CBL2115.FC6494
A cynical watch enthusiast might conclude that watch companies are spectacularly adept at never quite giving the public what they actually want. One such example would be the 'panda-dial' 39mm heritage Carrera that the THF Forum has been crying out for forever... but there are many others throughout the watch world, not just in the TAG Heuer universe. But it's not without good reason, because ultimately if you do give the customer exactly what they want a) what is their motivation to come back for more, and b) where do you go from there?
TAG Heuer took this whole concept to a new level when they released the 50th Anniversary 'First Win' Gulf Monaco in 2018. In the CAW211T TAG Heuer pretty much created the 'perfect' Gulf Monaco, sporting as it did not only the Calibre 11 movement and Heuer branding but also the HIGHLY desirable lighter-shade-of-blue stripe that tied in with the 70s Porsche Gulf colour scheme. But of course there was a catch and a pretty big catch at that, with just fifty pieces available to satisfy worldwide demand...
Fortunately there was an alternative, a widely available, Heuer branded, Calibre 11 powered Gulf Monaco (albeit missing that perfect light-blue stripe), which had come out a few months earlier. Strangely the CAW211R was initially only available in the USA, but by the time the 'perfect but unobtainable' CAW211T was released it was available everywhere. Ultimately it was close enough, the best we could hope for, still not perfect but close enough that for many watch enthusiasts it was finally time to pull the trigger, but where would TAG Heuer go from here?
Would they come back with an even more perfect yet widely available Heuer C11 Gulf Monaco, or would they do something else? After all, the first rule of luxury watches is never giving the public quite what they think they want... you have to leave yourself somewhere to go next time, and sometimes that means pulling back completely or perhaps taking things in an unexpected direction.
So when I first saw the render for the new CBL2115 sometime last year, I was a little taken aback. It seemed an odd move to me, after all the whole Gulf Monaco thing was firmly rooted in the 70s and the whole Steve McQueen universe, so why on earth would they brand the new Gulf a TAG Heuer? Yeah sure the first five or so Gulf Monacos had worn the TAG Heuer shield on the dial and were powered by Calibre 12 movements (with the crown on the right), but now they had made the jump to the left and finally given the public a 'Heuer' branded dial....
I was convinced the 'old school conservationists' on the THF Forum were going to have a field day hating on this one.... and at first it seemed I was right; the first two scores I received from the 'Council of Considered Opinion' were pretty bad, right down at the bottom end of the range. But then it picked up and the one person I was convinced was going to absolutely loathe and detest it gave it a very respectable 6 out of 10.
Shocked (and it has to be said a little bit disappointed, I was looking forward to hearing a good old rant on the subject if I'm completely honest) I challenged him on his unexpected generosity and was met with indifference on the subject of the TAG Heuer logo on the dial. Apparently he was 'fine' with it because of the in-house Heuer 02 movement and the fact that so many of the other Gulf Monacos were already branded as such.
This wasn't really the answer I was expecting or hoping for, but soon enough a point of contention emerged that unified most of the council members. That being the slightly out of place looking '60' at the 12 position. Apparently inspired by the rounded 'Athletic' text used on the racing numbers worn by the aforementioned Gulf Porsche race cars of the 70s, nonetheless these applied rhodium-plated numerals do look a little strange.
I kinda like them though. Just like I liked the '12' on the Hourglass limited edition back in 2019, and honestly I think it gives the Gulf Monaco a more modern look. Whether that's a good thing or not is open to question, but given that I imagine quite a lot of the vintage enthusiasts already put their hand in their pockets for the 'almost but not quite' perfect predecessor, maybe a fresh take was the best way to go?
I must admit I'm not quite sure how I feel about that stripe, I get that it's less intrusive, but to me now it seems like its just a little too far to the right to feel 'right'. Yeah, I get that they put it where it made the least contact with the hour markers etc, but... I dunno, it almost feels apologetic, like the stripe is embarrassed to be there, whereas before it was in your face and proud, now it's kinda apologizing for being a nuisance and keeping itself out of the way... at least it's the right shade of blue this time.
I think the Gulf logo rendered in white is a slightly odd choice too, but I will reserve judgement until I've seen one in the flesh because I imagine this could totally win me over with the sunburst blue dial found on the regular Monaco Heuer 02 a superb starting point. At least there's no red detailing on this one (oh yes, that was the other minor flaw to be found on the otherwise 'close enough' CAW211R), something that had drawn criticism from the THF Forum time and time again.
So what was the consensus of the Council I hear you ask, let's find out...
"4/10 - Definitely not the best Gulf Monaco."
"7/10 - I don’t like: crown on the right, that '60' on top of the dial, the logos (I prefer Heuer vs TAG Heuer here, and also a coloured Gulf logo), lower sub-dial (with hand hiding the Gulf logo)… so I hope it doesn’t replace the Calibre 11 Gulf (CAW211R)!!"
"3.5/10 - Are they making changes -not for the better- just because they can?"
"8/10 - I like the blue a lot, reminds me about the mighty 'Gulf King'. Fun design, great colours, shitty movement and too big."
"6/10 - Not my cup of tea but can understand the reasoning, although that '60' marker is mind boggling, Great strap though."
"1/10 - Boy is this bad. The '60' marker is completely out of place, and the continued insistence of putting that silly running seconds on all of the Monacos means that the Gulf logo - which should be one of the more prominent features of the design - is relegated to background image. Dumb."
"6/10 - Out of a 7,5/10 maximum for the modern Monaco. Many won’t agree but the original Monaco is from another planet. I don’t like these markers but the '60' really kills it for me."
"7.5 - The "60" is a terrible design choice. That is the main reason I haven't purchased it."
"9/10 - This is the best Gulf Monaco of recent times, mainly because they have finally listened to me and got rid of anything red on the dial so there isn't that God-awful clash between the Gulf orange and the red accents that the previous models had. The blue sunburst dial is classic TAG Heuer and, as expected, they have nailed it. I like the monochrome Gulf logo and the introduction of the Gulf colours around the 3 o'clock sub dial. It looks classy. Need to be sitting down for the price though - sheesh!"
"5/10 - This just made the prior Gulf worth that much more."
"6/10 - I don’t actually mind it. The '60' is just odd, but maybe it’s a lazy tie in to the other driver inspired dials."
"5/10 - I really do not like this version of the Gulf. I See what they have tried to do using a thin blue and orange stripe to be different, but it just doesn’t work for me. I am not even going to mention the giant '60' at 12.00 o’clock. I’d love to see the focus group they used for that feedback. Should have gone to Specsavers I feel."
"2/10 - To me this is the worst of all the Gulfs and maybe even all the Monacos. The '60' marker, the shade of blue, the Gulf colours around the seconds dial, everything doesn't appeal to me..."
"5/10 - I think this is kinda pretty, but wouldn’t you just buy the old one, or the McQueen?"
"9/10 - The new Monaco Gulf should rate a 10. But the "60" at 12 o'clock gets a one point deduction, it just looks out of place. I was going to deduct another half point for not having the "Gulf" logo in full colour. However after more analysis, I feel the silver outlined "Gulf" logo matches well with the "Monaco" text & "TAG Heuer" logo, by having the same colour down the centre line of the dial. This watch is my favourite of the Watches & Wonders new TAG releases."
Want to know how the Council rated the rest of the Gulf watches? Click the link below:
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