ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Monaco Heuer 02 Skeleton Chronograph

 

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TAG Heuer Boutique / Oxford Street, London 20th June 2023

When I wrote my 'First Impressions' post for the new skeleton-dial Monacos back in June it was hard not to lead with the prices TAG Heuer was asking for the first 'widely available' examples they had ever produced. Two months down the line and it feels like the buzz for these models has died pretty quickly, probably because we've got a new 'limited edition' Monaco in our faces already. 

I must admit I was hoping to see the black DLC/turquoise model, but of course the boutique only had the other two in stock, so that was perhaps getting me off on the wrong foot, but again I found myself rather alarmingly disinterested in the watch on my wrist - which is probably partly why it's taken so long for me to write this post.

Unlike the absolutely stunning orange 'Porsche' Carrera H02 I tried on earlier in the year, there's nothing about this watch that makes it feel like its price tag is justified. It's just very 'meh', and while I feel like that is a rather damning statement, I'm afraid it is what it is. The strap (which has admittedly been described by some as super-flexible and super-comfortable) seems cheap and flimsy to me; if I was buying this I would be looking for an alternative sooner rather than later... and again I feel like I can't disassociate how I feel about the watch from the ridiculous price.

When TAG Heuer made the skeleton Heuer 01 and then the solid dial versions the prices were roughly in the same ball park, but here you are paying three grand for the skeleton dial and a somewhat lazily finished grade 2 titanium case. If we say the case "costs" an extra £1500 (based on the extra £1000 for the Aquaracers in titanium - though honestly this whole 'titanium costs so much to machine' thing is overblown, it's not like they are machining Duplex) then you are still paying £1500 for the dial (or lack thereof). That seems a lot, doesn't it? Maybe they should throw in some LVMH branded lube, because for sure you are getting royally shafted here.

Unfortunately, the Swiss watch industry as a whole is in the process of 'going upmarket', the whole thing.... because sales are stagnant (after the pandemic boom) the only way they can (artificially) create more growth is to push up prices. We've seen this right from the bottom (Seiko) to the top, with JLC in particular pumping up their prices by 40% on some models. While I'm sure this might work in the short term, ultimately the market is controlled by Rolex, and all the other brands need to find their niche in relation to them. 

In JLC's case they had more room than most for manoeuvre since for years they have represented good value for money because their (in house) movements are recognised as excellent, but in TAG Heuer's case they were already charging a lot for some models which housed pretty basic Sellita movements (Calibre 5 in particular), my fear is the prices are going to rise now, and when they eventually put a better movement in the watches they will raise the prices again. I can foresee a time in the not too distant future when a bog standard automatic Aquaracer will set you back £3500-4000 and the lowliest Monacos will be brushing £8000.  

It seems like a long time since we heard anyone from TAG Heuer use the words 'affordable luxury'.

Of course, in the real world it's not as simple as saying this costs this to manufacture, so this should cost this... of course you have to factor in exclusivity and desirability. But more and more I am hearing watch collectors say they just can't justify the prices that TAG Heuer are charging, and while LVMH have the financial muscle to play a long game, if they want to be seen as legitimate competition for the likes of Omega they also have to be seen to address their well known quality issues, and ideally before they try to start moving up-market. 

Yes some models are starting to use Kenissi movements and that's a step in the right direction - unfortunately TAG Heuer are charging a premium for those movements when they should be using them to replace the movements in the watches that are currently over-priced. And while we are on that particular subject I still don't understand why these 'premium' models don't house the new TH20-00 movement instead of the Heuer 02. 

It would be lovely to be able to say that the Monaco won me over in person, and that even though I can't afford to buy one I still want one (like say a Monaco 24), but honestly it seemed really unexciting and I can't for the life of me fathom why anyone would pay £9350 for one of these when you could buy a Dark Lord Tribute for £7850. I mean that's still a bit steep, but in comparison it actually looks like a bit of a bargain and a much more exciting watch to boot.

But then I think honestly these models are aimed at people who already have the Dark Lord Tribute, and a Steve McQueen and possibly a purple or green dial Monaco too. People, perhaps, for whom 'lube' is not essential. With that in mind it's probably smart that TAG Heuer are limiting the availability of these pieces (even though they are not actually designated 'limited editions') because if they were sitting in cabinets all over the place that would seriously dent their appeal to buyers for whom 'exclusivity' is high on their list of priorities.