SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer Monaco Gulf Limited Edition

CW211A.BA0780

This caught my eye while I was browsing the 'New Arrivals' section of the Watchfinder website, and the first thing I thought was 'I didn't know they made that watch on that bracelet'. Clearly, given the fact that Watchfinder have listed it with the reference for a leather strap, they almost certainly didn't and this has been fitted to the watch after purchase. 

I'm no fan of leather straps, in fact I don't even own a single one, but this just looks wrong. I actually saw somebody in a pub wearing one of the white (red/blue stripe) Monacos on a bracelet recently and I thought it looked really cheap and nasty then, and this looks almost as bad. 

And cheap this most certainly is not... numbered 1746 out of 4000 pieces (on the strap) this particular example is up for sale at £4750, which is probably not completely outrageous - after all, there's always a market for 'Gulf' Monacos and I guess you could pick up the correct strap/buckle for a couple of hundred pounds?

Or maybe you like the bracelet, I mean, just because I don't like it - that doesn't matter... I must admit the more I look at it in the 3/4 view and the more I get used to it the less it offends me, but I'd still stop short of saying I like it.

The watch itself is pretty much the perfect Gulf Monaco as far as I'm concerned, I really like the fact that the subdials aren't white, I think it gives this model a bit more of a modern feel which I appreciate (though I get that the majority of Monaco fans want nothing of the sort). I think I prefer the black dial as well as it works better with the light blue Gulf stripe, but still - that bracelet really isn't my cup of tea.

Not sure if this is the correct box or not, it doesn't seem to say TAG Heuer on it, and it doesn't look like a regular TAG box, but then limited editions often come in slightly different looking boxes, so it's quite possible.

https://www.watchfinder.co.uk/Tag%20Heuer/Monaco/CW211A.FC6228/5853/item/114923