FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Monaco Heuer 02 'Purple Dial' Chronograph

 

CBL2118.FC6518

So here we are again, last year it was green and this year it's purple. Yup, purple. And believe it or not, this isn't the first purple Monaco ever. Sure, it's the first purple Monaco you can actually buy (although more on that in a moment), but there was actually a previous purple dial Monaco chronograph which came on what looks like a purple snakeskin strap. This, as you will know if you follow me on Instagram, was a piece unique that was made for the actress (and then TAG Heuer ambassador) Uma Thurman about 10 years ago. 

Okay Rob, that's all very interesting but why are we talking about this old watch that nobody really cares about, what about the exciting new purple Heuer 02 Monaco? Well... what can I say. It's a Heuer 02 Monaco with a purple dial and now that I've seen several different photographs (and a wristroll video) I'm really none the wiser to how it actually looks because it looks completely different in every single one of them. On the plus side it certainly looks like TAG Heuer have taken on board the main criticism of the green Monaco of 2021 which was that 90% of the time it looked like a black dial which only gave a hint of green when you got the light to hit it just right. But the photographs vary from full on purple to half purple, half black so I really don't know...

I mean, like most of you I have to form an opinion from photos and videos and second hand accounts because of course I've never seen either of them, and probably never will. In fact, cards on the table here, the other week I asked about the purple Monaco at a boutique (I wasn't looking to be 'put on the list' I was just curious for info), but it turned out I was the first person who had asked and so I was 'technically' first on the list. So I thought, well okay, maybe I can get a look at it and who knows, maybe it will blow me away and I'll go crazy and put it on my credit card. I mean, it was always highly unlikely, but it's not like I couldn't have bought it if I completely fell in love with it, I mean who's living long enough to collect their pension anyway?

But then I got a mid-week message from the boutique (which is nowhere near me incidentally) saying the watch was in, and of course there was a list of people after it. Now I completely understand that the boutique wanted an answer there and then... in fact it made it really easy for me to say 'no' because there was no way I was ever going to buy it based on a single badly lit photo I had happened to see before the release. So look, I have no beef with the boutique, their job is to sell the watch, but honestly I don't really like the fact that we can't even see these pieces first hand before we have to decide to part with (let's be honest) an awful lot of money.

Okay, from TAG Heuer's point of view, they make 500 of these and the boutiques only get one, maybe two pieces and within a couple of weeks they are all gone, money in the bank, job done, bish bash bosh. Which is great for them, but it's not really that good for the customer is it? I mean I don't know, maybe if I'd actually seen the green Monaco or this purple Monaco, then perhaps I would have instantly fell head over heels for it and actually decided to go for it. It happened with the Heuer 01, I'm sure it could happen again. But you see, I tried on the Heuer 01 about 5 times before I actually bought mine... and it was available for about five years.

Pauper that I am, being put in this pressurized situation where I have to spend the price of a small (used) car without even seeing something, it's just not for me. And I know damn well any small regret that I may carry at missing out on a limited edition watch is far outweighed by the fear of buying something for that sort of money and regretting it.

Photo: Abrod520

And I know this is isn't unique to TAG Heuer, the watch industry as a whole seems intent on pushing their customers into buying these 'limited editions' without time to really think. Well... all except Rolex of course, they give you PLENTY of time to think AND you know exactly what you're going to get. Oh the irony... but it almost seems like the whole idea of these super limited releases is actually to panic the customer into buying something that they might not actually want if they had time to think about it (or if it was freely available). Of course, saying that, I'm sure by the time TAG Heuer started teasing purple smoke on their Instagram, it was probably too late to get on a list anyway... it seems, despite everything we hear to the contrary, there are a lot of people out there with a lot of money in their pockets and good luck to TAG for cashing in in people's FOMO.

Look, I'm not saying all the people who bought the watch are going to regret it in a week, of course not. But it really means that the only people who can get these watches are the people who are prepared to buy on spec, and who can afford to take it on the chin if they change their mind. And yeah, you could argue that pieces like these can carry a premium pre-owned, but I'm not so sure. We've all seen watches like this on Chrono 24 with a £2000 premium, but is anyone actually buying them? I'm not against 'limited editions' per se, but it would be nice to actually be able to see them and make an informed decision rather than being rushed into splurging on something without so much as a decent video.

