The 50th Anniversary Collection
Isn't it funny how 2019 seems like yesterday? Well it's not entirely surprising... last year I heard an article on the radio where they were talking about how time appears to go faster when you get older, and the conclusion was the reason for that is that as you get older you tend to experience less 'new' things. The brain doesn't really bother to remember the 27th time you've walked round your local park, the 64th time you've put the bins out, or even the 15th time you woke up with a hangover, on your sofa... with a pizza stuck to your face. And let's be honest, the way things have been for the last year and a bit, 'new' experiences are in short supply for most of us...
So if it seems like only five minutes since the 50th Anniversary of the Monaco to you, well you're probably not alone. But in actual fact it's been more than two years since the covers came off that first, rather peculiar looking green dial Heuer Calibre 11 Monaco; what a trend setter that proved to be, in it's own 'special' way!
Little did we know that it was only the first in a slew of green dial TAG Heuer's to come, although as green watches go, it's somewhere out there in it's own little universe. Indeed, I recall the first leaked images of the CAW211V suggested the dial to be more 'brown' than 'green' so it was rather a (pleasant) surprise when the watch actually appeared and proved rather more appealing than I initially thought. And even better when you took it away from the stylised 70s backgrounds that TAG Heuer seemed determined to display it against.
This first of the five Monacos came out towards the end of May 2019, and it was only about three weeks until the red dial 80s Monaco broke cover in mid-June. This one made a big impact with it's metallic red dial and slightly odd silver subdials... initially I thought this was the one I would choose, but for me it hasn't 'lasted' quite as well as I thought it might.
One month later TAG spat out the 'concrete' dial 90s Monaco and again the renders lied to us! Leaked images suggested a really boring, really dreary disaster of a Monaco - but in reality the dial was intriguing and textured like no other TAG Heuer before it (again, a trend setter in its own right) and the blue and red details worked magnificently with the light grey dial. This is my pick of the 50th Anniversary Monacos, and for me it was all downhill from here.
It was a long old wait for the fourth anniversary piece, which didn't rock up until the back end of September and... to say it was underwhelming would be an understatement. Looking at it objectively, it's actually quite a nice watch - but following a funky green/brown Monaco, a sparkling red Monaco and a concrete textured dial Monaco on a blue strap this one was fighting a losing battle from the start.
I've often wondered if the watches should have been released all at once, or in a different order, but I think whatever they did the 00s and 10s Monacos were never going to match up to the first three pieces. What's more I didn't really understand how the CAW211Y was supposed to represent the 00s, at all. Not that I could suggest something more appropriate, but the green and red were so well designed and the 90s kinda made sense once you got your head round it, whereas this one... umm, what? That said I feel like this one could be the sleeper-hit of the series, just give it a few more years to 'mature'.
Another two month wait ensued, meaning that the fifth and final 50th Anniversary Monaco didn't emerge until mid November, by which time (frankly, after watch number four) we'd all kinda lost interest. This one for me was the least interesting of the lot with it's supposedly 'phantom' (but not really) aesthetic, though strangely this was one that seemed to create a lot of enthusiasm in the watch community. Well, sorry... I didn't get it then and I don't get it now.
Amusingly, this was the only one of the five that I actually 'almost' got to see in the flesh. I was visiting a TAG Heuer boutique one day (I shan't say which one) and they told me they had one of these 'out the back' and would I like to see it? I stood in the shop waiting excitedly, wondering if the watch would look better than the photos suggested, only to be presented with the dark grey dialed TAG Heuer Monaco Calibre 12 'Final Edition'.
I don't know about you, but when these things happen my brain seems to shut down. So I gazed at the watch for a moment, trying to reconcile what I was expecting to see and what I was actually seeing and then slowly came to the realization that what I was actually holding was not actually a CAW211Z at all, and that I would have to break this to the person standing next to me waiting to hear my enthusiastic gushing.
Aaaawkward!
So for me, despite my initial enthusiasm for the red dial CAW211W, two years on my opinion has settled as follows:
1. CAW211X (90s - Concrete dial)
2. CAW211V (70s - Green dial)
3. CAW211W (80s - Red dial)
4. CAW211Y (00s - Black / White dial)
5. CAW211Z (10s - Black 'Phantom' dial)
But while my opinion is as valid as anyone else's, it never hurts to get a second opinion... so yes, finally it's time to turn all five Monaco 50th Anniversary pieces over to the C.O.C.O Council for appraisal and evaluation.
Usually when I ask the C.O.C.O council to rate watches I ask them to score out of ten, but this time I simply asked them to put them in order of preference and collated the results from that. One esteemed member suggested using an F1 style scoring system, which I tried, but this didn't change the results very much at all other than closing up the gaps a little bit. I also tried turning the scores into percentages, but the outcome was still the same - two models vying for the win, with the remaining three relatively evenly spread out.
