The Most Iconic TAG Heuer Watch of All Time | Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph

Hey, Mr. Wonderful here, and I am in a magic zone! This is TAG. Now, this brand is legendary as a sports brand, obviously through racing, the association with racing, but it's so much more now. And of late, for those of you that collect, we’ve expanded all kinds of new dials. Now, everybody knows I'm a dial guy. So I'm here with Nick and Carol. We're going to talk about some of the new offerings. We're at Watch Wonder in Geneva. The show's on fire! You know, it's incredible. You can't even move out there. That's why we're in this little room.

Okay, so Nicholas, let’s sorry, tell us, what do you do with TAG here?

It's a very good question, actually. I mean, you don't know either, right? A little bit. Sometimes I do have to ask myself. I’m the Heritage Director for the brand. So what does that mean? My first responsibility is really to protect the history and the DNA of the company and look after the archives, the museum. But beyond that, it’s managing the storytelling, making sure we're fully authentic to our past, and really going in a clear direction going forward.

Working with the collectors, but more importantly, is working with amazing people like Carol for the conception of new horology products. This amazing Monaco has really been... because I think you'll know as well, in the past, we've had a few different directions for the brand. We've been very high-end. We've been very entry-level. It's true. We've been a bit Heritage, we've been a bit contemporary. We have these amazing codes that we can draw upon.

What we're trying to do today is find the balance between reflecting on the past with being very avant-garde. We've got it in our name. We want to do it to the future as well. And what I love about what you're doing is you're supporting people that are coming into horology, that are just starting to build their collections with affordability but fantastic style.

Now, I have to ask you this: this brand has a unique heritage back to Steve McQueen, I believe?

Yeah, and it's an iconic image I have in my brain of him in a racing movie, exactly, wearing this brand. Exactly! And that, to me, is the DNA of what this whole thing is about, is it not?

Yeah, yeah! I mean, you know, we're in our 164th year now. We're in the 55th year of Monaco. We're in the 61st year of Carrera. We've just got an amazing lineage, you know, for decades and decades now. And you talk about motor racing, you know, it's a great love of mine as well. It's kind of why the brand was a natural fit.

This moment for McQueen, 1970, he's being trained to drive the Porsche 917 by Joe and Derek Bell, and the costume department said, "Okay, what are you going to wear for the movie?" And he says, "Dress me like a professional." And both these guys are wearing Heuers. He wants to wear a Heuer as well. He ends up with a Monaco on the wrist, and of course, you end up with this iconic salute photo with him wearing the watch. And it's become the image in my head. Exactly! And when I think of this brand, I think of that image that so many people do, because it's become an iconic brand. You know, Americana, racing, everything there. There is no other brand that somehow crystallizes the square the same way you guys do.

Exactly! There are other attempts, but it's just not.

Yeah, yeah! And from the beginning, I'm wearing one of the original pieces from 1969 on my wrist today. That is an original?

Yeah, this is an original from the very first year of production, exactly! Both of these are vintage, actually. And this piece here, I always say, when it arrived in the boutique, it must have been like an alien spaceship had arrived at your local watch retailer. I mean, it looked like nothing else! You know, imagine, we're three years before the Nautilus, three years before the Royal Oak, seven years before the Nautilus, you know, these get people accustomed to 60s early 70s.

1969, 73 was the Genta that came out, 72 was RO, and 76 was the Nautilus. But you know, these really laid down codes for watchmakers for a new kind of architectural design object. I always say it's like brutalist architecture on your wrist, you know? These sharp edges, this finishing, the bracelet that looks kind of integrated, and a bright blue dial. At the time, the industry was so conservative. It was black or white!

So you carried this heritage, this iconic look through generation after generation. Exactly! And that is that, so you’re protecting that brand value back to that original imagery.

This is obviously a very modern caliber compared to what that was in '69, exactly, so completely new imagining. I think this is a good chance for Carol to talk about this amazing movement that we've conceived.

So, tell us what you do, Carol, specifically?

Mr. Wonderful here, no one needs a watch, but everybody wants one. Why? Because it marks a moment of time in your life. Many watchers appreciate and value over time. That's why I created Wonder Care. Want to learn more about ensuring your watch? Go to wondercare.com.