PHOTO: @anthony.do

So look, my apologies, I haven't really said that much about the new purple Heuer 02 Monaco, but what is there to say. It's just like the blue one, the black one and the green one, but it's purple. If you like purple then great, if not, then it's not going to be the Monaco for you. And as I have said, it's hard to say anything about the only point of difference when every picture suggests a different interpretation.

But generally, I'm okay with it. I like the fact that TAG Heuer are exploring different colours again. I own a purple (or technically wine/plum) Kirium so I understand the appeal. And I also appreciate the fact that it's just a colour; we don't have to justify it on the grounds that Steve McQueen drove a purple car once, or Patrick Dempsey's favourite tie is purple, or Jacob Elordi grew up in a house with a purple front door... so that's good. I really don't need to hear any more tenuous back-stories to be honest, so props for that... 

Or at least that's what I thought... apparently someone couldn't help themselves: enter 'Monochrome Watches' with this 'gem'...

I really hope they came up with that themselves and TAG Heuer didn't feed it to them, because that is some serious guff right there. Even if that is the case, does anyone really believe it was the 'inspiration' or was it some marketing genius who made the connection after the fact? My money is firmly on the latter.

Sadly, I have to admit any enthusiasm I ever had for this watch has now pretty much died - largely because of the 'Rolex moment' that I experienced along the way. I don't really think that's the desired effect, but it's genuinely how I feel. I know the idea is that the scarcity is 'supposed' to make me desperate to get one, but honestly I just don't feel that way about it. And now I'm actually slightly cynical because I'm already wondering what colour Monaco we'll get next July (and what the 'historical justification' for it will be).

Anyway, I honestly don't think I would have bought it even if I had seen it, and in fact I'm beginning to wonder if the Monaco is a watch that I am ever going to own. I feel like I should because after all I am the 'TAG Heuer Enthusiast', and there are the odd ones that tickle my fancy, but deep down I know the only ones I really covet are the the Monaco 24s and they cost as much as this one pre-owned!

Okay, I've waffled on far too long already, let's turn this new Monaco over to the devout 'Monaco-loving' citizens of C.O.C.O. Land and see what they think of it? Personally I think it's most likely either a 6 or an 8, so I'm giving it a 7...

The CBL2118.FC6518 costs £5950 and is available in selected boutiques only.

CBL2118.FC6518: 6.4 / 10

6/10: "I want to like it more and the sunburst purple dial should be a real killer but somehow it just doesn't do it for me."

8/10: "For me this will be like the green one only different colour. Both colours I don't mind wearing. But yeah the price is astronomical nowadays. I might not be getting one. But I like the watch."

8/10: "I love it! I think the colour is really elegant yet fun, and looks great contrasted with the sunken grey subdials and stark white lume. I still think the running seconds is stupid but it's easier to overlook on these more elegant models (looks terrible on the standard and Gulf models though). This is the second 'elegant' offering after the green model, which was very nice but had two drawbacks - one, the green color was a little too subdued and two, it wasn't numbered even though it was a LE. This one fixes both those issues - it's much more forthcoming with its colour though still restrained and elegant, and is individually numbered out of 500 on the caseback. This Monaco is a winner!"

6.5/10: "I guess it’s ok. Doesn’t feel very Monaco to me. The croc actually looks good on this. Bad sign."

7/10: "Same score as for the Green Monaco H02."

5/10: "This one ain't doing much for me."

6/10: "This watch has a new and challenging purple colour. It is a different colour variation from green, but I would like it to come out in about 3 colours at once rather than changing the colour every year to come out as a limited edition."

6/10: "It's a decent colour, but really one for die-hard Monaco fans. If I was shopping for a Monaco right now with cash in my pocket, I'd be going for a classic blue dial still."

5/10: "It's ok but does nothing to excite me."

7/10: "This purple dial seems to look better IRL than on the renders. But I guess I wouldn't wear it myself."

4/10: "I'm not sure purple is the new black. Green I could see the trend but the colour wasn't great. Maybe better if the case was PVD/DLC."