WR5140.FC8145
The Monza is perhaps the most overlooked of all TAG Heuer's model ranges and most definitely plays second fiddle to the ever popular Monaco. The case is a truly curious shape; from some angles it suggests a squarer shape than it really is (though it's impossible to deny that it has four 'sides'). Looking through the post-1985 Monzas I quickly realised that I'm not a big fan of the three handed models and with those discarded I wasn't left with a huge pool of references from which to compile a top five. Still, that's never stopped me before and the Monza has definitely been overlooked on this blog in the past, so let's begin...
#5. CR2114.FC6164
Surely one which would find a great deal of approval with the pastor of the 'Church of the Silver Dials' (Jim Dollares), but if I'm 100% honest this one is a rather distant fifth and could be considered to be 'making up the numbers'. That said, it's not unattractive and I much prefer this version with the larger chronograph subdials and baton hour markers to the CR5111 with the smaller dials and Arabic numerals. I don't know, there's a LOT of silver going on in that dial!
#4. CR5112.FC6290
I bet this one has raised a few eyebrows among my regular readers, because this kind of super vintage aesthetic is definitely not my normal cup of tea... but somehow with the Monza case it makes perfect sense! The thing that really sold it to me the minute I clapped eyes on it (which isn't immediately noticeable in this picture) is the blued hands - they are absolutely stunning and are the perfect choice for a watch with such a look. The only fly in the ointment here is the date window, which looks really, really cramped inbetween those large scale Arabics.
#3. CR5110.FC6175
I'm slightly wary of placing this one, the renders seem to show a gorgeous anthracite or black sunburst dial and yet photographs seem to suggest a plain black dial. If it is actually just a plain black dial then I won't be half as keen on it to be honest, in fact in that case it would probably slip down the order to fourth. I'm not too sure about the chronograph pushers either, but then I'm not a fan of the old fashioned ones on the other models either...
#2. CR2080.FC6375
Released to celebrate 40 years of the Monza in 2016, this was the first Monza that ever really grabbed my attention. The black PVD appealed to me greatly, although I never liked the strap and I liked it even less when I tried it on. It's not just that it's too 'retro' for me; I don't like the texture of it much either and I don't know, I just don't like having dirty great holes in my strap that I can see my hairy arms through! Despite that, this is still the watch I think of when someone mentions the Monza and I like it enough to place it second here, but damn that dial is so beige in real life. :(
#1. CR514A.FC8145
So there we have it.... or do we? Because while the CR514A is my favourite 'production' Monza, it isn't necessarily my favourite Monza of all. In fact I was almost tempted to break my own rules and include this Bamford creation in my top five, but at the last minute I pulled back (hence the comments about the perfectly nice CR2114 'making up the numbers' - apologies to any owners reading this) and decided to add it on at the end.
All I can say is 'WOW'. Bamford, it must be said, are guilty of some pretty terrible 'customisations', but every now and then they knock it completely out of the park. Look at this beautiful thing... I feel like the only thing that could make this better would be a very fine yellow outline around each hour marker... and a yellow 'TAG Heuer' logo.
Also, that strap looks great and a similar one with red stitching would look great on the 40th Anniversary Monza, don't you think?
Minus the big holes obviously...
You can see the entire TAG-era Monza range by clicking the link below:
Also please visit the 'TOP 5' Menu page by clicking the link below:
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