ON THE WRIST: Heuer Monaco 'Racing Blue' Calibre 11 Limited Edition Chronograph

 

CAW218C.FC6548

TAG Heuer Boutique / Oxford Street, London, 28th October 2023 

You may remember last year that I said the Monaco 'Night Driver' turned out to be a lot nicer in person than the photographs suggested, well it wasn't the only new Monaco I experienced on my most recent visit to the Oxford Street boutique as they also had this new limited edition Heuer branded, Calibre 11 'Racing Blue' model.

Now as you probably know by now, I'm not one to get my panties in a twist just because a Monaco has a Heuer badge on the dial and left handed crown. Truth be told I think the left handed crown looks damned strange and if I ever do buy a Monaco (which isn't completely off the cards) then it will either be a Calibre 12 or a Heuer 02 with the crown between the pushers as God intended!

Joking aside, I know a lot of people do prefer it this way and that's fine. For me, nothing before 1985 matters much and I don't really care about Steve McQueen either, but even so (left hand crown notwithstanding) I actually quite enjoyed trying this one on. I'll admit I laughed when someone called this the 'IKEA edition' on TAG Heuer's Instagram, but actually in person the watch is genuinely a lot nicer than expected.

The first thing I noticed was the mottled finish on the titanium case, by all accounts a rather 'economical' way of finishing titanium, but it still looks quite cool. I do wonder though if eventually this will wear smooth in patches and on the corners (rather like on the old 4000 Series watches)? But since this watch is aimed at vintage enthusiasts they'll probably enjoy that kind of patination.

The blue strap isn't quite as 'in your face' as the render suggested, but it's still bright enough (this isn't a quartz F1 after all) and the whole 'IKEA' thing (though amusing) does seem a little harsh in hindsight. Put this on a black or dark blue strap and it would actually be quite tasteful, because that yellow second hand is also nowhere near as bright as it appears in my photo.

Is it worth £8050? Well that's probably something only somebody with £8050 in their pocket can answer. After the 1st of February it's going to be about £8500 though, so if you want one and want to save yourself £450 then maybe get a hussle on...

Next time, we have the first part of the History of the Carrera. I can't actually believe I am typing that, it's been so long in the making. Still, let's not get carried away as it's only the first part of seven - so plenty more work to be done!