ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Monaco 'Dark Lord' Tribute Special Edition Heuer 02 Chronograph

 

CBL2180.FC6497

TAG Heuer Boutique / Meadowhall, Sheffield 22nd April 2023

It's almost a year since the release of the TAG Heuer Monaco 'Dark Lord Tribute' and to my great shock and surprise a few weeks ago I finally got to see one! In fact, in the weeks since I saw this particular one in the TAG Heuer boutique in Sheffield's Meadowhall centre, I've seen another one - this time in the flagship boutique in Oxford Street (London). I guess Dark Lord's really are like buses huh?

I suppose I shouldn't be quite so surprised, since after all the 'Dark Lord' is a limited release model, rather than a blink-and-you'll-miss-it-never-to-be-seen-again limited edition of 600pcs like the purple and green dial Monacos, and now that the initial rush of interest has abated they are slowly starting to appear on the high street. But even so it's hard not to be somewhat in awe of this long awaited legend of a watch, or at least the 2023 interpretation of it.

Because let's not beat about the bush, the CBL2180 is certainly no 1:1 remake of the original. And I'm quite sure for many people who have been obsessing over the possible re-issuing of this watch for the last 20-30 years this is a disappointment. Because no it doesn't have round pushers, nor did I ever think it would. Because no it doesn't have a brutal 70s case that looks like it's been sawn out of a billet of steel. And yes, it does have rose gold on the dial.

It's almost like TAG Heuer decided to remake the Dark Lord, and then had a long hard think about it. And after they had a long hard think they came to the conclusion that no matter what they did, no matter how hard they tried to stick to the spirit of the original, unless they were prepared to make the damned thing an absolute facsimile, those people were just never going to be fully satisfied. 

The funny thing is, when I first saw the render for this one, it didn't even register with me that it was a 'Dark Lord'. I mean, yes it's DLC coated, but it's not the first time we've seen a blacked out Monaco. There aren't masses of them, sure, but for example the CAW211M Club de Monaco limited edition gives you a lot of what you get here, without the gold and for half the money (currently there's one on eBay for £3000). And there have also been black coated Calibre 6's, Monaco 24's and even (back in 2019) a black cased limited edition for 'The Hour Glass', albeit with a creamy, champagne dial.

And while the CAW211M doesn't have the round pushers of the real Dark Lord either, they do carry a silver finish rather than black - just like the 70s original. If only the crown was on the left, but alas no it was a Calibre 12 and as such carried the watch-snob baiting TAG Heuer logo on the dial and the crown fell right where it should... on the right hand side between the chronograph pushers (I for one have never liked any watch with a left handed crown, save perhaps the Tudor Pelagos LHD).

But I come to the 'Dark Lord' without all these years of expectation, so it doesn't bother me that it doesn't look like the original. It doesn't bother me that the pushers aren't round. It doesn't bother me that it's on an alligator strap when it should be on a perforated racing strap. It doesn't bother me that the hands and hour markers are rose gold... in fact I like all those things. And the modern case is 100 times nicer than the old one. No question.

On the wrist it sits tall, as all Monacos do, but gives a stronger overall impression due to that black coated case. It feels slightly at odds with my wrist, not in terms of comfort, but whereas steel Monacos reflect the colour of your skin, subtly softening it's ever so square edges, here there is no such fudging. The Dark Lord is square and black and if you can't handle it that's your problem!

I like it a lot, the red flashes work well with the gold and black colour scheme, indeed perhaps this is my favourite Monaco of all time? Well maybe not, but it's hard to rule it out and it's certainly top three. In fact it's hard to fault, there's almost nothing I would change, save for one minor detail - the price. Currently the 'Dark Lord Tribute' is selling for £7850; I know it's a special release, I know it has gold details and I know it's DLC coated. 

But it's also nearly £3000 more than some Carreras with the same movement, and I just don't see any justification for that. Indeed, the whole Monaco line seems to be rocketing up in price irrespective of what the rest of the products are doing. My problem is, while I like the Monaco and I'd love to own this one, I don't like it enough to justify the 'icon' tax that it seems to be suffering from these last few years, and that's a shame. But still, maybe I should just investigate the CAW211M... or maybe I should have bought one brand new from Bicester Village for about £3200 back in 2017 when I had the chance!