Way back when I first started getting into 'luxury' watches I used to buy a wonderful English magazine called 'QP'. This was my introduction to countless watch brands and in one particular issue it featured a Louis Vuitton Tambour Regatta which used rotating cubes with different coloured sides to indicate a ten minute countdown. This was before I was a confirmed TAG Heuer fanboi, and thinking it was pretty cool I contemplated purchasing one of these, I mean how much could it cost?
Well quite a bit more than I thought as it turned out... haha! Ah the joy of naivety! So... obviously that went out of the window (along with the white dial Omega Speedmaster Snoopy!), but when I saw this new Monaco Speed 12 I immediately knew where the movement had come from, despite TAG Heuer giving it their own calibre nomenclature (TH84-00).
So yes, it's an interesting idea, built on an existing movement... does it need to cost £66,000? Probably not, but apparently all 50 were sold before the watch was even announced (not 100% sure if that's actually true or not. The TAG website says 'shop in store' so maybe there are some still available?), so clearly the price was pitched in the right area for the target buyer.
Is it attractive? Not really. I can't help thinking the idea would have worked much better in a round case than in a square one but TAG Heuer know the Carrera would be a tough sell at that price, so a Monaco it is. It's good that they've individually numbered them, especially at this price point, but the back is super uninspiring. What a pity they couldn't have put a back plate on it and covered up that dreary looking movement.
It's hard to know what to make of watches like these, like the Rattrapante Monacos it's so far out of the brand's usual price band as to be confusing and in some ways irrelevant. No doubt TAG Heuer would say it's a 'halo' product that highlights their technical abilities, but since this movement basically already existed that's not true in (for example) the same way that it was true about the Monaco V4.
And since it's so far outside my means, I can really only look at it the same way I might look at a 'supercar'. And if a supercar doesn't make your balls tingle then it's simply not doing it's job. So with that in mind I'm giving it a 5, maybe a 6. I'm sure the lucky fifty will enjoy it and more power to them, but I can't really get excited about it.
Perhaps the council will feel more enthusiastic? Let's find out.
5/10: "As special editions go, it looks pretty special and a bit different. But it looks tricky to read and the price surely isn't for me either. I can appreciate it but this sort of watch doesn't excite me personally."
7.5/10: "I like it, excepting the price… 😏 It’s an engine style dial, but more like an old radial aircraft engine."
7/10: "Cool, but a bit ugly and LV make it in white gold for less money."
4/10: "Gimmick that’s clever but not for me. But crown is on the wrong side, and it’s not a chrono, and we’ll ignore the price."
6/10: "Amazing engineering but not sure on how it looks…6/10 purely just on the watchmaking skill."
4/10: "I think it's a weird thing. Don't see a motor in it either. ‘Avant-Garde’ is exaggerated here in my opinion."
6/10: "Cool tech but so ugly."
5.5/10: "Slightly better than average for one of TAG's haute horlogerie Monacos. For context, I still think the Split Seconds Rattrapante Monaco is outrageously overpriced and unpleasant to look at. This Speed 12 in comparison is less money and looks better to my eyes. The trick movement mated with the engine design is cool, but the circular cylinder layout also looks weird."
7/10: "A Frankenwatch of the highest order! All joking aside, I absolutely admire the courage behind this watch. It is bold, unconventional and unlike anything else out there. The cylinders make perfect sense within the brand's DNA and its increasingly serious haute horlogerie aspirations. The only thing holding it back, in my view, is the movement finishing. Given the ambitious concept and price point, I was expecting a bit more attention to detail in that department. Stuill, a fascinating piece and wold be an easy 8/10 from me. Oh I forgot: missing chronograph - sorry but on a Monaco, this is really a no go. 7/10."
8.5/10: "Wow, I've never even heard of the Spin Time before, but it is pretty cool. Not sure it quite justifies the eye-watering price tag though...."
6/10: "It's an interesting complication and I quite like the concept in theory. If someone had described it to me, I'd think that sounds cool but I'd be disappointed when it saw it ! It's not a Monaco in my eyes. It looks more like a radial engine from an aircraft and in a pilot type case with an onion crown it could be cool. Price is ludicrous as expected. 6/10 for the horological interest."
1/10: "I absolutely hate this watch. If your pistons are spinning your engine is about to be Swiss cheese… I’m sure TAG knows that and this probably isn’t supposed to be a working engine model or anything, but I just don’t like it at all. It’s also fugly and huge… and ridiculously expensive… and fugly. Edit: I hate it so much that I forgot to rate it. 1/10 it bothers my OCD!! Make it go away 😑"
5.5/10: "Cannot decide if cool or just an overpriced gimmick."
6/10: "Points for the creative horological form, but points subtracted for eye watering price and diminished legibility function."
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