The brand celebrates 150 years of innovation with a 60-piece limited edition of its transmission belt-driven Monaco V4.
Press release
TAG Heuer celebrates 150 years of pioneering innovation with a 60-piece limited edition of its transmission belt-driven MonacoMonaco V4 Next Generation Rose Gold Ruthenium and Ceramic
The double-patented watch is nominated Design Watch of the Year at the 2010 Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève Awards
New case design, new imposing size, new precious material: the just-launched Monaco V4 Next Generation Rose Gold Ruthenium and Ceramic is more than just the latest version of TAG Heuer's groundbreaking V4 technology. It is also the brand's most stylish creation in rose gold to date, and a fitting tribute to the Swiss brand's 150 years of pioneering innovation.
Monaco V4 Next Generation Rose Gold Ruthenium and Ceramic © TAG Heuer
First unveiled at BaselWorld 2004, the double-patented MONACO V4 is the world's first watch with a high-yield mechanical belt drives and a linear rewinding system. Its audacious design is based on the oversized, square-faced Monaco, first seen on Steve McQueen's wrist in the 1970 race film Le Mans.
In this new “Next Generation” version, the case is even bigger (41mm instead of 39mm) and made of polished massive rose gold with fine-brushed silicon nitride “ceramic” inserts. The inserts visually lighten the squared shape of the watch, and the newly angled planes of the bevelled crystal give the watch a more fluid and contemporary profile.
Other rose gold components are the hand-applied faceted indexes on the dial, the minute and hour hands, the small second hand at 4 o'clock, the thermo-lacquered crown at 3 o'clock, and the strap's folding buckle. The strap itself is in ultra-soft, large-scale alligator, with anthracite hand stitching, titanium inserts and a rubberized leather lining.Inside — and visible through the timepiece's anti-reflective sapphire crystal front and back — the V4's avant-garde architecture remains unchanged (tungsten ingot linear mass, two pairs of barrels in series, set in parallel and linked by belts), but the finishes have been completely revisited, with a high-resistance black ruthenium coating on the back plate and the Côtes de Genève decorated bridges. The beautiful black juxtaposes superbly with the white “V4” and “TAG Heuer” engravings on the dial, and with the patented transmission and rewind white belts, now in high-contrast, high-tech white polymers exclusively developed for the new timepiece. SHORTLISTED FOR A GENEVA GRAND PRIX
Winner in its concept stage of many design prizes and awards (including Wallpaper Magazine's "Watch of the Year" Award and Popular Science's "Best of What's New" Awards), this newest incarnation of the Monaco V4 has been shortlisted for the coveted Design Prize at the 2010 Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève Awards.
In an exclusive edition of 60 pieces, the MONACO V4 Next Generation Rose Gold Ruthenium and Ceramic is a worthy representative of the Swiss legend that created it. The world leader in luxury sports watches and chronographs since 1860, TAG Heuer is up for three Grand Prix awards this year: the MONACO V4 Next Generation Rose Gold Ruthenium and Ceramic in Design, the TAG Heuer 300 SLR in Men's and the TAG Heuer Monaco 24 in Sport.
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