INTERVIEW: Mspeedster (Calibre 11 Forum Member)

Yes, it's that time again... time to turn the spotlight on another member of the Calibre 11 forum. This time it's Mspeedster, well known on the forum for producing some excellent photographs of his new CAW211X Monaco (indeed, he was one of the winners of the recent photo competition on Calibre 11), so let's get to it!


Hi Michael, and welcome to the T.H.E. blogspot, could you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I live in the western part of the USA. My alias "Mspeedster" stands for two things, the "M" stands for Michael, but at one time it could have stood for Mazda RX-7, Mazda Miata or BMW ///M, as those are cars I've owned in the past. "Speedster" refers to my love of auto racing, sports cars and automobiles in general.


How did you get into watches?

My love of auto racing took me to watches and in specific, Heuer and TAG Heuer.

As a kid, back in the '70s, I was fascinated by Formula 1, Le Mans, the Indy 500 and Sports car racing. I recalled seeing "Heuer" on the front of the Ferrari 312 F1 cars and wondered "what the heck is Heuer"? I had also received a book on Porsche, it had a chapter on the Porsche 917 race car, and I duly noted the "Heuer" patch on Siffert's racing suit. Again I wondered "what is Heuer"? Mind you, this was the '70s, so there was no internet to quickly research things.

Then one day I saw a Niki Lauda helmet clock, made by Heuer, for sale in Road & Track magazine. Finally I had learned that Heuer was a watchmaker. From that time on, I always associated Heuer with the highest levels of motorsport.

So as an adult, TH became the brand I naturally gravitated towards when buying watches.


All this sounds pretty familiar to me, although with me it was the 1981 Williams and then subsequently the McLarens... 

So, once you'd made the association with watches, what was your first, or first good watch?

My first watch was a Seiko. But I soon replaced that with the original TAG Heuer F1 watch. This was back in the very late '80s and I still have that watch, mine is grey & yellow. Niki Lauda was my childhood racing idol when he drove for Ferrari and I continued to be a fan during his time at McLaren. Which of course led to the eventual pairing of TAG & Heuer and then TH's long partnering relationship with the McLaren team.

So of course I had to get myself an F1 watch when those first came out. As a Senna fan I decided to get yellow and grey. That was soon followed by a 2000 series, several S/ELs, later gen F1's etc. etc. etc.


It's funny, there's an older guy at my local swimming pool who until recently used to rock up at the pool every day with that exact watch. I always wondered if it was really a good idea to keep using the watch given it's age and then one day he had a different watch on and I thought, there you go - he's ruined it! So one day I asked him about his TAG F1and he said he still had it at home, he'd just bought a new watch... 

Do you have a 'favourite' piece in your current collection?

I've had several over the years. In the '90s, it was my cherished S/EL ana digi, which was the watch that Ayrton Senna wore during his McLaren Honda years.

In the last decade, my long standing favorite has been my Monaco Gulf Grey LE. I got it back in around 2011, when it was released to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the movie Le Mans.

I must say both of those watches are pretty cool, I think I'd be hard pressed to choose between them. So given the S/EL I'm guessing you are okay with quartz pieces...

As I kind of grew up in the quartz era, I'm absolutely fine with quartz watches. They're affordable and great at keeping time. I'll happily buy a quartz watch if one appeals to me. The current F1 Gulf is my favorite quartz watch in my collection, along with my beloved Senna S/EL. But as a watch enthusiast, I really prefer mechanical watches. They've got more "soul" and "character" for me. An analogy that comes to mind is manuals vs. automatics in sports cars. I prefer the man/machine interaction of rowing through the gears of a manual transmission. Even though dual clutch automatics are faster shifting with better performance, shifting for myself is more satisfying and fun.

We've seen a little bit of heated debate on the forum regarding the Connected recently, where do you stand on TAG Heuer's smartwatch, is it something you could see yourself buying or using?

It's not for me, nor is the Apple watch. I'm old school and love old school watches. Plus my eye sight isn't what it used to be, a watch is just too small for a smart device in my case. LOL.

Having said that, I applaud TAG Heuer for what they've done with the Connected. I think it's cool and fun. I do love how the Connected community has taken to emulating and creating many different "faces" for the watch.


I know you have just bought the Monaco CAW211X, and from your comments on the forum I know it will probably be a way in the future, but do you have any idea what your next piece might be?

I'm over the moon with my Monaco 50th Anniversary 1989-1999 Special Edition! It has taken the place of my Monaco Gulf Grey as my new favorite watch. But it has also taken a significant chunk of my savings, so it will probably be a few years until my next big purchase. I suppose if TH releases a Monaco Gulf 50th Anniversary of the movie Le Mans in 2021, that would certainly have my interest. Out of the current watches, I like the Siffert Autavia and the Carrera Fragment Heuer 02, but have no intention to buy either at this time.

