In this third and final part of the 'Gulf Mania' series, Jim Dollares crowns the 'King' and 'Prince' of Gulf Heuer watches. If you missed the previous parts of the series you can either scroll down to yesterday and the day before or click the links below which will take you straight there.
Gulf Mania - Part One 'Le Mans' 50th Anniversary
Gulf Mania - Part Two 'The Gulf Maniac'
Before I pass you over to Jim for the concluding episode of the 'Gulf Mania', I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Mspeedster, Yuki, Darryn and Ara for their valuable contributions to this series, it is much appreciated and I hope you enjoy seeing your work on the blog.
Rob
Photo by Yuki Nohara (@24Snowy24 on Instagram)
Initially I was thinking that I should pick the top three TAG Heuer Gulf watches. But let’s be honest, two of them are so much better and in a league of their own compared to the rest. Hence, this became a top two instead. They shall be known to the world as the Gulf King and the Gulf Prince.
The Gulf King - the 50 pcs limited edition Gulf Monaco (CAW211T)
There have been a number of Gulf releases from TAG Heuer during the years but none of them come close to being as perfect as the 50 pieces limited edition released in 2018. In comparison to many limited releases of late, this one is a proper limited edition with individual numbering on the caseback. My good friend Darryn Brown (@heuer.holic on Instagram) owns one of these and he was kind to provide me with a bunch of amazing photos to share with you.
“you want to hold it, touch it and spend time with it”
TAG Heuer announced this release as a 50 years celebration of the first victory for a Gulf sponsored car in the famous race of Le Mans. A bit of an odd celebration indeed and I know that watch brands tend to make a fuss about all kinds of silly celebrations and anniversaries. However, that doesn’t change the fact that this is an incredible Monaco, with perfect Gulf coloured stripes on top of a rich dark blue metallic dial it is difficult to take your eyes of this beauty. Some would even say that looking at it wouldn’t be enough, you want to hold it, touch it and spend time with it. Make it your special one. (sweet Jesus - Ed)
Not unique for this Gulf Monaco but still as fascinating, get up close with the dial and you will see the very cool printing of the Gulf stripes. They create a sort of depth and appear almost three dimensional being printed on top of the dark sun burst blue dial. This is probably my favourite feature of this dial.
Another detail I love about this Gulf Monaco are the white sub dials. They create a nice contrast and look superb, compared to the standard Gulf Monaco special edition (CAW211R) which has silver looking sub dials which seem out of place on that dial.
The watch has a display caseback, just as the standard calibre 11 Monaco (CAW211P) but as you can see here about half of the glass is covered by this “Gulf first victory 50th anniversary” printing. It looks kind of cool and adds another detail which makes this very limited edition even more special.
“this is what the standard production Gulf Monaco 'should' have been”
It is likely to believe that most Gulf enthusiasts look at this watch and think to themselves that this is what the standard production Gulf Monaco should have been. Wishing deeply that TAG Heuer should have made something similar to this for their special edition available worldwide. One thing is for sure though, with only 50 pieces made it will be very challenging to find one on the used market. I am sure that the lucky 50 owners out there will hold on to this one for a very, very long time.
Photo by: Mspeedster
The Gulf Prince - the special edition Gulf Formula 1 (CAZ101N)
Almost as good and perfect, but in a smaller package with quartz engine, this 2018 release deserves to be crowned Gulf Prince. This one is kind of a rare phenomenon; it is the second Gulf Formula 1 model ever produced by TAG Heuer. Its predecessor was the WAH1013 from 2011 and both models are shown side by side in the photo below.
Photo by Yuki Nohara (@24Snowy24 on Instagram)
It is difficult to understand the reasoning from TAG Heuer when in the same year of 2018 they released the terrible Monaco CAW211R with incorrect Gulf colours and this perfectly branded Formula 1 model. Who decided that the affordable Formula 1 should please the fans with accurate Gulf branding but not the Monaco? The Formula 1 implements the perfect shade of Gulf coloured stripes on top of a matte blue dial and an orange chronograph seconds hand. A sporty, affordable and almost elegant alternative for Gulf fans who do not wish to spend Monaco levels of money on a watch. Or just prefer the accuracy and convenience of owning a quartz movement for that matter.
Photo by: Mspeedster
A unique feature of this Gulf timepiece is that there is no Gulf logo on the dial. I sure am glad that this is the case, imagine if TAG would have ruined the dial by squeezing it into one of the sub dials. It would have been a disaster on similar level as the Indy 500 watches from TAG Heuer. Turning this watch over and you will at least be pleased to see that there is a special Gulf logo engraving on the caseback. Good call to save an already busy dial from being ruined!
Unlike the Gulf King, there are a couple of details I would’ve changed with the Formula 1 model. The very attractive strap is unfortunately terribly uncomfortable to wear and owners are forced to exchange it for something better, like a proper racing leather strap. The other little details I would change would be the black crown and pushers. They look a little out of place and don’t really go well with the other design elements of this watch. However, these are small flaws that don’t change how much I adore this watch.
Photo by: Mspeedster
The next Gulf watch?
In 2021 it will be three years since TAG Heuer released the current line-up of Gulf watches. I can’t help but hope that the 50th anniversary of the movie Le Mans will be reason for TAG Heuer to release something new and spectacular; it must be right? If the “50th anniversary of the first victory in the Le Mans race for a Gulf branded car” was reason enough to release the Gulf King, for sure the 50th anniversary of the legendary movie must be a crazy good reason for a new special edition!
Jim Dollares
@jimdollares on Instagram
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