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Tavknack
·So I never noticed before that the 211C has the vintage logo but with radial hour posts and the French LE has none at all! I’m pretty sure the other vintage logo Monaco’s have linear posts.
Monaco Vintage Edition - CAW211B - Let's see your photos!
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Yago
·You mean the hour markers?
I prefer the horizontal markers for sure. I think only the silver edition of the C11 Monacos had applied radial markers. The French edition had radial lume markers, inspired by the Dark Lord.
I prefer the horizontal markers for sure. I think only the silver edition of the C11 Monacos had applied radial markers. The French edition had radial lume markers, inspired by the Dark Lord.
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MonacoMike
·You mean the hour markers?
I prefer the horizontal markers for sure. I think only the silver edition of the C11 Monacos had applied radial markers. The French edition had radial lume markers, inspired by the Dark Lord.
The conversation is around the color of the lume, not the orientation of them. The France edition features yellowed 'antique' lume compared with the 'new' white lume on all of the others.
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kappa_md
·Actually wasn't a hit at all at first 😉 It was a bit too weird for most people, plus it was very expensive at the time and sold very slowly. The story goes that the only reason it was in 'Le Mans' was because Heuer had no Autavias to lend to the production. And while the Monaco saw a small bump after that, it certainly wasn't a superstar as production quietly ended in 1974 or so. Wasn't until later that interest picked up, leading to TAG's reissues in the 2000s
Yes I agree sir 😀
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MonacoMike
·You mean the hour markers?
I prefer the horizontal markers for sure. I think only the silver edition of the C11 Monacos had applied radial markers. The French edition had radial lume markers, inspired by the Dark Lord.
There are three modern Calibre 11 Monacos that have had the more modern radial-style hour indices:
The Silver Edition - CAW211C
The Striped McQueen - CAW211D
The France Edition - CAW211S (w/ Antique Style and Lume Color)
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Jim Dollares
·The logo is way too high up on the 211C, just recently noticed this
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MonacoMike
·Actually wasn't a hit at all at first 😉 It was a bit too weird for most people, plus it was very expensive at the time and sold very slowly. The story goes that the only reason it was in 'Le Mans' was because Heuer had no Autavias to lend to the production. And while the Monaco saw a small bump after that, it certainly wasn't a superstar as production quietly ended in 1974 or so. Wasn't until later that interest picked up, leading to TAG's reissues in the 2000s
It's absolutely correct that the watch was not a success at launch - and neither was the Movie, Le Mans. It wasn't until the movie began to reach cult status among motorsports fans that the watch really began to be noticed. Obviously both are now the stuff of legends.
It's funny, this story has been told a million times, in seemingly a million different ways, and according to the film's Prop Master, as told in the official Monaco book released in 2019, it happened a bit differently than your account.
But the Prop Master for Le Mans, Don Nunley, tells the story that McQueen chose his wardrobe - a racing suit that would mimic that of Jo Siffert, a Heuer-sponsored driver, and originally wanted to wear a Speedmaster, having been taken to it after it's recent trip to the moon. But it was pointed out to McQueen that it'd look pretty silly if he had a Heuer logo on his driving suit and an Omega on his wrist.
So he focused his attention on Heuers where multiple versions of Carreras, Autavias and Monacos were on the table and McQueen chose the blue Monaco.
The book also tells the incredible story of how a German watchmaker named Gerd-Rudiger Lang was given six Monacos (four blue and two grey) to deliver to the set of Le Mans and had one hell of a time getting them across the Swiss/German border.
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MonacoMike
·The logo is way too high up on the 211C, just recently noticed this
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Yago
·Full list of the Le Mans Heuer watches were detailed in this OTD post
It included the now famous Bell 1163T, here actually seen wearing a Siffert.
It included the now famous Bell 1163T, here actually seen wearing a Siffert.
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abrod520
·It's absolutely correct that the watch was not a success at launch - and neither was the Movie, Le Mans. It wasn't until the movie began to reach cult status among motorsports fans that the watch really began to be noticed. Obviously both are now the stuff of legends.
It's funny, this story has been told a million times, in seemingly a million different ways, and according to the film's Prop Master, as told in the official Monaco book released in 2019, it happened a bit differently than your account.
But the Prop Master for Le Mans, Don Nunley, tells the story that McQueen chose his wardrobe - a racing suit that would mimic that of Jo Siffert, a Heuer-sponsored driver, and originally wanted to wear a Speedmaster, having been taken to it after it's recent trip to the moon. But it was pointed out to McQueen that it'd look pretty silly if he had a Heuer logo on his driving suit and an Omega on his wrist.
So he focused his attention on Heuers where multiple versions of Carreras, Autavias and Monacos were on the table and McQueen chose the blue Monaco.
The book also tells the incredible story of how a German watchmaker named Gerd-Rudiger Lang was given six Monacos (four blue and two grey) to deliver to the set of Le Mans and had one hell of a time getting them across the Swiss/German border.
Yep, the way the watch got into the movie is a bit murky and I can't say I've followed the updates very closely. But my real point was, rather than being a hit the Monaco was actually kind of a flop at first.
