FEATURE: TAG Heuer Monaco 50th Anniversary Limited Editions

Hard to believe, but it's been five years since the final '50th Anniversary' Monaco was released back in late October 2019. So I thought, maybe now would be a good time to take a moment to take a look back at this five piece collection and remind ourselves how it came about and also invite the Council of Considered Opinion to share their thoughts and (since 2019 was pre-C.O.C.O.) score the watches for inclusion in the final totals list. 

So clearly, even before we got to 2019 we knew that it was the 50th anniversary of the Monaco (glossing over the fact that it was out of production for quite a large portion of that of course) and it was expected that there would be some sort of special watch, much as there had been for the 40th anniversary. But it was quite a surprise when TAG Heuer announced that there would actually be 5 different watches released throughout 2019, each celebrating a different decade (again glossing over the fact that there never was an 80s Monaco of any description, nor late 70s or early to mid 90s come to that!).

CAW211V.FC6466 (1969/1979)

I distinctly remember my first sight of the first watch, it was an extremely low resolution leaked render and it looked absolutely terrible. For some reason it looked brown rather than green and so expectations were low before the first watch was even released. Thankfully, when it did emerge in May 2019 (launched at the Monaco Grand Prix no less) it looked a lot better than we thought, although still somewhat divisive, with what was then a very unusual green dial.

I can only find two of these for sale individually, both are in the region of £11,500. 

CAW211W.FC6467 (1979/1989)

The next model in the Monaco pentalogy arrived just a few short weeks later (well, they already wasted five months waiting for the Monaco GP so they had to crack on with it I guess) and initially and for some time after this was my favourite of the lot. However I never really took to the oddly shaped subdials and wondered if that bold red was really the best choice. I still kinda like it, but somehow it doesn't really seem quite right with such an obnoxious 'fashion' dial. I can't really imagine Steve McQueen rocking this one, can you?

I managed to find three of these for sale, again around the £11,500 mark.

CAW211X.FC6468 (1989/1999)

Another month passed before TAG Heuer unveiled the third model in the collection, and this one I was unsure of at first... while I liked the overall aesthetic I wasn't so sure about the 'concrete' dial. Ultimately though, this for me is the winner and if I was minded to try and procure any one of these it would definitely be this one. Unlike the red dial, this textured grey definitely works with the Monaco case and the blue and red details (and the red-stitched strap) bring additional interest. I have seen this strap retro-fitted on standard blue dial Monacos too, a great combination for sure.

I could only find one of these for sale, again at £11,600, but 'Watch Charts' say the 'market price' is £5108 (which seems a bit strange to me!).

CAW211Y.FC6469 (1999/2009)

TAG Heuer made us wait a whole two months before releasing the next model in August. And after the shock and intrigue of the first three models it must be said that this '1999-2009' variation was a bit of a disappointment. It just seemed a bit 'ordinary' by comparison and felt like it could have been released at any time. Like all the others this was released as a limited edition of 169 pieces and predictably sold out quickly. But there was a bit of a feeling that maybe the watches had already peaked, especially with a somewhat poor quality render doing the rounds that appeared to show a rather dull looking final piece...

Couldn't actually find one for sale, but it looks like one was listed on Chrono 24 for just under £8000 which seems about right to me (relative to the first three).

CAW211Z.FC6470 (2009/2019)

After what seemed like an endless wait, the final piece of the puzzle finally dropped right at the end of October... and, what a disappointment it was. Again there really didn't seem anything particularly special about this one, it just seemed rather run-of-the-mill. I get that it was intended to be perceived as 'modern' with it's 'phantom' vibes, but that was never really going to work with silver subdials and hands. A shame really, but there we are.

This seems to be reflected in the market too. While I did find one optimistic soul trying for £11,500, I also found four or five for sale at not much more than the original 2019 selling price of £5250. 

Of course there was also a set of all five watches on offer, which I think sold for about £27,500 (I remember it was quite a bit more than the combined total of the watches individually). This is available from Watchfinder right now for £45,000, from Baldwin Jewellers for £45,900, from BQ Watches at £45,000 and also from Rockefeller's Jewellers for a frankly astonishing £150,000.... well it was, it's now showing as SOLD. Which is bewildering, honestly! 

🤣

 

Okay, so before we hand these over to the Council of Considered Opinion, it's worth noting that there was a previous poll for these back in 2021, however that consisted of putting the watches in order and then assigning points based on positions to find the winner rather than scoring each watch outright. 

