, an ETA 2892/2 base with a Dubois Depraz Chronograph module. The movement can be admired from the transparent caseback that gives a peek into the rotor with the traditional Cotes de Geneve finishing as well as the red Heuer shield.
The present example at our shop is from 2011 and the watch is offered with its original box and a two-year warranty from Watchfinder.