FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Monaco Heuer 02 'Green Fume Dial' Limited Edition

 
CBL2116.FC6497

This supposed 'green dial' craze has been around for a couple of years now, without ever really catching fire. Without expending too much brain power I can think of six green dial TAG Heuers that have emerged over the last 3-4 years and now we have another one to add to that list: the CBL2116 green fume dial Monaco Heuer 02. It's a beauty isn't it? Perhaps my favourite Monaco yet, and possibly even better in the green dial stakes than the original steel bezel/green dial Aquaracer of 2019!

This one has apparently been launched to coincide with this year's 'Monaco Grand Prix Historique', but unlike last year's dramatic silver/red piece this one isn't 'intrinsically' tied to that particular event (so no quirky racing car on the dial or engraving on the back this time around). It is, however, a limited edition of 500 pieces... which I think is rather a shame. 

I must admit I am growing a little weary of the whole 'limited edition' thing, I get that it creates a buzz for the brand and creates a 'FOMO' panic for the potential customer, and if it sells the product then I guess that's my problem not TAG Heuer's. But, it would be nice to be able to ponder a while and think 'I could save up for this' over a year or two, but sadly that's not the case. 

Again...

I don't know about you but I'm not really in a position to drop £5500 on a watch just like that. I guess that's my problem (again), maybe I should have tried harder in school or something... but ultimately it leaves a slightly bitter taste in my mouth, knowing that by the time I decide to take the plunge they will probably all be gone. Of course this isn't something that's exclusive to TAG Heuer, most watch companies have caught onto this idea of manufacturing 'buying pressure', but even so... I find it a bit irritating, especially when it's clearly something that's going to sell well.

Or maybe not, maybe TAG Heuer are right to limit this to 500 pieces. After all, the Monaco market is a pretty conservative one, generally speaking it's any colour as long as it's blue (bow down to the God of square watches: Steve McQueen and say three 'Hail Le Mans'). Sure they went cray-cray with the 50th anniversary pieces (red, green... concrete!!!) but those were even more fuelled by FOMO and the flippers had a field day.

I guess time will tell, but either way from these pictures this looks gorgeous. It's funny, a few days ago I thought to myself 'I don't think I will ever buy a Monaco, I don't really think they are my kind of thing', but seeing this kinda makes me wonder. I've long had a mild 'thing' for the limited edition PVD Monaco with green details made for the Singapore Grand Prix, but this one looks even nicer.

Are green dials the new blue though? Or is it a passing fad that will eventually fizzle out without every really blowing up? I guess we'll get some clarity on that when we see how the new Patek Philippe 5711 olive dial impacts the market. My guess is prices will be absolutely obscene for that, but will it drag the whole green dial market up, or will it be a special case? I have my doubts.

My feeling is that green dials as a whole will never hit the mark like blue did. The problem for me is that pretty much any shade of blue is acceptable, but green is a different kettle of fish. There's a lot of greens that don't look quite right on a watch; for example the new titanium Aquaracer or that God-awful Breitling Heritage chronograph that came out last week!

From my perspective though, this one is a winner and apparently it looks even better in the metal. For a moment I wondered why they didn't put it on a very dark green strap instead of black, but then thinking about it with this kind of dial where it fades out to black that would probably look odd and of course trying to colour-match green would be a bit of a nightmare.

No I think TAG Heuer have got this just about bang on, presenting us with a new twist on the 'modern' style of the Heuer 02 type Monaco. Some may grumble (see C.O.C.O. comments below...) but at the end of the day if you want 'vintage retro chic' you can still get the Heuer branded Calibre 11. Personally I like that they are dragging the Monaco into the 21st Century with models like this (since we no longer have the Monaco 24 option) and I feel sure if they had made this dial with a Calibre 11 movement it wouldn't have sold as well because people who want Calibre 11 pretty much always want blue (unless they already have at least one blue one).

Yeah, I get that the radial hour markers are kinda sucky and I wouldn't object to those being replaced with the old-style flat versions (or perhaps something else - but not octagonal lume pots, obviously), and the case is a bit thick, but again that applies to all the Heuer 02 Monacos. I just think this kind of dial would look somewhat odd with the old school Monaco, in fact this might be the perfect Monaco for that blingy new bracelet they brought out last year...

But of course my opinion is only half the story (well 65% max) so now it's time to find out what the C.O.C.O. has to say about this one, take it away chaps...

CBL2116.FC6497 Green Dial Monaco Heuer 02: 7.1 / 10

"This is another testament that TAG Heuer makes truly stunning dials especially on this green emerald shade. TH have done it well with the red (50th/Calibre11) and the blue (H02) dials showing off that shiny metallic sunburst hue which plays with the light on different angles. Definitely a must see in person."

"Nice dial. It's a green Monaco, so not much more to say really. I'd still have the blue McQueen."

"I think the green looks great and I really like the recessed subdials. But the H02 Monacos still really turn me off with the radial markers and vestigial running seconds. I personally think the Monaco looks fairly un-balanced with the crown on the right, too."

"8.5/10: The dial is fantastic! I was tempted to rank it higher, just because of the dial, but if I compare it to other Monaco special editions, it's not quite as compelling for me. For example, if I wanted a green Monaco, I'd probably choose the 70s Monaco 50th Anniversary over this one. Also, I like last years red H02 Monaco Historique better. And if one doesn't own a Monaco, the C11 Blue McQueen is still the one to get."

"6 for me...I'm over Green Dials."

"This is much less hideous than most recent releases, but also has nothing really special that says 'buy me' "

"Mmm, 6/10, would have preferred an even green across the dial or paler green centre than present darkening outward towards dark green rather than black, nice sub dials at 3+9 but not liking the seconds unit, crown on the left would have been a bonus."

"The green seems to be close to the recent Certina 60th Anniversary DS Concept Special Edition. I had to resist pretty much when this one came out to save watch funds. Still very tempting. In other words, I like that green. For the Monaco, I'm not so sure. The 50th anniversary has the ultimate green of course in my view! I give it a good 7/10."

"4/10 from me. The dial colour, the running seconds, the movement and the size (thickness) ruins it for me. Otherwise it would be a great Monaco!"

"At first glance, I would give it a 6.5/10. Reading David’s  (Calibre11) report I hold out hope I would like it more in the metal but in terms of wow factor and “would I buy it” it rates not that highly. I wanted to give it 6 and thought that too low, 7 to high so copped out and went in the middle. 6.5."

"Probably controversial considering the green love across the industry but - taking the green aside - which is stunning, even though I’m not a green watch person - this is a fairly lazy LE IMO. Considering the critique of the recent Carrera SE, this has even less changes etc."

"The green dial is nice, but I don’t like the alligator strap (I would prefer it with the rally strap as in the Calibre 11 review), and I also prefer the Monaco with crown on the left side, so it’s a 7/10 for me."

"9/10. Love it. What can i say ? I love green dial and in my opinion they have done it really well this time."

 "8.5 for me (would be 9.0 if it had two registers and 9.5 if it also had Calibre 11)"

"I'll score 7. It uses this nowadays trend of green, and has a dial with gradation, but I think it lacks the retro feel of Monaco. Also, I think it would have been better to have a green alligator strap. I feel Khaki one is better."

"TAG Heuer have nailed it with the dial. It stands apart from the on trend green used by many other manufacturers. The fade to black in the corners has been executed really well along with sub dials. It hasn't been paired with a green strap either which is a great decision. 9/10"

ADDENDUM: It seems this watch was phenomenally popular and all 500 pieces were sold within the space of a few days. So unfortunately, it doesn't look like seeing one will be a possibility for those of us who were either too slow or too underfunded...