In that poll the 1999/2009 model came a distant last, with the 2009/2019 piece comfortably securing fourth and the green 1969/1979 model ending up third with a very split vote. That left the other two way ahead and locked in a tight battle for first place. In the end the red 1979/1989 model came out on top by the tiniest of margins leaving the concrete dial 1989/1999 piece to settle for second best. It will be interesting to see if things come out the same this time...

AVG SCORE 7.8/10: "1st place: '90s. It's the only one done in proper 1133B 'McQueen' colours but reversed. The first TAG to ever have the asphalt/concrete dial treatment. The asphalt has since appeared on several other TAGs, a hallmark of a successful and innovative design. The watch strap has also been quite popular with CAW211P McQueen owners. Hence, it's still my favourite of the Monaco 50s - 9/10. 2nd place: Tie between '70s & '80s. Back in 2019, the Red '80s was equal to the '90s in my personal ranking. But since then, I don't fancy the red quite as much, while the '70s has grown on me. I still rate them both highly - 8.5/10. 4th place: '00s. I like this one, but it's not close to my top 3. Bamford also had similar Monaco designs prior to its release, which might've been its inspiration (not that that's a bad thing). 7/10. 5th place: '10s. It's just ok. I would've like it more if they had gone full stealth mode with a black DLC case and darker grey sub-dials. Plus, the Hourglass Monaco LE was released around the same time, which stole this one's thunder. 6/10."

AVG SCORE 7.7/10: "70s: This one truly grew on me. What a unique dial, and it really captures the vibe of the 70s. 9 out of 10. 80s: Hands down, my favourite Monaco EVER. Beautiful shade of red. I love everything about this one. 10 out of 10 (only because, unlike Spinal Tap, we cannot go to 11). 90s: This one never did much for me. Unique but not to my liking. 5 out of 10. 00s: I really liked this one too. Strong release. 8 out of 10.10s: Wished the case matched the crown and pushers. 6.5 out of 10."

AVG SCORE 8.8/10: "Overall I think this was a compelling release. All of these could be a watch I would add to my collection after first getting the OG McQueen. For the Monaco enthusiast, I would think this was a great release. The 70's is my favourite of the bunch. 70's 9.5, 80's 8.5, 90's 9.0, 00's 9.0, 10's 8.0."

AVG SCORE 5.7/10: "70s 3.5 - The colour palette is dreadful!, 80s 7 - The red dial is beautiful and works well with the strap, 90s - 7.5 - Another beautiful dial and well chosen strap. Crisp. clean and classically elegant, 00s 5 - Average / OK, 10s 6 - Better than the 00s but not great!"

AVG SCORE 5/10: "The 70s is the only one that I can easily relate to the colours and style of the decade it represents. Whilst the textured green isn't for everyone, I really think it's special and unique. Definitely the most desirable to me (as a child of the 70s). 70s - 9/10, 80s - 6/10, 90s - 5/10, 00s - 4/10, 10s - 1/10."

AVG SCORE 6.3/10: "Have to agree regarding the 70’s styling. I am weirdly drawn to that one, however, I can’t fully explain why. Being a late 70’s kid, that might be why I am drawn to the 80’s version more though? 70’s - 8/10, 80’s - 9/10, 90’s - 7/10, 00’s - 6.5/10, 10’s - 1/10."

AVG SCORE 7.7/10: "Top pick is 90s, I’ll go 9/10, just enough blue and the textured face was different. Followed by 70s and 80s, I’d need to own both so I could alternate use 8/10. Next comes 00s, like the subtle colour changes across the face. 7/10, Last, but not least, 10s, simply because it doesn’t stand out like the others, needs something to make it special 6.5/10."

AVG SCORE 8.9/10: "Based on the order how I acquired each one of them, my ratings (from the top = best), would be: 80s 10, 90s 9.5, 00s 8.6, 70s 8.5, 10s 8."

AVG SCORE 8.5/10: "This is a very difficult task… because I really like all the 50th Anniversary Monacos (so the “worst” of them is for me a 7.5/10), but if I have to put them in order, then: 1st- 2010s black “phantom” dial: 9.5/10, 2nd- 1980s red dial: 9/10, 3rd- 1970s green dial: 8.5/10, 4th- 2000s black & white dial: 8/10, 5th- 1990s concrete & blue dial: 7.5/10."

AVG SCORE 7.3/10: "All are variations on the same theme. The latter four all have very attractive dials. Unfortunately, the 70's olive-drab dial and brown strap is a colourway catastrophe, which not even the dial's Geneva striping can rescue. 70's 5.0, 80's 8.0, 90's 7.5, 00's 7.5, 10's 8.5."

