ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Monaco Skeleton Heuer 02 Chronograph

 
CBL2184.FT6236

TAG Heuer Boutique / Leicester, 7th September 2023

I know what you're thinking, and yes I did already try on a Monaco skeleton when I visited the Oxford Street boutique way back in June. But at that time they only had the 'standard' models in stock and what I was really interested to see was the funky black and turquoise model. As luck would have it, I finally managed to find one when I made my very first visit to the (not so) new TAG Heuer boutique in Leicester.

As is typical for these 'partner' boutiques that are tacked onto the side of a larger jewellery store, this isn't the biggest boutique - certainly nothing like the ones in Sheffield or Oxford Street, but it still had a good selection of watches to look at and the lady that served me and my wife (Raisa) was very friendly and welcoming.

Which is great of course, but what of the turquoise Monaco? Well I immediately liked it a lot more than the plain black and blue models but I was a little surprised that it was still quite muted compared to what the marketing materials suggested. As you can see in my photo above it's not exactly 'shy and retiring', but it's not as neon-bright as you might have been led to believe.

But there is definitely something a bit special about this one. In fact I would be hard pressed to choose between this and the Dark Lord Tribute when it comes to my favourite Monaco of recent times. But, ultimately the Dark Lord Tribute is in the pound seats for one reason and one reason alone.

I know I mentioned it when these were first announced, but the problem persists - why is this so damned expensive? Okay it's the first skeleton Monaco blah blah blah... but as I said before they managed to skeletonise the Heuer 01 at practically no extra cost. And when you put it up against the 'Dark Lord Tribute' it makes no sense that it should cost almost £2000 more. Both have DLC coated titanium cases, both are powered by the Heuer 02 movement... the 'Dark Lord Tribute' has rose gold hands and hour markers for Pete's sake! 

I seem to remember when the 'DLT' came out the price was a bit of a shock, but now it seems like a bit of a bargain. How did that happen?

Not to mention the 'DLT' has a proper alligator strap, while this one has a very flimsy looking thing that while it does suit the 'technical' style of this watch, doesn't feel particularly 'luxurious'. So yes, I like it, but I'd like it a whole lot more at £7000, at this price it's out of the question. But then I suppose that's what modern luxury is all about... making things unobtainable. 

Ultimately, if you like this watch, if you REALLY like this watch and you can afford £7,000 then you can probably afford £9000 if you save hard enough - it's just a question of how bad you want it. The problem is when you start talking about watches in that price bracket, the customer has a lot of very good product options to choose from. Whether the legend of the Monaco is enough to compete in the £10,000 price bracket we will have to wait and see.