Hi all, I’m new to the forum and also only recently purchased my first TH. I always wanting a Monaco since I was in my early teens and now in my mid 30’s I considered getting a Monaco as an eventual retirement gift to myself. After a change of circumstances I decided to go for it and bought the Caliber 11 Steve McQueen in March and have loved it ever since. With the release of the new ‘Dark Lord’ I’ve been spending some of my spare time googling the different varieties of Monaco (not to buy) to see what else there has been and found the following beauty which is my eyes is the most stunning Monaco I’ve seen. It appears that only 50 were made by ‘The Hour Glass’ in 2019. I would love to hear what everyone else’s favourites are and see all the different models.
Welcome to the forum and congrats on your C11 Monaco McQueen. That's really the one to get, as it's "the icon". The Hourglass is nice, but it's not my favorite. I'm partial to the Gulf models and I also adore my Monaco 50th Anniversary 90s LE. I own these 3 and love each one for different reasons. You can read more forum comments about the Hourglass Monaco here: https://tagheuerforums.com/threads/...edition-monaco-calibre-11-ref-caw211u.100786/ Also, @Aquagraph put together a nice summary of all the TAG Heuer Monacos (not inclusive of the original Heuer Monacos): http://tagheuerenthusiast.blogspot.com/2021/07/history-monaco-1997.html
Thanks so much. They are all beautiful, love the collection. I got the TH bug and was eyeing up the Monza 40th anniversary but unfortunately it’s so hard to find and impossible to find new. Fortunately while I’m Florida this month I went to the Tag Outlet where they had 4 brand new Monza’s. 2 unworn and 2 display ones in cabinets. managed to bag one of the unworn ones and live it.
I do not own any Monaco but have always admired them, my all time favourite version is the Gulf King reference CAW211T (insanely good photos by @heuerholic)
Tks for the link to @Aquagraph 's blogpost - which got me thinking again… Why has there never been a poster with the various Monaco variants that have been released over the years? A bit like the one for the Speedy, which most of us might know. Would certainly look killer and I’d sign up for one of these in a heartbeat! EDIT - Like this: Although these still available on Etsy are probably unauthorized knock-offs.
To answer the TS' question: I own a “Black McQueen” Cal.12 Monaco, and while the blue McQueen Cal.11 is certainly an outstanding and iconic watch, it’s currently not for me (too many blue watches anyway). Thus, the one that actually intrigues me the most is the following oddball: Monaco CAW211C (https://www.calibre11.com/tag-heuer-monaco-calibre11-caw211c/) Problem: Impossible to see in the flesh and any photos really don’t give a good idea of its legibility (IMHO)…
I actually forgot another grey/silver Cal.11 version, but I think this is a very hard-to-come-by LE… Monaco CAW211B. If I could pick (and wouldn’t have to sell a kidney to get it), that'd be the one…
That grey was an LE a few years back, also my favourite at the time. Came close to buying one from a forum member but I believe that’s when the C11 Siffert came around.
The History of the Monaco (1997-) for anyone who's interested... http://tagheuerenthusiast.blogspot.com/2021/07/history-monaco-1997.html
For me it has to be this one, as it’s mine, but I would add a couple of the anniversary models, the red Monaco race club version and the hourglass version above, not many, haha. Wrong time but not on duty today.
Notwithstanding… I’d be curious to know who at TH has decided, a couple years back, that all newly produced Monacos should be bumped up in size to 39mm^2 (from 39mm^2) ? Personally, I don’t have a problem with the current size, but there’s pretty incessant complaining all over the watch internet re. how (supposedly) “unwearable” the Monaco is… Keeping the 38mm^2 might have gone a long way in addressing this, no?