WORDS
Eleanor Pryor
Since its launch in 1965, TAG Heuer’s Monaco has never been one to play by the rules. It made waves with its angular square design; a shape normally reserved for dress watches but rarely seen in high-octane racing timepieces such as this. Combined with its bold blue dial and contrasting “squircle” counters, it’s become a true horological design classic.
A new limited edition pushes its daring aesthetic to a new level, decked out in an unusual purple colour scheme. The dial is all the more intriguing thanks to the gradient design, its smokey effect complemented by the black sub dials and sleek details including the rhodium-plated indexes and hands with white Super-LumiNova for added legibility.
It’s a contemporary look that nods to the past; true TAG Heuer fans might notice echoes of the 1969 Heuer Monaco reference 1113B and the early reference 1533 Calibre 15. These models featured a dial finish with a blue metallic paint that, over the decades, tends to patinate from its original hue to a dégradé purple colour that is faded in the centre and darker around the edges.
The mechanics at its heart are just as modern as the exterior, powered by the watchmaker’s in-house Calibre Heuer 02, complete with an impressive 80-hour power reserve. The black alligator strap lined with purple finishes off the watch with impact, while the caseback comes engraved with the watch’s number out of the 500 available.
