FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Monaco Rattrapante 'Formula 1 75th Anniversary' Limited Edition

 

When TAG Heuer launched the Monaco Rattrapante last year the media was all over it, meanwhile in the real world all I heard was people grumbling and throwing out comments like... why would I pay £121,000 for that when I could buy an IWC Rattrapante for a tenth of the price. Well, you have to admit it's a good question. After all, the rattrapante complication is nothing genuinely new in the watch world and while the construction of the Monaco may be impressive and high tech, it let itself down in one incredibly important respect. Yes kids, the truth is it's ugly as all hell.

This (alongside the astronomically high asking price) was reflected in the end of year scoring and the Council of Considered Opinion eventually handed the pair of them an embarrassing 4.4/10 (blue) and 4.7/10 (red) respectively, making them the second and third least liked Monacos since the C.O.C.O. began back in 2020 (only the truly hideous Monaco Riviera rated worse!).

As I think I said before, it's one thing to create a dreamy 'halo' product that people aspire to own 'if only they had the funds' (I'm thinking platinum Monaco V4, or the Carrera Flying 1000 here) it's quite another to create something that people wouldn't even want if it was a quarter of the price, and sadly for the majority of the Council that seems to be the score on the door.

Undaunted, or perhaps already committed... TAG Heuer have doubled down on the concept with this all-white ceramic version, which apparently costs a sturdy $151,000. Yeah, I don't think so either. And that's before we even clock the bizarrely decorated subdials.

Who doesn't want to look down at their $151,000 Monaco and see the words 'Lights out and away we go'? Well.. I don't, actually, and I've watched every Grand Prix since the start of 1994 and probably 40 or 50 before that too!

I mean, is that even a thing? Does someone actually say that? I can't say I've ever noticed if they do... but even if they do it's clearly not much of a catchphrase, cos it ain't stuck in my head! That aside the watch is crazy enough, and the kerb effect on the rotor is actually pretty cool, but that text on the dial just pushes it into the land of 'No, but seriously...'.

And then there's the strange decision to use the green and red logo on the dial, for a very long time now a green and red dial meant one thing - quartz movement, with very, very few automatics getting the coloured TAG Heuer shield. So why was that chosen here? The watch is already colourful and adding more isn't helping it in any way, shape or form. A very strange decision.

Apparently just ten of these will be made... but whether they will actually ever be 'sold' is anyone's guess. I can imagine them ending up on the wrist of various FIA officials at some point or perhaps whoever is getting their ass handed to them by Max Verstappen this week... but I'm guessing paying customers will be few and far between.

Okay. It's time to turn this one over to the Council for the mauling that's surely coming it's way. To be fair it wasn't universally hated, some members actually like it... but I can't remember any watch getting so many zeros, and that's reflected in the score. For reference the Monaco Riviera scored 3.9/10 and I couldn't really believe any Monaco could score worse than that, it seems I was wrong...

1/10: "Honestly, no, not even at $1,555."

2/10: "Oh wow. That’s absolutely not my cup of tea. Looks like something out of 101 dalmatians 😄"

8/10: "It reminds me of the McLaren Marlboro livery, so even though I like it less -aesthetically- than the 2024 red Monaco Rattrapante, I give it the same score."

2/10: "The Split Seconds Monaco Rattrapante has a face only a mother could love. After last year's release, I thought it might become an acquired taste, but it hasn't. This special 75 years of F1 version is even worse, it just looks hideous, I'm sorry to say."

7/10: "Only 10 of this model were produced, so it is difficult to evaluate it. I like the motto “LIGHTS OUT & AWAY WE GO”. I really like the rotor that depicts the curb on the caseback side. It is a detail that I would like to see used on the regular Monaco."

5/10: "Nice design, but way overpriced. TH has done ceramic cases in the past, so this is nothing new or exotic, as is the rattrapante. Not a big fan of the cutaway dial, and the text on the subdials seems a little juvenile for a 6-figure watch."

7/10: "A lot of cool details, price still an issue for me."

0/10: "Absolutely laughable. IWC will sell you a ceramic rattrapante chronograph for 1/10th the price of this, and it doesn't come with silly taglines printed across a dial that resembles a Luchador on meth."

1/10: "One of the most weird modern day chronograph release from TH. Surprising that TH used the green and red logo on this one."

1/10: "And that’s because it tells the time."

1.5/10: "Just awful. The text makes it look cheap and tacky!"

6/10: "The tech surely is great (9). Designwise I don't understand it / it's not my kind of taste (2). Makes an average score of 6."

2/10: "Hahahah! I put the lights out, and look away.."

6/10: "Quite like the watch. The red and white go well together and it's...different. Not cheap though and maybe a bit ostentatious, but it is what it is. As for "lights out and away we go", I cannot stand it. Just awful. About time there was a new way of starting a race. Bring back Murray Walker."

1/10: "I didn’t like the prior versions, and when I thought this type of Monaco couldn’t be worse, this monstrosity comes along. The F1 accents on the subdials are just silly."

2/10: "Yeah…no!"