TAG Heuer Used Lasers to Make the Latest Version of Its Most Iconic Chronograph

This is a Monaco fit for modern F1 competition.

Close-up of a luxury watch with a black and silver case, black dial with gold and white hands, and a black crown.

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By Brad Lanphear

Published 2 hours ago

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Updated 57 minutes ago

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TAG Heuer is taking its role as Official Time Keeper of Formula 1 Racing very seriously.

The storied Swiss tool watch brand isn’t letting the Formula 1 teams outshine it in the realms of cutting-edge engineering and mechanical acumen, and the new Monaco chronograph proves it.

Square TAG Heuer Monaco chronograph watch with black and gold accents, skeleton dial, and black rubber strap. — The Monaco Split-Seconds Air 1 is a watch engineered like a modern F1 car.

To say that the Monaco has come a long way since it graced Steve McQueen’s wrist in the 1971 film Le Mans is an understatement. TAG Heuer continues to produce modern interpretations of McQueen’s iconic racing chronograph to satisfy purists, but the collection also showcases the brand’s most advanced horology.

The new Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph Air 1 is a watch that rivals the cars competing in Formula 1 races in both structural engineering and mechanical performance. It features a case constructed with a process similar to 3D printing, but with lasers, and runs on a movement as accurate as it is beautiful.

Close-up of a TAG Heuer Monaco watch face showing gold and white hands, black subdials labeled "Rattrapante" and "Chronograph," and visible mechanical gears. — The Monaco Split-Seconds Air 1 features 2N yellow gold detailing on the case and dial.

Capping off the layers of laser-crafted titanium and sapphire crystal is 2N yellow gold lacquer on the dial, and solid 18-karat 2N yellow gold is built into the case and the split-seconds pusher.

Selective Laser Melting

TAG Heuer attributes Selective Laser Melting with giving the company’s designers “free rein to imagine designs unachievable with conventional methods.” The innovative process heats metal powder, in this case Grade 5 titanium, with a laser that melts and fuses it into a solid structure.

Square TAG Heuer Monaco chronograph watch with black and gold accents and black rubber strap. — The case and dial comprise layers of SLM-sculpted titanium and DLC-coated titanium, along with three layers of sapphire crystal.

Much like 3D printing, the laser is guided by a Computer-Aided Design that creates a tangible object from an artist’s rendering by building tiny layers on top of each other. However, dealing with metal makes things a bit more complicated.

According to TAG Heuer, “It takes a specialist engineer around ten times longer to program the tooling than for other TAG Heuer Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph cases, and five times longer for those tools to manufacture it.”

For the Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph Air 1, SLM is used to create over a dozen titanium pieces, some of which are given a dark gray DLC coating, that fit together like a puzzle to form the case and dial.

Square black and silver TAG Heuer Monaco wristwatch with exposed gears and gold and silver hands. — The crown and bumper chronograph pushers are DLC-coated titanium.

Sapphire crystal is used as the caseback, atop the dial and as a central layer of the dial with a printed minutes track. A solid 18-karat yellow gold lattice panel sits at the center of the case, visible through the skeletonized structure.

The hour and minute hands are rhodium-plated and tipped with 2N yellow gold lacquer, the central chronograph hand is coated with white lacquer, and the split-seconds hand, subdial hands and hour markers are coated with 2N yellow gold lacquer.

Splitting time

The astounding engineering of the Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph Air 1 extends to the caliber TH81-00 automatic movement at the heart of the watch. It was developed and manufactured in collaboration with Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier, a Swiss company specializing in movement design.

The high-beat chronograph movement has a 5Hz beat rate, a 65-hour power reserve and weighs only 30 grams, thanks to titanium components. It is fittingly finished with a checkered flag motif on the bridge and a 2N yellow gold lattice pattern on the rotor, both of which are visible through the full sapphire crystal caseback.

Back view of a mechanical wristwatch with visible gears, screws, and a black rubber strap. — The TAG Heuer caliber TH81-00 automatic movement is finished with a checkered flag motif on the bridge.

The split-seconds chronograph movement is engaged with the bumper at two o’clock. Pressing the same bumper will stop the white central seconds hand, while a gold bumper at nine o’clock will stop the gold one. This allows the timing of two separate competitors or events that begin simultaneously.

Availability and price

As is to be expected with a watch of this intricate and labor-intensive design, the TAG Heuer Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph Air 1 is an extremely limited production of just 30 pieces. Each watch is numbered with an engraving on the rotor, visible through the sapphire crystal caseback.

TAG Heuer’s most advanced mechanical racing chronograph will be available in December 2025 for CHF 150,000, which currently converts to approximately $186,312. This makes it one of the most expensive watches that TAG Heuer has ever produced.

Square TAG Heuer Monaco wristwatch with black and gold accents, skeleton dial, and black rubber strap.

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Specs

Case Size	41mm
Movement	TAG Heuer caliber TH81-00 automatic
Water Resistance	30m

$186,312 at TAG Heuer

About the Author: Brad Lanphear is an associate editor at Gear Patrol covering watches and style. Before joining the publication, he previously wrote for Heddels and Men’s Health. Now, he’s on a never-ending quest to find the perfect pair of Japanese denim.

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