FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Monza Carbon Heuer 02 Flyback Chronograph

 

CR5090.FN6001

Well this is different, isn't it? But is it good different? Or bad different? I'm pretty sure if you ask people who like the 'classic' Monzas you're probably not going to get the most positive responses, and that's  rather borne out in the comments at the foot of the page... but does that matter? Because clearly this is not aimed at someone who cherishes their Calibre 36 gold cased Monza, but rather a (possibly) younger customer who wants their own take on the Monza, but with a modern slant and more on-trend materials.

And so was born the carbon Monza, a slightly curious choice to be fair, but I suppose they'd already done the carbon Monaco with George Bamford back in 2017 and what better way to celebrate the 47th anniversary of the Monza? It is somewhat perverse that TAG Heuer wish to be edgy and avant garde, but they choose to do it with a watch case that was born in the 1960s, but that's the watch industry for you - new cases and model names are death to sales, so this is what we get instead. 

Honestly I'm stumped as to what to make of this one. I quite liked the 40th Anniversary (as many, many people did, even people that hate TAG Heuer - probably because it said 'Heuer' on the dial so it was okay), but in the flesh everything that looked white in the pictures was creamy and horrible and the strap was just... not for me. I'm also pretty sure that strap wasn't very resilient either because every time I see one come up for sale it's on a random strap, some dreadful people even put them on NATOs... 

Ghaaaaaaaaaaastly!

The thing is, I quite like skeleton watches (I know a lot of people don't) and I quite like carbon watches..  but the carbon and the skeleton and the blue subdials and the blocks of blue and the red. I can't help thinking maybe less could have been slightly more. I'm also slightly confused as to why they removed the running seconds subdial, though to be fair a date at the '9' position is nicer than squeezing it in between two subdials at an angle. 

I think the strap choice is good, when you have a technical material like carbon I think leather (or alligator as found on the carbon Monaco) is a bit odd. I guess they could also have used rubber but this is probably the best choice as it helps to keep the watch lightweight. It's disappointing to note that the stitching on the strap is nothing close to being the same colour as on the dial (although it seems the renders are a bit misleading as they look a lot closer on the actual photo above).

Incidentally I read somewhere that the colour palette for this watch was inspired by Red Bull Racing's F1 team colours, and one of these was given to Christian Horner a few months back, so that could be true. 

I quite like the use of blue sapphire crystal on the remaining subdials, in theory at least, I'm not sure I'm overly keen on the actual choice of blue (although again, from the picture above it looks quite different in the real world). And I really like that those big blue hour markers are lumed, that's a major plus because I thought they were just going to be painted. 

I'm not quite sure what the point of adding a pulsometer scale was though... 

Price for this one is £11,500 which is a lot of money, but I don't doubt they will sell. I was initially under the impression that this was limited to 250 pieces, but since release it seems they've removed this from the back of the watch and the CR5090 is now being sold as a 'Special Edition' on the TAG Heuer website. Oddly it still says 'Limited Edition' on the box* though, which makes no sense. 

(*Interestingly this picture has now been removed from the TAG Heuer webpage for the CR5090.) 

Without wanting to sound like Alan Sugar pontificating over which hapless Apprentice to fire, I'm struggling... I like that TAG Heuer are prepared to try new ideas and push boundaries and I think in time I might even come to like this. But right now I'm finding it hard to give this more than 6/10. 

Still, in the scheme of things that score may prove to be one of the more generous, because yes, it's time to turn this over to the somewhat 'traditionalist' C.O.C.O. Council, who are fresh off praising the panda Carrera to the skies and no doubt chomping at the bit to lash out at this travesty of utter nonsense!

I'm just hoping it manages to score more than that dreadful Monaco Riviera from last year...

  

CR5090.FN6001:  4.7/10

112 / 24 = 4.67 (Rounded up to 4.7)

7/10: "Well... it's too expensive for me. And too big. And I'm not a fan of carbon crowns and the skeleton look. And the strap isn't good enough for an £11.5k watch. But... I kind of like it even so."

3/10: "I love the 40th anniversary Monza, so I like the size of this one. I also like the blue accents. The lumed date window is a cool touch. Admittedly, the live pics do look better than the renders. However… I do not like the dial layout and would prefer something other a skeleton dial. The carbon does nothing for me personally (I would prefer a steel or titanium case, but I understand how others like carbon). Wouldn’t dream of paying the asking price, either (and the asking price always factors into my scores)."

6.5/10: "I love the Monza and overall it's a very nice watch technically. I want to like it a lot more but it's just not working for me. Positives; it's a Monza, I love the choice of blue and it works very well with the red accents. Not too fussed about the carbon case but it's ok. Negatives for me are the cheap strap option! The sub dials look odd to me at 3 and 6 o'clock and the date being at 9, it just doesn't balance well."

3/10: "Probably competing for the 2023 Ugliest Watch Of The Year title… especially when you have in mind its Monza predecessor -and GPHG award winner- 40th Anniversary CR2080."

5/10: "I just don't know what to make of this watch. It's kind of like an abstract painting, which at first glance might look hideous. Then as you start to look closer, you pick up on things. As time goes on, it might even become a masterpiece to some. I think this Monza is a very interesting piece, doesn't mean I like it, nor do I hate it. I'm really conflicted. So I'll give it a 5/10 for now."

6.5/10: "It’s bold and daring and although I’m not in the market for one I’m sure many will be. I never liked this case, looks like Heuer franken watches of old, but the carbon softens the look."

3/10: "That's one point each for the blue bits (markers / subdials), the skeleton design and the strap. The case is dreadful and ruins the watch for me. If it had a plain black case I'd be scoring it a lot higher."

6/10: "I like Monza but I don't like this one. But probably it will look better in person."

2/10: "I like the new configuration and the flyback capability…everything else is a miss for me, especially the price."

1/10: "My rating for this watch is extremely low, I give it 1 point. In the history of Monza, I think it is a product that will be a black mark in history. The price is high and the Monza Circuit logo on the case back of an early sample is omitted. The only thing that makes this a Monza is the cushion-shaped case, which makes me wonder why they created such a watch. And worst of all, this watch doesn't have a limited number and can be produced in any number."

3/10: "Very ugly and too expensive, but the case does wear well in the lighter material."

1/10: "Not for me, original was the one, case, colour, glass back, skeleton , strap and price all turn me off."

3/10: "It's a shit show."

4/10: "To much ‘Playmobil/Lego’ appearance for me.."

5/10: "Not for me. A miss on the design. I keep thinking, perhaps had this been a phantom (monochromatic / without the color accents), maybe this could have been less polarizing."

3/10: "Yeah I want to like this but I just can't. I like the idea of trying new things so therefor I give it a higher score than it probably deserves."

2/10: "I gave it 2 points: one point because it technically is a watch, one point because it’s carbon. Otherwise this is utterly disappointing and incoherent, a slander to the Monza name after the design clarity of the last Monza release."

8.5/10 "After the initial knee jerk reaction from the forum comments, followed by me not really looking at this piece in depth, I was going to score it low. Now that I have studied it closer, I really like it. It’s just a shame that the price is outside my price range and it doesn’t come with a full carbon bracelet to match."

6/10: "This watch is too unsteady in my view."

7/10: "Not my taste. But a taste of things to come which may produce some Gems maybe …."