Please school me on Tag Heuer Monaco, which versions would you recommend and why (repost)

[Techniec]

Dear all,

(Now posting in the correct forum) As witnessed by the topic matter, I feel the crave for another watch, and have been tempted for quite some time to purchase a Tag Heuer Monaco, imho a venerable classic along the lines of the Speedy Pro Moonwatch...

However, while perusing several WIS forums on the Monaco, I found out that several versions, released a number of years ago, allegedly featured "sub-par" movements (i.e. very basic, non-top / chronometer grade ETA movements), not fitting for a watch of this reputation and in this price range.

I would rather shoot for a vintage version (but I believe those to be very expensive), and am also quite enamoured by the El Primero powered versions...But the price of admission on those is also quite high, so how about the quality of the movements of the models one tier down from the vintage / EP Monacos (would expect at least chrono grade ETAs)?

Would greatly appreciate some recommendations!

BTW this one looks the business (picture courtesy of WWW):



Thanks a lot!

Cheers,


Pieter

[trienthusiast]

Hello Pieter from a fellow Amsterdammer!

I am tagging along to your questions as I am in the same boat. I tried on a Monaco this past weekend (at the obvious AD in the center) and I fell in love with it.

I tried the all black face. It says "Caliber 12". Is this good? I don't know much about Tag Heuer movements. Is this just an ETA? I understand when you buy a Monaco you buy its history as well, but do you buy history also when you buy one of these new models with Calibre 12?





Plus, the AD proposed to me a price that was single digit discount to the list price - it felt a bit low. What kind of discount am I supposed to expect for this watch?

Last question... how does the Monaco feel as an everyday watch?


Thank you all for your input.

[Mspeedster]

Let me start with the one you have pictured. That's the Monaco Vintage Grey LE. It's limited to 1860 copies (the year Heuer was founded) in honor of TAG Heuer's 150th anniversary. It's a very close re-edition of the original vintage Heuer Monaco 1133G. I chose this watch over the other Monaco's for my very first Monaco. The reasons: Limited Edition, comes in a cool box, I love the true vintage look of the watch with only "Heuer" branding (No TAG) and last but not least the color. While blue is the iconic color for Monacos, for me the Grey face with red touches is more of a match for my personality and style. It's a better fit for the kind of clothes I wear. The color of the grey face looks different depending on the lighting, another feature I like about it.

The aforementioned blue Monaco would be my next choice. I guess it's the most popular model as it's the color McQueen wore in his movie Le Mans. If you really love the true vintage look, as I do, the one to get is the Steve McQueen 40th Anniversry model. It's the twin to the Vintage Grey LE and was released to honor the 40th anniversary of Steve's movie Le Mans (1970). It's limited to 1000 copies and mimics the original 1133B Monaco. However, it's very hard to find now and quite expensive as well.

Finally, the version I thought I wanted most, and maybe still do, is the Monaco 24. It has the El Primero movement and a very modern design with cool Gulf Racing stripes to honor the Porsche 917K that Steve drove in the movie Le Mans. It's a fantastic looking watch with a fantastic price to go with it. However, when I tried one on my wrist, it didn't grab me the way my Vintage Grey Monaco did. I do love this watch, but for its price, I guess I don't love it enough to justify buying one (yet).

I'll let other comment on the other Monaco variants. The ones I covered are the ones I love.


And here's some pics of my Vintage Grey LE...

[Wisconsin Proud]

However, while perusing several WIS forums on the Monaco, I found out that several versions, released a number of years ago, allegedly featured "sub-par" movements (i.e. very basic, non-top / chronometer grade ETA movements), not fitting for a watch of this reputation and in this price range.

I would rather shoot for a vintage version (but I believe those to be very expensive), and am also quite enamoured by the El Primero powered versions...But the price of admission on those is also quite high, so how about the quality of the movements of the models one tier down from the vintage / EP Monacos (would expect at least chrono grade ETAs)?

Interesting. Never thought of the 2892/2894 as sub-par and the DD chono module seems very good on my 2007 Gulf Edition model.

None of the current calibre 11/12 Monacos are chonometers so you might be out of luck if that's a requirement.

The Monacos do not have the vintage movements that they did in the 70s (cal 11 vintage).

As always, price/value is subjective but I much prefer the new Cal 11 and cal 12 "upgrades" over the Cal 17 models.

[vanilla.coffee]

I am shortly going to pull the trigger on the LS...



In my opinion, it stays true to the square case theme but gives a far more modern look to its face. I think personally this is the best looking Monaco.

[Cowboy Bebop]

I've just pulled the trigger on a Monaco 24, I love it so much, you should see one person so see if it hits the spot or you can try a Grey Monaco like speedster showed you.

Here's the Monaco 24:

[Tony T]

Hi guy's,
I have the Cal 12 chrono and it's great. It does get a lot of wrist time so for a daily wearer you'll have no issues........just compliments!
I have to admit though that the 'Vintage' LE is stunning so too are the 'Gulf' versions.......(you lucky bugger 'Cowboy Bebop")......(jealous).........

[Cowboy Bebop]

Hi guy's,
I have the Cal 12 chrono and it's great. It does get a lot of wrist time so for a daily wearer you'll have no issues........just compliments!
I have to admit though that the 'Vintage' LE is stunning so too are the 'Gulf' versions.......(you lucky bugger 'Cowboy Bebop")......(jealous).........

Hehe, well I did do a trade up for my Monza Calibre 36 which helped bring the price down a lot...

[drunken monkey]

when it comes to the Monaco, I have it in mind that I'd rather search for a good condition original.
At the moment, it seems like 73633G models are not too silly money yet.

[ckBag]

Let me start with the one you have pictured. That's the Monaco Vintage Grey LE. It's limited to 1860 copies (the year Heuer was founded) in honor of TAG Heuer's 150th anniversary. It's a very close re-edition of the original vintage Heuer Monaco 1133G. I chose this watch over the other Monaco's for my very first Monaco. The reasons: Limited Edition, comes in a cool box, I love the true vintage look of the watch with only "Heuer" branding (No TAG) and last but not least the color. While blue is the iconic color for Monacos, for me the Grey face with red touches is more of a match for my personality and style. It's a better fit for the kind of clothes I wear. The color of the grey face looks different depending on the lighting, another feature I like about it.

The aforementioned blue Monaco would be my next choice. I guess it's the most popular model as it's the color McQueen wore in his movie Le Mans. If you really love the true vintage look, as I do, the one to get is the Steve McQueen 40th Anniversry model. It's the twin to the Vintage Grey LE and was released to honor the 40th anniversary of Steve's movie Le Mans (1970). It's limited to 1000 copies and mimics the original 1133B Monaco. However, it's very hard to find now and quite expensive as well.

Finally, the version I thought I wanted most, and maybe still do, is the Monaco 24. It has the El Primero movement and a very modern design with cool Gulf Racing stripes to honor the Porsche 917K that Steve drove in the movie Le Mans. It's a fantastic looking watch with a fantastic price to go with it. However, when I tried one on my wrist, it didn't grab me the way my Vintage Grey Monaco did. I do love this watch, but for its price, I guess I don't love it enough to justify buying one (yet).

I'll let other comment on the other Monaco variants. The ones I covered are the ones I love.


And here's some pics of my Vintage Grey LE...

love the watch