They say fifty is the new forty, or that forty is the new thirty. Whatever. What’s better is that TAG Heuer has announced a new and exciting collection of their famous Monaco: the Monaco 50th Anniversary. The watch was revealed in Japan, with the message that its unique blend of square and round, left and right takes many Japanese design concepts and brings them to life in this watch. This particular TAG Heuer is inspired by the designs of the early 2000’s, and is the fourth watch in TAG’s “Monaco Through Time” collectors’ series. As with the original Monaco watch design, the pushers are on the right side of the case while the crown is on the left side – an unusual feature that has distinguished the Monaco over the past 50 years. The other feature is its unmistakable square shape; if you wear a TAG, you’ll stand out just by the squareness alone. They are instantly recognizable.
New York City, of course, is an international place. There are folks here from all over, including many Japanese and if one looks one can easily find Japanese influence on the city. TAG’s unique blend of East and West in this Monaco 50th anniversary watch thus fits right in with the ambiance here in NYC. While its four predecessors were designed with a specific past decade of Monaco in mind — the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, all the watches in the series are somewhat retro in their looks and/or details. But the Monaco 2009-2019 Limited Edition is resolutely modern, while still recognizable as the square-cased, racing-inspired watch that made history in 1969 as one of the very first wrist timekeepers with a self-winding chronograph movement.
About the New Monaco 50th Anniversary Edition by TAG Heuer
The Monaco 50th anniversary edition has a sandblasted stainless steel case, 39 mm in diameter, with a polished finish on the chronograph pushers and crown, which are positioned, respectively, on the right and left side of the case, an unconventional arrangement that harkens back to the design of the original Monaco. The sunray-patterned dial had a sleek, charcoal color, with black-gold-plated indices and rhodium-plated subdials, each with their own sunray motif. Super-LumiNova appears on the indices and hands, while bright red is used on the central seconds hand, subdial hands, and the center stripe in the 12 o’clock index for an eye-catching contrast with the dark, stealth-look dial.
Like all the models in the Monaco 50th Anniversary collection, each of which is limited to 169 pieces, this model uses a historical “Monaco Heuer” logo on the dial rather than the modern “TAG Heuer” shield, and has the same vintage-look emblem engraved on the solid caseback, along with inscriptions for “2009-2019 Special Edition” and “One of 169.” Thus the watch has a vintage look and feel to it, though it is resolutely modern.
Finally, as with all the 50th anniversary models, the watch comes in a stylish box, inspired by the Monaco’s original packaging, with a color scheme designed to evoke the horological decade it celebrates. For the 2010s edition, the dark blue box with classic Heuer logo and horizontal checkered stripe pattern is complemented by a black interior and a gray cushion for the watch. The Monaco 2009-2019 Limited Edition is priced at $6,550.
Got a TAG? Get it Repaired by Ron Gordon Watch Repair
Well, that’s the watch news coming out of TAG Heuer. You may be one of the lucky few to go out and purchase a watch from this flagship brand. New watches are fantastic, of course, and we have many watch lovers coming into our New York City watch repair shop to have their old and new TAG Heuers both tuned up and repaired. We can complete a full top-to-bottom inspection of your TAG Heuer and make sure it is in tip-top condition. Or, should you be unlucky enough to have a non-functioning TAG Heuer watch, don’t despair. Bring it in and let Ron examine the watch. He can thoroughly inspect it and give you an estimate on repair. It’s no wonder that Ron Gordon Watch Repair is the place for TAG Heuer repair in NYC. Ron loves the brand, and by repairing it, he knows every intricate detail in the watch. If you love TAG’s, check out the new 50th Anniversary Edition of the Monaco, and then head over to our Midtown watch repair shop with your other luxury watches for repairs, tune-ups, and great conversations.