Today we start a three part series that will be posted today, tomorrow and Friday and celebrates the history of TAG Heuer and Gulf Oil. This has been put together by our new contributor Jim Dollares and features input from several members of the Calibre 11 forum. Take it away JD.
2021 will be the 50th anniversary of the famous movie Le Mans. Readers of this blog will be very familiar with the history of the Heuer Monaco and Steve McQueen so the first part of the TAG Heuer and Gulf mania will not cover this. What will be done though, is a celebration of the 50th anniversary by focusing on something very special to many watch fans. Timepieces and motorsports have gone hand in hand for a long time and a brand that has played a major role in both these worlds is Gulf. With its famous and eye-catching blue and orange colour scheme it is easy even for non-motorsport enthusiasts to understand the appeal of the Gulf livery. Join me in a series of articles where I talk about the watches, the Gulf brand and enjoy a ton of photos to drool all over.
Photo by Yuki Nohara (@24Snowy24 on Instagram)
THE WATCHES
These days it feels like TAG Heuer Gulf watches have always been around. Among TAG Heuer enthusiasts today Gulf branded watches are a natural thing, but the fact is that the first Gulf watch was introduced by TAG Heuer as late as 2005. Some might even argue that it was in 2007 since the first one in 2005 did not have the actual Gulf logo or the Gulf colours. The dial was bright white with a red Gulf shaped logo saying ‘Monaco’ instead of Gulf and reason for these design choices were of course that TAG, at that time, did not have the licensing rights for the Gulf branding.
Since then we have seen a total of eight Gulf themed TAG Heuer watches; two Formula 1s and six Monacos. Looking at these watches all at once makes it very clear to me that two of them should be crowned the best Gulf watches (yet). TAG Heuer achieved two definite homeruns with two releases from 2018, first of all the CAW211T Monaco and secondly the CAZ101N Formula 1. Both of these shown at the bottom to the right of the Gulf montage below.
The eight TAG Heuer Gulf watches released to date.
“a bad design choice that makes no sense for Gulf fans across the world”
When looking at these eight timepieces side by side you could play a game of “which one does not fit in?”. Sure, the white CW2118 stands out but is still a cool looking design on its own. However, in my opinion there is one Gulf edition that stands out in a very negative way. I am obviously referring to the current Gulf Monaco special edition (CAW211R) which, for some incomprehensible reason does not have the correct Gulf colour scheme.
If you’re a Gulf fan, this major flaw with the Gulf colours being completely wrong will make your eyes bleed of horror when looking at the dial. It will forever be a great mystery how someone in TAG Heuer’s design department could sign off on such a bad design choice that makes no sense for Gulf fans across the world.
The CAW211R with its terrible colour scheme. Photo by ablogtowatch.com
“based on our exquisite taste, we know how the perfect Gulf Monacos should look”
This is how TAG Heuer should celebrate the Le Mans anniversary!
If there is something I love doing, it is daydreaming about watches. Some say that men think about sex 10 times every minute. This is of course not true, real men think about watches all the time. The current TAG Heuer Monaco Gulf special edition (CAW211R) could have been perfect but since TAG Heuer managed to completely screw it up I had to step in and show you what could be done to achieve perfection. On this mission I teamed up with chief editor Rob, Ara (@heuerrooklyn on Instagram) and Michael (known as ‘Mspeedster’ in the watch community). Based on our exquisite taste we know how the perfect Gulf Monacos should look and to that end we designed three brand new TAG Heuer Monaco Gulf special edition concept watches.
#1 TAG Heuer Monaco Heuer02 Gulf special edition concept
In the watch world today, there is nothing hotter than a silver dial. This proper Gulf Monaco with its timeless sunburst silver dial and Gulf livery delivers a perfect combination of pure motorsport heritage with modern TAG Heuer design.
Design concept by Jim & digital design by Ara.
#2 TAG Heuer Monaco Heuer02 Gulf special edition ‘The Dark Oil Lord’ concept
It doesn’t get more bad-ass than this! Black DLC case with a black patterned dial further strengthening the contrast of the vibrant Gulf colours. Ladies and gentlemen, The Dark Oil Lord has arrived.
Design concept by Rob & digital design by Ara.
#3 TAG Heuer Monaco Calibre11 Le Mans 50th anniversary limited edition concept
True to the heritage of the Monaco from the movie, this limited edition is based on the calibre 11 case with the modern calibre 11 movement and crown on the left side of the case. With a Gulf blue matte
dial divided by a dominant orange stripe in the middle, this watch fully embraces the colour scheme we know and love. Enthusiasts will be pleased to see Bell & Siffert's famous number 20 on top of the dial and looking closer you will find the names of Gulf and Porsche below the Gulf logo.
Design concept and digital design by Mspeedster
Let us know in the comments which one you prefer or what your perfect Gulf design would be.
PART TWO
PART THREE
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