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MonacoMike
·Yep, the way the watch got into the movie is a bit murky and I can't say I've followed the updates very closely. But my real point was, rather than being a hit the Monaco was actually kind of a flop at first.
Definitely. It's funny, though. Even though the watch has now gained huge popularity, it's still not 'liked' overall by the masses, I would say. It's super distinctive and noticeable, but a lot of people who aren't watch or racing people don't seem to really like the design all that much.
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Yago
·I believe it's still gaining traction. No other LEs of the past years have sold out as quickly as the Monacos. The green one sold out before anyone had actually seen one in the metal. My AD says the sales have been picking up over the years.
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MonacoMike
·I believe it's still gaining traction. No other LEs of the past years have sold out as quickly as the Monacos. The green one sold out before anyone had actually seen one in the metal. My AD says the sales have been picking up over the years.
I would definitely agree with that. I'm more speaking in regards to the general public who doesn't know anything about Steve McQueen or watches, and would solely base their watch purchase on what they think looks good. A chunky square watch just doesn't come top of mind for a lot of people who would default to something more traditional and round. It's definitely a design that people either love-or-hate.
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abrod520
·Definitely. It's funny, though. Even though the watch has now gained huge popularity, it's still not 'liked' overall by the masses, I would say. It's super distinctive and noticeable, but a lot of people who aren't watch or racing people don't seem to really like the design all that much.
Yeah, it's definitely a racing nut watch. That's what makes it cool I think. But, TAG seems to sell enough of them to keep it in the collection year in and year out. As the "big watch" trend peters out though, it's probably not going to be a very popular choice for people who don't have an affinity for racing or McQueen... I'm not sure up-sizing the case for the H02 version was really a good idea.
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MonacoMike
·Yeah, it's definitely a racing nut watch. That's what makes it cool I think. But, TAG seems to sell enough of them to keep it in the collection year in and year out. As the "big watch" trend peters out though, it's probably not going to be a very popular choice for people who don't have an affinity for racing or McQueen... I'm not sure up-sizing the case for the H02 version was really a good idea.
Sizing it up? The case is still 39x39 for the 02 models. As I understand it, they reworked the internals a bit to make the 02 fit, but it's still the same size. Or is the 02 perhaps a smidge thicker?
I'm no expert on the Cal 02 models, though, as my interest is solely in left-hand crown versions of the Monaco.
The funny thing, is, though, at 39mm, the Monaco isn't really a "big" watch. It just wears bigger than other 39mm round watches.
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Mspeedster
·Another pic of my first Monaco, which I bought over 10 years ago.
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kappa_md
·It does take some time to adjust or feel comfortable with a Monaco. But to be honest and I agree, that the 39mm doesn’t really feel to big to wear especially that most modern watches today, on the average, have a size around 41/42 mm. 👍
Two things I realized. First, the Monaco has been a favorite watch prop among TV, Movie, Media people. You can probably surmise that in this thread 😉 (Click Me) It all started from a movie were the characters were “driving in circles” Secondly, among my modest & humble collection, the Monaco is the most commented
& praised watch that I have worn (from WIS & non-WIS alike) It is quite unmistakable when you see a Monaco, which has always been the trademark square case 😀 Not everyone will want to wear a square watch, but at times, you wear a Monaco “to stand out” or to be seen 😉 It’s a bold statement saying “Hey, I’m wearing a square watch & I’m a car guy” 😜
It is the only iconic square chronograph that I can think of. The Cartier Santos also comes to mind but it’s a 3-hand, and it’s trademark design are the black roman numeral hour markers on white dial plus usually precious metal. All the others are mostly “rectangle” and not really square 😲
Two things I realized. First, the Monaco has been a favorite watch prop among TV, Movie, Media people. You can probably surmise that in this thread 😉 (Click Me) It all started from a movie were the characters were “driving in circles” Secondly, among my modest & humble collection, the Monaco is the most commented
& praised watch that I have worn (from WIS & non-WIS alike) It is quite unmistakable when you see a Monaco, which has always been the trademark square case 😀 Not everyone will want to wear a square watch, but at times, you wear a Monaco “to stand out” or to be seen 😉 It’s a bold statement saying “Hey, I’m wearing a square watch & I’m a car guy” 😜
It is the only iconic square chronograph that I can think of. The Cartier Santos also comes to mind but it’s a 3-hand, and it’s trademark design are the black roman numeral hour markers on white dial plus usually precious metal. All the others are mostly “rectangle” and not really square 😲
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kappa_md
·The Calibre H02 has been a very versatile chronograph. It has been housed in 39-45mm sized watches. It can even adapt to a tourbillon 😲 The only recurring issues I found among owners, 1. always the thickness and not size per se. 2. people expect it to be “quiet” for a premium in house movement. Both of which doesn’t really bother me 😁 It’s TAG Heuer’s very own robust chronograph so I love it to bits (also with the Calibre 1887/CH01) 👍👍
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abrod520
·Sizing it up? The case is still 39x39 for the 02 models. As I understand it, they reworked the internals a bit to make the 02 fit, but it's still the same size. Or is the 02 perhaps a smidge thicker?
It's thicker, but also the modern Monaco is larger in all dimensions than the (already large) 1133. If you ever try on an original, it's striking how well-proportioned it is for such a chunky-looking design
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