AVG SCORE 6.2/10: "70’s: 4/10. I really don’t like the dial or strap colour on this model, 80’s 5/10. I hate red dials…, 90’s : 9/10. I not only love this colour combo, but I like the extra details on the dial, and I like the subdials the best on this one the most. I really dig this model! 00’s: 8/10. I like this a lot! But the 90’s model has the perfect shade of blue, 10’s: 5/10. It might be one of the more bland Monacos that I’ve seen. I really dig the 90’s model, though!"

AVG SCORE 8.6/10: "70's 9, 80's 8, 90's 9, 00's 9, 10's 8. What else can I say? Monaco is a Monaco."

AVG SCORE 8.8/10: "I still love my 70s like on the first day. 10/10. That said I remember, the exciting time and suspense when everybody was waiting for the next version of this icon. While in the following years TAG Heuer released many more cool variants (e.g. the homage to the Dark Lord) these 5 watches were the ultimate Kick-off for the new Monaco Calibre 11 collection. 80s: 8/10, 90s: 9/10, 00s: 8/10, 10s: 9/10."

AVG SCORE 6.2/10: "I never really paid that much attention to their aesthetics and COCO-ability 🤓 back then, because their prices seemed totally out of reach to me. While this has only slightly changed, most of them are still not really for me… 00s: 9/10 (The only one that makes me go “WOW”)! 70s/90s: 7/10 (At least they’re interesting) 80s/10s: 4/10 (Aucun intérêt, IMHO)."

AVG SCORE 7.2/10: "This year is the Monaco's 55 year anniversary, but there's no sign of a new watch coming out, only a very expensive rattrapante, which seems to be treated as an anniversary model. I am a big fan of Monaco, but the selling price of Calibre11 Monaco has increased by 40% in the last 5 years without any progress. The current price is very contrary to TAG Heuer's old slogan of "affordable luxury" and unacceptable. Now for the 50 year anniversary re-evaluation. 70's : I have another khaki Monaco, but I like the colouring of this dial 8/10, 80's : I still want to buy this Monaco with the red dial and have been looking for it for a long time 10/10, 90's : This is the strangest colouring in this set. 5/10, 00s : This watch was announced in Japan at that time. I was asked by the shop whether I would buy it, but I didn't think it was very good 6/10, 10s : This sandblasted case was recently taken over by the annual limited edition Monaco 7/10."

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Monza 'Carbon' Special Edition Chronograph

 

TAG Heuer Boutique / 28th September 2024, Meadowhall, Sheffield

It's kinda funny, this one has been around for so long that when I clocked it in the display case in the TAG Heuer boutique in Sheffield's Meadowhall centre, I honestly didn't even think about whether I had ever seen it or tried it on or not. I was just like... 'Oh there's the carbon Monza'... and it wasn't until the (always fabulous) Maxine asked me if I'd seen it before that the penny finally dropped. I mean it's been at least two years since the Monza CR5090 first appeared on (Red Bull Racing boss) Christian Horner's wrist, so it just feels very familiar, even though before today I'd never actually come across one in person. 

Thinking about it it's been quite a number of years since I had any kind of Monza on the wrist and I'd kinda forgotten quite how big a 42mm 'square' watch really is. I think even from this photo you can tell that it's quite a lump of watch and it sits quite high too. But with its carbon case and nylon strap, of course it's anything but heavy. 

The blue hour markers are probably not everyone's cup of tea though, and the dark blue/purple sub-dials are an 'interesting' choice... it's almost like they wanted this to be a 'Red Bull' Monza but they changed their mind at the last minute. A bit like how this was originally supposed to be limited to 250 pieces and then suddenly it was launched as a 'Special Edition' and not a 'Limited Edition'. Strange that. There's one thing though, with those thick and bright white hands no one could accuse this skeleton dial of offering poor legibility!

  

For sure the carbon Monza isn't perfect, but it was easily my favourite of all the watches I tried on this day. At £12,100 yes it's a bit out of my price range, but compared to the £18,750 rose gold Skipper (which I tried on just afterwards) it actually looks like a bargain. I'm not sure I'd ever get used to those blue hour markers though... and I think a full carbon watch would be a nightmare for me to wear. 

My good friend Ben tells me his carbon G-Shock is tough as old boots, his dog even chews on it. But I distinctly remember a Roman Sharf video where he related a story about why a lot of Royal Oak Offshores that began life with carbon bezels ended up wearing ceramic ones instead, and that worries me somewhat! It's probably not as fragile as I think, but on the other hand I'm possibly a fair bit clumsier than TAG Heuer would expect me to be! 😂

Perhaps as well that I can't afford one then...

