TAG Heuer Monaco Steve McQueen Calibre 11 Edition Watch

The TAG Heuer Monaco Steve McQueen Calibre 11 Edition watch’s styling evokes its racing heritage. It has racing stripes on its dial – along with a logo that reads simply “Heuer” in homage to its pre-TAG origin − and a perforated strap. The watch is big – 39 mm by 39 mm and 15 mm thick – but it’s very comfortable. Nothing scratches, pinches, or rubs. The clasp and supple calfskin strap both feel pleasant on the wrist - replica TAG Heuer Monaco Steve McQueen.

The clasp is designed so that more leather than metal is in contact with your wrist, thus enhancing wearing comfort. In terms of quality, the strap, laboriously hand-sewn, is on a par with the clasp. The case has many chamfers and edges. The borders between polished and satin-finished surfaces are very precise. The chrono pushers are highly detailed and distinctively shaped. They are set in bushings that protect them from impacts and give them greater hold, thus minimizing wiggling. The caseback has a round sapphire window and is held in place by screws. There are only four of them, standard for a square or rectangular watch, but they are thick and sturdy.

The watch has another operation-related problem: the stop-start chronograph button is too easy to push in. A smoothly running button is generally a desirable feature, but the one on our test watch yielded to pressure so readily that contact with the tightly fitting sleeve of the wearer’s jacket was enough to stop the chronograph prematurely. These shortcomings are balanced out by several virtues. The crown is large and easy to grasp; the chronograph pushers are also big enough to operate easily; and the movement has both a stop-seconds function and, for the date display, a rapid-reset mechanism. The clasp, made of stainless steel, is sturdy, well-crafted and user-friendly. You open it by pushing two large buttons. It snaps firmly shut afterwards. The strap can be extended – continuously, not by increments – via a clamping mechanism that holds the strap securely in the chosen position.

The movement is a Sellita SW 300 base, with Glucydur balance, paired with a chronograph module made specifically for TAG by Dubois Dépraz. (Most other Monaco chronographs contain the ETA 2894.)

The TAG Heuer Monaco Since 1969

Linking a watch to a sport seems to increase its potential to become a cult object, so it’s no surprise that the third icon in this group is a watch tied to a specific sporting event, the Monaco Grand Prix. The watch, called the Monaco (replica TAG Heuer Monaco), was introduced in 1969 as one of the world’s first chronographs with a self-winding movement. Jack Heuer, CEO of Heuer, as it was then called, was a pioneer of sports sponsorship. He ensured that well-known racecar drivers were outfitted with the sporty-looking chronograph: that’s how Steve McQueen ended up wearing the Monaco in the 1971 film Le Mans without having any prior discussion with the Heuer watch brand. McQueen modeled his character after the Swiss driver Jo Siffert, who had recently begun wearing the Heuer logo on his racing suit and a Monaco on his wrist.

The Monaco of 1969 followed the design codes of the late ’60s and early ’70s: colorful dial, subdials in contrasting colors and a case that wasn’t round. The transverse markers were an original addition and were clearly a choice of design over legibility. The case was eye-catching not only because of its rectangular shape but also because the crown was on the left – a peculiarity of automatic Caliber 11, which Heuer developed in conjunction with Breitling, Büren Watch and Dubois Dépraz. The leather strap was perforated, which was common for watches inspired by motorsports.

In 2009 the Monaco celebrated its 40th birthday. A new model was introduced that had transverse hour markers on its dial once again. And, thanks to a module from Dubois Dépraz, the crown moved back to its original position on the left side of the case. The watch again had a sporty-looking, perforated leather strap. Even the original Heuer logo returned to the dial. You can’t do any more than that to recall the origins of an icon. The new version was considered an all-around success.

About TAG Heuer: Monaco V4

The Monaco was famous enough, but in 2004, TAG Heuer took it to a new level with the launch of the Monaco V4 concept watch at Baselworld. CEO Jean-Christophe Babin intended to make a statement with the V4. The statement was that TAG Heuer will climb to new heights, developing cutting edge, avante-garde mechanical movements - replica TAG Heuer Monaco V4.

The V4’s birth was not an easy one. It took a few years to perfect the design, but perfect it they did, and the first Monaco V4 sold at the 2009 Only Watch charity auction, appropriately held in Monaco. Since that sale, several limited-edition series have sold out.

The Monaco V4 proved such a challenge because its movement represented a major break from traditional watchmaking. Rather than the usual gear train and wheels with teeth, the V4’s movement is belt-driven, and the design is inspired by an automobile engine. Many people thought it would never work. That TAG Heuer solved the problems is a testament to the brand’s newly developed capabilities, much of which is thanks to a man named Guy Sémon.

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