Okay, let's say you come into some money somehow, do you have a ‘money no object’ grail in mind?

It might seem cliché, but my grail watch is the stainless steel Rolex Daytona ceramic with a white face dial. But not for the reasons that many Rolex owners want one.

I've always wanted a Rolex Daytona because of its connection with the Daytona race track and because like McQueen, Paul Newman was an actor turned race car driver. A Newman Daytona would go very nicely with my McQueen Monacos.

I'm always curious to know how my interviewee's wifes/partners feel about their watch collecting habits..?

My wife endures it and doesn't really say much about it, as long as I'm not buying a new sports car every few years. LOL.

Actually, her watches are a mini extension of my collection. I've bought her some matching watches, kind of his and her pairs, for some of our wedding anniversaries, which included a TH Lady Link that she really liked a lot. But her current favorite is her ladies Rolex Datejust, which was also a gift from me to celebrate one of our big anniversary milestones. She's told me it's all the watch she'll ever need, probably to stop me from buying her another watch in the future.

How many watches is too many?

Honestly, for me, probably two is too many from a practical viewpoint. I've kept the majority of my watches throughout the years, but I'd wear the same watch for years and then buy new one and wear that one for years etc.

It wasn't until about 8 years ago that things started to go crazy, to where my interest greatly broadened to other expensive brands and my collection became larger than it really should be. I probably have 5 nice watches that I frequently rotate through, I think that's a good number. But alas, I know there's no specific end number in sight. Since I rarely sell my older watches, the collection is bound to grow.


Five does sound like a nice and thoroughly reasonable number, ahem... :)

Moving swiftly on, are you more excited by re-issues or new pieces?

I like the heritage designs more, but it's not like I'm stuck on vintage looks or have anything against new designs. I actually like many of the new designs, however I guess the nostalgia of the heritage designs gives them the edge for me.

Have you ever bought or sold a watch and regretted it?

Yes, I regret selling my Cal 11 Monaco Vintage Grey LE CAW211B. That was my first Monaco. But about a year after getting that watch, I got the Cal 12 Monaco Grey GULF LE. The Gulf was the model I really adored and my poor Vintage Grey sat mostly unworn. So I sold it, thinking I'd eventually buy a blue McQueen. Ironically, I still don't have a blue Monaco yet. The CAW211B is a beautiful Monaco and every time I see a picture of one posted, I wish I hadn't sold it.

Why is it do you think that TAG Heuer seems to attract more than its fair share of negativity from the ''watch community'?

I'm not really sure why certain watch snobs look down on the brand. I honestly don't pay any attention to it.

This negativity seems to be something that's developed over a long period of time and propagated by certain watch snobs throughout the internet. People say it's because of how TH goes about marketing their watches. For me, TAG Heuer's connection with motorsport has always been pure. Sure they'll market the heck out of McQueen's and Senna's legacy and they've also had their share of glamour ambassadors. But TH's true connection to auto racing can not be denied and I believe that's why many auto racing enthusiasts love the brand

What are your thoughts on the collaboration with Bamford?

I think the Bamford watches are bold, playful and intriguing to look at. But I'm not sure if they're worth the premium in price, for me. But for collectors who can afford them, I think the collaboration is great. I would liken the relationship to how many car manufacturers have tuner shops that work very closely with them to bring out specialized versions of the cars. Bamford certainly isn't for everyone, just like most people will simply keep their cars 'stock'.

Are you swayed by ‘limited editions’ and the associated packaging?

I am swayed by LE's when it's a design that I like and the price premium is minimal. The fact that a watch is only produced in limited numbers does make it more desirable for me and I believe also helps with the resale value.

This was one of the reasons I adored my Monaco Gulf Grey LE. I love its looks, but living in the US and knowing that it was never offered for sale in the US, made it that much more special for me. People would always ask about the watch. Even ADs would ask about it, prior to the new CAW211R Monaco Gulf's release.

Which watch would you like to see TAG Heuer re-issue?

I'd love to see a modern day version of the watch Aryton Senna famously wore, the S/EL ana-digi.

I don't care much for the Senna tribute watches that TH re-hashes every now and then to capitalize on the Senna name. But a modern version S/EL that stayed true to the heritage of the original in its looks would really be something. If they could somehow figure out a way to combine a mechanical movement with digital functions, that would be an even more incredible homage to the original.