A couple of the members unfortunately failed to grasp this radical new system, with one saying they were all awful and another giving them all 3 out of 10... but we still had a good number of responses that I could actually use and which provided a pretty solid top five. So here we go...
CAW211V CAW211W CAW211X CAW211Y CAW211Z
5th - CAW211Y (1999-2009): 1 x First place, 213 F1 Points, 13% of vote
I think it was pretty obvious that this would end up last, although I don't mind it at all. I just don't think it had the necessary 'specialness' in this company to stand out.
4th - CAW211Z (2009-2019): 1 x First place, 229 F1 Points, 16% of vote
Likewise this one was a little too 'plain' to really stand out in such colourful company and for me this was the least exciting of all. Still it was never in any danger of coming last...
3rd - CAW211V (1969-1979): 4 x First place, 242 F1 Points, 20% of vote
Slap bang in the middle with an entirely 'average' percentage of the vote, the green dial model was probably the most divisive of the five watches, picking up as many 5th places as wins.
2nd - CAW211X (1989-1999): 5 x First place, 312 F1 Points, 25% of vote
My favourite and it seems quite a few other people's favourite (since 4 other people voted it the best one), but I knew it wouldn't win simply because I knew the red one would.
1st - CAW211W (1979-1989): 6 x First place, 328 F1 Points, 26% of vote
It wasn't as clear cut as I expected and as it first seemed (the concrete dial made a late charge but couldn't quite catch up its early losses), but the red '80s Monaco won out in the end.
A few of the C.O.C.O. Council members also made some observations...
Mspeedster said:
70s. This one is the most interesting and vintage in its appeal. I might have rated it as my favourite, but I'm simply not into green watches.
80s. The gorgeous red dial is amazing. I like this one as much as the 90s, however it's almost too pretty. I feel it would be like having a big red ruby on one's wrist. Hence I wouldn't wear it that often, dropping it to 2nd place.
90s. This one is most in keeping with the blue, red, & white colours of the original 1133B. Thus it looks the most Monaco-like to me. The concrete asphalt dial treatment was fresh and fairly unique when this watch was released, giving the watch a certain X factor to it. Aesthetically, the whole watch just comes together.
00s. I like the classic black and white color scheme. The thick circle ring reminds of other Heuer watches of the 70s. But compared to my top 3, this one is just a step behind.
10s. I might feel differently about the stealth look of the 10s edition if I were to see it in person. But in photos, its stealthy look isn't enough to elevate its ranking. Still, it's a great looking watch.
Thingsiliketoo said:
I think Tag Heuer did a nice job of designing these for each the decades they represent.
I like the watches in order of release - first place is #1 69-79. The colour and dial Côtes de Genève finishing of the dial puts this Monaco way out front of the others. Also the strap pairing just tops it off. Everything on this one works for me. Fourth and Fifth releases are very close and could switch possibly if I could see them in person. If it was a race, release one would be up by a full lap, 2 and 3 evenly spaced behind half a lap and behind them by a quarter lap coming to cars 4 and 5,ending with a photo finish.
And Abrod520 said:
1970s: The clear best, not just of this line-up but it's also one of the more interesting Monaco LEs they've done so far.
1980s: The color is a bit much for me, but again an interesting (if unsuccessful) experiment with the subdial shapes.
1990s: The next best design, the experiment with the dial texture is interesting. A bit boring but it works.
2000s: Nothing much interesting here. I guess the only experiment was that they highlighted the circular track on the dial? Which just served to jumble it up. The clear loser of the range.
2010s: Very cool in renders and would have been my 2nd choice, but in reality it's just washed out which is too bad. I like the case finish, though.
Finally, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at Chrono24 and see how these watches fair on the open market, given there was only 169 of each made... obviously the cheapest price is the most relevant since anyone can put anything on for a silly price, it just won't sell.
Most affordable, and no great surprise honestly, is the CAW211Y (00s) with an asking price of £5350 (which is exactly what it cost new). Next up is the concrete dial CAW211X (90S) at £6790. Then comes the CAW211Z (10s) at £7300 and then.... it's actually the red dial CAW211W at £8400. Which leaves the green dial CAW211V out in front by some margin, the cheapest price on offer being £9700, quite a jump from the original list price!
I can't help but think the CAW211V benefits from that initial impact of being the 'first' piece released, but also the fact that it represents the period '1969-1979' which is the period of most interest to Monaco enthusiasts and perhaps it's unique look and cool Cotes de Geneve dial don't hurt either...
Next time we'll be checking out the new Monaco Titan Calibre 11 Special Edition.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS: CAW211V (Green dial 70s Monaco)
FIRST IMPRESSIONS: CAW211W (Red dial 80s Monaco)
FIRST IMPRESSIONS: CAW211X (Concrete dial 90s Monaco)
FIRST IMPRESSIONS: CAW211Y (Black/white dial 00s Monaco)
FIRST IMPRESSIONS: CAW211Z (Phantom dial 10s Monaco)
