Thursday, 12 December 2024

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Monaco 'Las Vegas' Calibre TH20-00 Chronograph



Launched to coincide with the holding of this year's Las Vegas F1 Grand Prix, this one allegedly took inspiration from the bright neon colours of that famously decadent city... but yet there is no mention of Las Vegas on the watch or the watch box, nor is it a limited edition or even a special edition, and it is freely available everywhere. 

Similarly there is no mention of 'Las Vegas' on its page on the TAG Heuer website; all of which leads me to believe that far from being a 'Las Vegas' Monaco, it was actually just a convenient 'short-term' marketing strategy.

But whatever, you can't blame em for trying to shift some units, and honestly I don't really think any one will remember that this was called the 'Las Vegas' Monaco in the future (especially since we know there was an actual 'Las Vegas' branded Carrera launched at the same event... more on that soon).


But still, that doesn't really matter, does it? What really matters is how it looks... and on the face of it I have to say this one looks pretty cool. I was quite taken with the turquoise and DLC model that came out last year and this one looks to be giving that one a fair run for its money - I still think the older model is a tad nicer, but I will still give this a solid '7.5'.

As ever the CBL218B.FT6236 features a 39mm DLC coated titanium case and houses TAG Heuer's Calibre TH20-00 movement (the upgraded version of the old Heuer 02). Price is £9850, which makes no sense to me, but whatever. At this point I'm resigned to accepting that some of TAG Heuer's catalogue is no longer achievable to a man of my meagre means. 


The one thing that I do find a little odd though is the black painted running seconds hand, which appears to render it almost invisible (see above). Admittedly, now that I look back at the aforementioned turquoise CBL2184, that also has the same treatment. I suppose if we look at it positively it will go some way to appeasing those rather vocal members of the Council who despise the 'vestigal' running seconds found on many TH20-00 and Heuer 02 models. 🤣

Okay, this really doesn't merit much more examination since it's a colour variation of a previous release, so let's turn it over to the Council of Considered Opinion and see what they make of it.





7.5/10: "Very cool - I love the hot pink accents."

6.5/10: "Looks cool, but pink watches are not my thing. I'd opt for the Turquoise or Blue/Yellow Monaco Skeleton over this one."

8.5/10: "This just makes me smile! I love that they've gone for an all black skeletonised Monaco with stunning pink hits. Also the black hands with the white lume, just a perfect fun watch! The price tag I do not love..."

7/10: "It’s one of my favourites among this range of skeleton Monacos (although I prefer the traditional Calibre 11 Monacos), so same score as the 2023 'Luminous Turquoise’."

6/10: "The pink one was surprisingly good, but the price is so high I don't feel like buying it."

5/10: "Don’t like skeletons, pink, mmm no, price, more the a McQeen so 5/10."

3/10: "Stupid colour !!!"

8/10: "This is fabulous, my second favourite TH release this year. It looses a point for being 30% too expensive."

5/10: "On the fence, on one hand it’s bold and would be better with pink touches on the strap. On the other side it looks very mallesque."

8/10: "I am warming up to this design. The colour combination is bold and I like it!"

7.5/10: "Very striking and attractive colour combination. Loses half a point for the eye-watering price."

9/10: "I might be on the least popular opinion here. But I think this is the pink to beat that very hype pink Tudor. I am not even a pink colour fan."

2/10: "Sorry to those who like pink..."

8/10: "Cool stuff. Triggers some musical memories..."

6.5/10: "It wouldn’t be my 3rd, 4th or even 10th choice when it came to choosing a personal Monaco to wear on my wrist, but it does have a little “je ne sais quoi” which prevents me from wanting to badmouth it…"

8/10: "Love the colour scheme - black case with the pink. Also like that it's not limited. These darker skeleton Monacos don't seem to wear as big as the regular models either, which is good as the Monaco is a hefty watch. Price obviously on the steep side."

8/10: "The good stuff has been heavily weighted to the end of the year. Love everything about this one, aside from the price once more."

8/10: "Yeah the price is an utter joke but I am sure we will be able to find a used one for 4k within a year so...🤣."

6.5/10: "Meh, it’s okay. Not a fan of these skeleton Monacos. I’m hitting send before I lower it to a 6."

7/10: "It's funky, works much better with just one colourway instead of trying to mash in reds and blues all over like the others. Fun but still too expensive."

7/10: "Fun watch but it's far too expensive."

6.5/10: "Probably looks better in the metal."

6/10: "The frivolity might wear off immediately. Dark Lord Monaco looks much better."

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