At the risk of beating a dead horse I thought I’d close my own book of opinion on this Monaco LE. I am often guilty of being initially enthralled by beauty and then discovering the complexities after the honeymoon period.
Not this time. I still love this watch and everything about it. It is unique and classic at the same time. The model and design are timeless themselves with a rich and recognized history in representing TH, no issues there. The new 02 movement may be argued as unproven but I like that it is an in house TH mechanism. All that said, the dial is truly the difference here.
I still can’t bring myself to call this a green dial. As someone who has six green face watches, this just doesn’t fit in that category. I mentioned the life in the color complexity before, that has not changed with time or how many times I look at it. As a long time admirer of the sunburst blue Monaco, I think this brilliance out performs that ten-fold. I mentioned how the dial interacts with both the observer and the sun while wearing it - I’ve only been in this hobby for about five years but I’ve never seen anything like it. The black sub dials are useful and compliment the overall impact enormously, another feature in tradition of the Monaco but novel to this LE.
I, personally, had no issues with the deployant after wearing it almost daily for two weeks. However, not knowing previous alligator strap patterns from TH, I just did not think this pattern and band went well with this Monaco. The Monaco, and this dial, comes from a history rich in automobile passion, racing, and representation - a Rally strap is my choice then. So I did some research and invested in a custom strap from a maker in the UK - works perfectly. It is also original and compliments the watch.
The “Monaco LE.” That also just doesn’t do anything for me. We have heurological history in “The Siffert, The Senna,” and the “McQueen Monaco,” so without a title this unique watch is just an item. I know there has been assumption and advertising with the recent partnership with Porsche but I, personally, am forever dubbing this as the “Bullitt Monaco.” It seems appropriate with the discussions that have spun off this subject here and, unarguably, the green face is directly representative of the Bullitt Dark Highland Green Mustang…British Racing Green with a little Colonial spirit added. McQueen wore and represents/ed TH tremendously well so that’s appropriate too. Maybe even proper for the start of another legendary model watch.
Other forums members, please give us additional reviews.
All right, I’ll shut up now. Best, M.