I'm in charge of movement strategy for TAG. I also develop the watches. So you work when you manufacture these watches? You're in collaboration, obviously. Very few people make the spring, for example. You know where to get that, how to put it into this piece, keep the level of quality the same consistency. That's what you do.

And then the design, also technical design?

Yes, of course! It's radio teamwork, and we have inside our team to develop this watch an aesthetical designer, which J, who works on redesigning the Monaco case around sportive ergonomics. We wanted something really around sport and ergonomics. This is why we work with very light material, for example, the case made of titanium. The movement is also full titanium. The plate, the bridges are made of titanium, but also the dial.

Yes, exactly. And in fact, it’s a complicated chronograph with a split mechanism. We have more than 365 components inside, but only 30 grams for the movement.

That's beautiful!

But you're right!

Yeah, remarkable! Very light! And by weight, the case is half sapphire, half titanium. And the cool thing about sapphire is it has roughly the same density as titanium, so it creates a very balanced feeling on the wrist.

This case is a bubble in the back?

Exactly! So this is a code taken from the original. Carol has the crystal here, but if you look at the original, it has this domed back. And the reason is, is it means you have a very small contact patch with your wrist, and it can sit nicely between the bones on your wrist as well.

So even, is it a block of sapphire?

Yeah, and then we machine the interior so we can push the rotor inside, and you get this amazing angle to it as well. I noticed until I picked it up. It's quite unique. Four months to produce the sapphire on its own!

And what is the retail price of this?

So this is 135,000 Swiss francs in the standard form. We have two colorways, we have a blue and a red, but we're also offering a customized version for 165,000 Swiss francs. So you can choose the case material, you can choose colors for the hands and the markers, you can customize the hand painting to the rotor, of course.

Very high-end piece, absolutely!

And you know, I might say well received!

Absolutely!

Yeah, we're aiming for 40 pieces per year. That's the hope that we can produce those. It's limited production rather than limited edition, but the big thing here is, you know, Carol, I'm extremely proud of the watch. The watch is fantastic, of course, but really what we're doing here is laying down a new philosophy and a new direction for the future of TAG, of course with high-end watchmaking. But of course, these were codes that will come down into other collections and other price points as well.

But if someone wants to come into the brand at a lower price point to start and keep that heritage, that sport look, yeah, what do you have for them?

Yeah, I mean, I think you know, traditionally we've been the kind of entry-level into the Swiss watchmaking industry. You know, most people take their first steps with a Formula 1 or an Aquaracer.

Of course, now we have a great new Carrera glass box design with our own in-house TH20 caliber that's very, very well priced. I think it's around $6,000 in your market, so that you can start in the brand at a very affordable entry level.

Absolutely! I mean, the Formula 1, we start at 1,500 US. And today, the great thing about our brand is we've been able to create this stretch from 1,500 bucks to 150,000, and this is a really big achievement, actually.

Thank you! Thank you!

And it is getting well received because it's very fashionable right now. It stays with the heritage, but it has some incredible technology in it.

Yes, yeah! So here you can see the Carrera that I was mentioning. Last year, we did a big uplift for the 60th anniversary with this sapphire glass box design, as we call it. We pushed the crystal all the way to the edge of the case.

And the cool thing is, is it brings the Rio and the bezel up onto the interior. It improves the legibility because you can see it from all these different angles, and of course, we worked on the ergonomics of the case as well. And Carol did some great work elevating our existing in-house caliber that was known as the Hoya 02.

Price point on this?

It's around 6,000 US, if I remember correctly.

Yeah, very affordable! Very nice!

Yeah, beautiful!

Yeah! And now on the inter on the bracelet as well, of course, you can put it on a strap. Nice red strap, maybe, Kevin?

Yes, absolutely! A bit of red accent on the dial as well, so you can color match it. And yeah, we have these amazing manufacturing expertise. We don't always talk about it so much, but we have our own case maker, our own dial maker. Of course, the TH20 in-house movement is made in our own facility.

So, yeah, amazing foundation for what we can build for the future as well.

All right! You got it all! Another great day shopping in Geneva. Thanks, guys!

Before we end today, I have to tell you about a new project. One of the biggest challenges I have is how do I ensure these watches? These are traveling with me, a dozen here and two here. Every one of these are insured weather on the road. I created ware.com to solve for my collection as it travels all around the world. Wondercare.com, check it out!