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Carrera 36mm Calibre 7 with Diamond Hour Markers

 

One of the more unexpected success stories of recent times seems to have been the pink 36mm Carrera (otherwise known as 'The Barbie'). This model has found favour with men and women alike despite it's diminutive size and indeed our Swedish correspondent Jim Dollares has recently taken delivery of one himself (Buying Experience for that incoming...). 

Ever since the launch Jim was waiting to see if TAG Heuer brought the watch out in a larger size, say 39mm, but eventually he started to worry that the 36mm might be discontinued and he took the plunge. Literally one day after he picked up his new watch TAG Heuer released the same watch with diamond hour markers - which, while annoying for Jim, probably means they aren't about to release it in 39mm.

Personally I'm not sure the diamonds are an improvement on the pink version. The pink is such a statement on its own that it feels a bit like a case of gilding the lily. However, I do rather like them on the more subdued green dial as it feels like it adds something to the overall aesthetic, especially with the touches of gold around each individual hour marker. 

These new diamond dial Carreras both cost £3800, which is a £950 premium over the standard models and they are available now. Let's see what the C.O.C.O. has to say about these shall we...

Pink 8.5/10, Green 5/10: "Pink is cool but the Green has nothing about it."

Pink 5/10, Green 3/10: "Diamond hour markers. Yuk. It looks tacky and detracts from, rather than adds to, the pinkness."

Pink 6/10, Green 6.5/10: "Both have diamonds on them, so I don't think they are particularly new. It's a little luxurious one."

Pink 6.5/10, Green 5.5/10: "The green is very elegant and the green and gold work very well together. As for the pink, the diamonds really add that extra bling to the stunning dial. A lovely watch!"

Pink 6.5/10, Green 5/10: "Diamonds again… 😏"

Pink 5/10, Green. 5.5/10: "Wife would rather have the diamonds in one lump and in a bit of bling."

Pink 10/10, Green 7/10: "My wife likes diamonds, so she gives the pink a 10/10. Same score she gave to the original Barbie. Green isn't her colour, so it gets a 7/10 from her."

Pink 7/10, Green 7/10: "It's a Carrera, it's mechanical and has diamonds."

Pink 7/10, Green 7/10: "Those are fun! One with subtle style and one with bold sass."

Pink 6/10, Green 8/10: "The pink could have been nice, but it's just a bit too much."

Pink 6/10, Green 6/10: "Fun watches that would most likely sell well."

Pink 5/10, Green 7/10: "I think the diamonds and gold accents on the green dial work really well. But I'm not so keen on the pink - the colour is already so vibrant the diamonds don't really add anything and make it look a bit 'fashion' watch. Hence the score of 5."

ON THE WRIST: TAG Heuer Carrera 'Gold Skipper' Calibre TH20-00 Chronograph

 

TAG Heuer Boutique / 28th September 2024, Meadowhall, Sheffield

While I've never been particularly enamoured of all those fusty old 'Heuer' watches that vintage enthusiasts get super excited about, even I have to admit that 2023's Carrera Skipper was an eye-catching release and easily the best of the modern 39mm 'Glassbox' range. So I was interested to see the watch housed in an 18k rose gold case - especially since on paper the gold should work wonderfully with the strong blue dial. Would it look super classy though? Or douchebaggy? After all, blue and gold is nice combination, but a tricky one to get just right, especially when there are other colours on the dial to consider.

Now honestly when I tried this on it was amongst a bunch of other watches that I was more interested in getting on my wrist, but even so I couldn't help but be disappointed. First of all, you probably had to look at the picture above twice to even realise that I was in fact wearing the gold Skipper and not the regular steel one, and even when you do notice the parts of the watch which actually catch the light just right so that they actually look gold... it really doesn't add anything. In fact, in my opinion it subtracts way more than it adds. 

I think the reason the dial on the Skipper works so well in the first place is that it really pops against the standard steel case and lugs, but here the gold acts as a distraction and makes the orange look misplaced. And then once I start looking at it with a critical eye of course all the things I didn't like about the latest glassbox Carreras start pushing themselves at me all over again.

It's quite surprising how much I am willing to overlook for a nice dial, but this gold version somehow manages to mess up the delicate balance and suddenly I'm hating it. I think I probably gave the Skipper a 6 last year and I think this one I'd struggle to give more than a '3'. It just looks wrong, and it's three times the price. It just makes no sense to me why anyone would buy this over the steel one.