First run in April 1929 and won by Franco-British spy William Grover Williams in a Bugatti painted ‘racing green’, the sight and sound of 6 of the world’s fastest cars being driven through the tiny principality’s streets by 16 of the world’s best drivers gripped spectators like nothing before.
There was drama around every corner in the early decades, not least in 1955 when Alberto Ascari spectacularly launched his Lancia D50 into the harbor after missing a chicane while leading the pack.
Inevitably the cars got quicker every year and, from being one of the most spectacular fixtures on the grand prix calendar, the Monaco race has now come to be seen as ‘boring’ by some.
They say today’s F1 machines are simply too long, too wide and too fast for the circuit, reducing the opportunity for dramatic, race-changing overtakes.
Monaco Grand Prix: The Crown Jewel of Formula 1
But the Monaco Grand Prix remains the jewel in every season’s crown, not least because Monaco is in the unique position in Formula 1 of calling many of its own shots.
It pays a reduced fee to F1 owner Liberty Media for the privilege of hosting the race (believed to be around $15m, half the amount charged in other locations), it controls how the race is televised and, most importantly it retains the right to organize its own track advertising and sponsorship deals.
That last fact enabled TAG Heuer to sign-up as ‘official watch partner’ of the Monaco Grand prix in 2011 before becoming sponsor and timekeeper in 2020 – even though Rolex was F1’s overall watch partner at the time.
But all that changed last year when the global role was taken over by LVMH which (as TAG Heuer’s owner) has further strengthened the watch maker’s hold over the event which, these days, is officially called the Formula 1 Louis Vuitton Grand Prix de Monaco.
No watch brand can boast such an affinity with the Monaco race as TAG Heuer, not only because of its inextricable links with motorsport and its sponsorship of Oracle Red Bull Racing - but also because it’s the only watch brand to actually produce a model called Monaco.
Launched in 1969 as the world’s first water-resistant, square-cased wrist watch, the Monaco arrived in the same year that Jack Heuer took his brand to the pinnacle of motorsport by recruiting Swiss F1 star Jo Siffert.
But while naming the new chronograph ‘Monaco’ linked it to the famous motor race, it was also intended to evoke the principality’s celebrated glamour as a means of attracting wearers from fields such as design and architecture to give Heuer (as it was known until 1985) a wider, more sophisticated reach beyond the world of cars.
Ironically, the Monaco became indelibly associated with motor racing not because of the place after which it was named, but because of its appearance on the wrist of Hollywood star Steve McQueen in the 1971 movie Le Mans.
At the time, no one really noticed what was strapped around McQueen’s wrist and production of the original Monaco came to an end within five years of the film’s release.
But when LVMH bought TAG Heuer in 1999, one of its first moves was to revive the distinctive, square-cased chronograph and make the most of its largely forgotten association with McQueen.
The result was that the Monaco not only returned with a vengeance, but was subsequently adopted as the platform for some of the most radical TAG Heuer creations of the modern era, such as the Monaco 69 of 2003 (a swivel-case creation combining mechanical and analogue movements) and the Monaco V4 of 2004 (with a movement driven by tiny, rubber ‘transmission belts’).
A Revolutionary Monaco Inspired by Engine Pistons
There have been numerous other variations on the Monaco model during the past two decades – and this weekend’s Grand Prix will see the unveiling of yet another model which does more than any other to highlight the fact that cars and TAG Heuer go together like a horse and carriage.
But while the Monaco Speed 12 is brand new, the main feature of the watch will be instantly recognizable to fans of Louis Vuitton’s ingenious Spin Time models launched in 2009.
Instead of showing the time through a conventional dial and hands, the Spin Time combined a central minute hand encircled by a dozen revolving cubes which turned 90 degrees in sequence as one hour changed to the next.
TAG Heuer has adapted the Spin Time movement, which was created by Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasini, founders of the Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton manufacture, naming its version the Caliber TH84-00.
In this case, the Spin Time’s cubes are replaced by 12 exquisite brushed and sandblasted miniature pistons engraved with lacquered black Arabic numerals.
As the minute hand completes a full rotation of the dial, one piston returns to its regular position while the next turns to reveal the number of the relevant hour.
A quartet of DLC-treated, open-worked arches suspend the movement in each corner of the 40mm titanium case which features a domed sapphire crystal surrounded by a square sapphire bezel and a sapphire crystal back – meaning the ingenious mechanism can be admired to the full.
The automotive theme is carried through to the minute hand – which is based on the needle of a dashboard instrument – and the bridge it’s mounted on, which is grooved to resemble an engine’s valve cover.
A black rubber strap with an embossed textile pattern and red stitching completes a watch that many a petrolhead is sure to covet.
But the bad news for some is that only 50 will be made - and, at CHF70,000/Euros 77,000/£87,000, you might need to be on an F1 driver's salary to afford one....
