In the real world, by which I mean not in the 'luxury' world, if someone came up with a way to revolutionise and simplify a complex, expensive machine one might presume that it would turn out 'cheaper'. Otherwise... what's the point? I mean, yeah, okay you might save a few quid on servicing, but why would I pay more than twice as much in the first place? Well, if that's your thought process then the luxury watch world probably isn't for you...
Don't get me wrong, I've marvelled at the ingenuity of the V4 Monaco of old, with it's tiny rubber belts and linear 'rotor', I can see that it must have taken hours and hours of painstaking work to perfect (well, kinda - I gather it was still not exactly 100% even when they stopped making it) and for something like that I'd probably gladly drop £50k on one (if I had £50k to spend) but for some reason this new Evergraph movement just doesn't give me the same sense of awe and wonder.
Maybe it's because it feels like we've been here before, with a revolutionary silicon movement that is hailed as the next big thing, only to disappear a year or so later when it becomes clear that it doesn't quite work as was hoped. Not that I'm suggesting TAG Heuer haven't tested this thoroughly, because it genuinely sounds like they have (apparently ten years work has gone into the Evergraph). But try as I might, it just doesn't excite me.
Perhaps one problem is that we've now had multiple skeleton dial Monacos and so the impact of that is now a bit lost, and perhaps (in a funny sort of way) it's the price... at £20k it feels like an 'expensive' Monaco, but not expensive enough that it feels truly haute horlogerie and remarkable. Mind you we now have those (hilariously overpriced) Monaco Rattrapantes that have somewhat scuppered that concept too... I wonder how much a new V4 level Monaco would cost in 2026? £250k? £300k? More money than makes any sense, that's for sure...
And yet TAG Heuer believe these watches will convince the watch world at large that the company are to be taken seriously and 'cross shopped' with Omega and Rolex. I wish them all the luck in the world with that, but I have serious doubts. I get the idea that proving their craftsmanship elevates their reputation with watch nerds (perhaps), but for every article on a specialist watch site congratulating them on how clever they are for producing what is by all accounts an excellent movement with epic pusher feel, there's a bunch of watch people out there laughing at TH selling 'plastic' watches for $2000.
I just don't believe this movement, clever as it may be, is going to dramatically change the way the wider watch community see the brand, unless they can find a way to make it cheap enough to replace the chronograph movements in their 'regular' models. Sure, there will be some people who are willing to pay £20k to have this cutting edge tech on their wrist, but I suspect it will be fairly small numbers and I'm afraid I don't really think anyone is going to quit their place in line for a white dial Speedie or a steel Daytona to pick this up instead.
If TAG Heuer really want to compete with those brands, they really need to address the simple fact that their resale value doesn't hold up to scrutiny. And the simple reason for that is that they are overpriced in the first place. As much as I love TAG Heuer I don't believe for a moment that their movements are comparable with Omega or Rolex. Sure they are moving in the right direction, but it will take time to erase the memories of noisy rotors and poorly aligned dates that blighted Heuer 02 ownership. And a fancy silicon chronograph movement honestly isn't going to change how people view a TH31-00 versus an Omega Co Axial Calibre 8800.
As for these two, well, as I said... they just don't really inspire much emotion in me at all. I don't dislike them, but nor am I remotely enthused by them. I guess in a way it's a bit like cars, I might lust after a £200k Ferrari I couldn't ever hope of owning, but a £40k BMW just seems like a not that an exciting way to burn through what I consider to be a LOT of money.
(Having said that, if there's one thing that really rankles it's the fact that the left subdial looks bigger than the right one. I know it's an optical illusion but that would drive me absolutely INSANE!)
Good thing then that we have the Council of Considered Opinion on hand to take up the slack, I suspect they will be more enthusiastic than I am. Though most of them seem to be absolutely obsessed with those ghastly 'plastic' watches these days, so who knows! 🤣
Blue: 7/10, Black 7/10: "This is TAG at its best. So that's why I give them both a good grade. Not perfect because unfortunately the Monaco is not my favourite."
Blue 7/10, Black 7/10: "Love the new compliant mechanism, and the watches are quite attractive. Unfortunately, they are a bit on the large size and quite overpriced. Once the non-recurring engineering expenses are amortized, the new mechanism should be significantly less expensive to make than a traditional movement, due to the reduced quantity of parts, reduced labour to assemble and reduced parts cost. The lithography and other processes involved have been around for decades -- this is a new application of existing tech, not new tech."
Blue 7.5/10, Black 8.5/10: "Interesting movement, although not a cheap Monaco… the TAG Heuer logo doesn’t look out of place in that high-tech version. I prefer the black/red combo."
Blue 5.5/10, Black 5/10: "Too busy for me..."
Blue 6.5/10, Black 5.5/10: "Pretty nice for an open design Monaco, but points were deducted for the price."
Blue 5/10, Black 6/10: "Visually more appealing than the horrendous rattrapantes."
Blue 5/10, Black 5/10: "Better than the gargoyle one, but still don’t get how these are going to elevate TH to Rolex."
Blue 4/10, Black 5/10: "The crown is still an issue with these. They're OK, but I don't believe these to be the most beautiful or avant garde Monacos that we've seen, and I am not really one to obsess over movements."
Blue 8/10, Black 8/10: "Captivating design, a chronometer, and an innovative chronograph mechanism - that really does TAG Heuer justice. But it’s insanely expensive."
Blue 8/10, Black 8/10: "It's fine. 8/10 each for both. still can't beat the solid dial though in my opinion."
Blue 8/10, Black 8.5/10: "Interesting watch, the star for me is the new Th80-00 movement. Impressive specs,70 hour power reserve and 36,000 bph rate. Genuine innovation in the chrono start/stop/reset mechanism which relies on flexible nickel alloy components. These have apparently been tested to simulate 10 years of daily use and showed no sign of stress fatigue or wear. I'm not a fan of skeletons but these are ok and it's understandable they want to showcase the movement. Price is high but perhaps not as high as it might have been."
Blue 7/10, Black 7/10: "Look great but pricey, so 7 for both."
Blue 7/10, Black 7/10: "I like the tech, they are not bad looking, just way too big for the average wrist."
Blue 8/10, Black 7/10: "The blue one is one point lower just because I don’t really care for PVD or blacked out cases."
Blue 8/10, Black 8/10: "Points subtracted for the steep price."
Blue 9/10, Black 6/10: "Super cool movement in these..."
Blue 5/10, Black 5.5/10: "I'm not sure whether I like the design or not but the black is definitely better. The blue subdials look very strange."
Blue 6.5/10, Black 7/10: "The idea is good, the movement sounds very interesting and they do look kinda cool. However I just do not like the left sub dial! It looks way too big and off putting. Otherwise they're quite cool if not a bit illegible."
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