This weekend, all eyes will be on the Rock of Monaco for the Formula 1 Grand Prix and on the TAG Heuer timepiece celebrating its 50th anniversary in the Principality.
In honour of this milestone, TAG Heuer announced that throughout the year, five creations will be successively revealed, inspired by the different decades from 1969 to 2019, and paying tribute to its Monaco timepiece. 2019 is also an importante milestone for the Monaco Grand Prix that celebrates its 90th anniversary since its first edition on 14 April 1929.
The Monaco’s daring and iconic design has made it instantly recognisable. Every aspect of the Monaco timepiece design was radical, and went where no other watch had gone before in terms of design and technology. Not only was the TAG Heuer Monaco the first ever square watch, it was also the first to feature an automatic-winding chronograph movement.
Since its debut, the Monaco watch and the Monaco Grand Prix, for which TAG Heuer has been the Official Watch since 2011, have had a strong connection. The most glamorous Grand Prix of the Formula 1 season gave its name to the TAG Heuer Monaco collection in 1969. No other place and location would therefore have been more suitable for celebrating the iconic timepiece’s 50th anniversary, and today, TAG Heuer has unveiled the first of the five Monaco limited edition watches, the Monaco 1969-1979 Limited Edition.
A tribute to the 1970s
Highlighting the breakthrough and yet timeless design of the original Monaco, TAG Heuer created five new models inspired by the trends, colours and styles that characterised each decade of the Monaco’s half-century history. Emblematic geometric shapes and colours from the 1970s, combined with a timeless Côtes de Genève pattern are some of the features that distinguish the first model to celebrate the Monaco’s 50th anniversary.
Presented on a brown leather strap with holes lined in light brown, this stainless-steel timepiece has been produced in an edition limited to only 169 pieces. The green dial features brown and yellow touches and a Côtes de Genève finishing. The hands are coated with SuperLuminova®. Only a quick glance at the subdials and the position of the crown is needed to recognise this unconventional timepiece’s Monaco lineage.
The caseback of this 1970s-inspired timepiece is engraved with the original “Monaco Heuer” logo as well as “1969-1979 Special Edition” and “One of 169”.
The timepiece houses the Calibre 11, the same automatic-winding chronograph movement that made its debut inside the original Monaco in 1969.
Like the watch itself, the watch box is also inspired by the original. Each of the special-edition models comes in a box with colours that match the watch and the decade it represents. The 1970s-inspired model is packaged in a dark blue box decorated with the Heuer logo and a horizontal chequer-pattern stripe. The watch is placed on a yellow cushion and surrounded by a green interior – the same colour found on the dial.
