The TAG Heuer Monaco is one of the most recognizable chronographs ever made, and it will forever be tied to motorsports thanks to its cameo on the wrist of Steve McQueen in the late actor’s 1971 film Le Mans.
But what if the Monaco weren’t a chronograph at all? Would it still exude the same kind of pit-lane energy that’s made it such a beloved icon?
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The new Monaco Speed 12 answers this question with a resounding “yes.” The latest sports watch from TAG Heuer isn’t a chronograph, but it manages to put out more automotive vibes than ever, thanks to the clever transformation of a jump-hour complication into something resembling a V12 engine.
No replacement for displacement
For this innovative new Monaco, TAG Heuer teamed up with fellow LVMH entity La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton, the Geneva-based haute horological manufacture that has transformed Louis Vuitton into a serious player in the advanced luxury watchmaking space.
La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton modified its Spin Time automatic movement, previously used in a few LV models, to work within a Monaco. The movement is a unique take on a jump hour, where instead of utilizing a rotating disc that “jumps” at the top of every hour, there are instead 12 individually rotating indices encircling the dial. At the top of each hour, the previous hour’s index turns over as the next hour simultaneously turns to face forward, with the current hour being the only one visible at any given time.