As this is the first time I've interviewed someone who has purchased one of the five super-limited Monacos, I'm curious to know how you feel about the decision to release the Monacos in series, also... I’m sure we haven’t seen everything as yet, but if you were in charge of TAG Heuer, how would you have marked the 50th anniversary of the Monaco?

You know, this is a very interesting question, I might have given a different answer if I hadn't been able to secure one of the Monaco 50th Anniversary watches. But with hindsight, I think TAG Heuer's approach with 50th Anniversary was brilliant!

As a fan of the Monaco, I had very high expectations for the 50th Anniversary. The Monaco 40th Anniversary watch was a huge success on many levels. How would TH top that? The only way, I thought, was if TH released another Blue McQueen Monaco but even truer to the original, with round pushers and the Heuer 02 in-house movement modified for the Calibre 11 style left-hand winder.

But from a practical viewpoint, the current CAW211P is an almost exact stand in for the 40th, at a way more affordable price. So yet another Vintage looking Blue McQueen might have solicited a few yawns from the general public. Yes for us collectors, we would have been ready with cash in hand for such a Monaco, but the for the masses, maybe not.

Hence I think TAG Heuer's strategy is a terrific alternative. A stroke of genius when I think about it. By having 5 separate watches (each kept secret until its reveal) TAG Heuer is able to keep the intrigue and excitement going for most of the year. The watches are relatively affordable, very unique and in such limited numbers, which makes the desirability of these watches very high.

The only thing that ruined it was the leaked images. That's not TAG Heuer's fault, but I think it tainted things for many of us in a very negative way. It almost really screwed things up for me! I had an early opportunity to put a deposit down for any Monaco 50 of my choosing, but having seen the leaked image of all 5, I decided to pass and wait for the reveals. As we all know, when the actual reveals happened the watches looked so much better, but by then it was too late to get an allocation if one hadn't already put a deposit down.

I was really fortunate that I was able to get the 1989-1999 version, as that was the one that I was leaning towards based on the leaked image. Just got super lucky that I could get one from TH's website after the official reveal.

It's true that the watches look better then the renders suggested, and I'm told by staff at TAG Heuer that the watches look even better in person, whether I'll ever actually clap eyes on one I really don't know... but you were definitely lucky to secure one as I believe in the UK demand was at least five times the availability. So very well done there! 

Turning to the CAW211W for a moment, given the very positive reaction to the red dial version, how would you feel about some kind of ‘Ferrari’ branded Monaco?

Well, I'm not that keen on the idea of a Ferrari Monaco. I'm sure it would sell. But for me, the Carrera is the line that should pay homage to Ferrari & Heuer, as the F1 pilots of the '70s all received gold Carreras from Jack Heuer. A Lauda Gold Carrera LE re-edition is something I'd definitely want to buy. But the Ronnie Peterson that was released was too expensive and exclusive, I'd like to see something a little more attainable for the masses.

Also, while I absolutely love the color red, having a watch with a flashy red dial is not something that I could wear daily. I think the color is too bold and would clash with my conservative dress style at work for example. When I buy watches, it's not really as a collector, but with the mindset that this is a watch that I could wear as a daily piece or as my one and only watch.

If we can move away from the Monaco and indeed TAG Heuer for a little moment, which other brands do you appreciate / own?

TAG Heuer is my favorite brand because of its motorsport heritage. But I also own Rolex, Omega, Breitling and a few others. Outside of my TH line up, my Omega Speedmaster "First Omega in Space" is my favorite watch. But I also really like my Rolex Submariner and Breitling Navitimer. I guess I am just "old school" at heart and partial to such "icons".

Who (if anybody) do you think should be TAG Heuer’s next brand ambassador?

The Hollywood actors, glamour super models, and celebrity sports figures can come and go. I don't really care about those types of ambassadors, but I'm sure they help TH sell lots of watches.

For me, someone like Patrick Dempsey is the perfect ambassador. He's a true fan of the brand, who bought and wore TAG Heuer watches before he ever became an ambassador. The fact that he's also a race driver is a bonus. Senna was also a great ambassador (if that was even a term at the time), as he wore the same TAG Heuer watch daily, in the races and in his personal life.

I don't know who the next Senna or Dempsey might be, but someone like them is who I'd like as an ambassador.

Finally, if I gave you a £10,000 watch voucher right now, what would you buy?

Don't tempt me with such a question unless you're willing to pay up!
Joking aside, that's a really tough question, there are so many options to think about. Perhaps I'd pull the trigger on the last Carrera Fragment Heuer 02 that still seems to be available on-line (at the time of this writing). Or more likely, I'd lean to getting a pre-owned 40th Anniversary Monaco.


Excellent, well thank you very much for taking the time to do this interview, and I hope you (and all the other interviewees) might be up for another chat in a few months time!