ReviewThe TAG Heuer Monaco Calibre 11 Evokes True-Blue Nostalgia

What makes a cool watch really cool? The heritage? Sure, heritage plays an important part to an extent, but does it add up to the cool quotient? That’s subjective. So what is it then? Movement, case, dial, colour, everything’s subjective. But what’s concrete is if the King of Cool, Steve McQueen himself, endorses it. Such is the case with the (then non-TAG) Heuer Monaco 1133B. And ever since its debut in 1969, we’ve been seeing a number of reboots in the form of re-editions and tribute pieces, from simple time-only watches to belt-driven tourbillons.

There are a lot of reasons why this timepiece is considered iconic, but most of it comes down to some brilliant moves made by the manufacturer. There came a couple of big firsts with this watch. It was the first square, water-resistant chronograph watch. But more than that, it had the first-ever automatic chronograph movement offered for sale in the history of watchmaking. That’s a pretty big first if there ever was one. Then there are the genius marketing tactics of the brand, as it decided to appoint Jo Siffert as its brand ambassador in 1970. No watch company before had made a racing driver the face of their company. This gave Heuer a one-way ticket to the exciting (and very lucrative) world of racing. The brand, as well as the watch, grew to such an extent that only a year later, in 1971, Steve McQueen insisted on wearing the Monaco during the filming of Le Mans, which propelled the watch to stardom. If there’s a lesson here for everybody reading, it is, “Don’t skimp out on marketing!”

Steve McQueen donning the Heuer Monaco Calibre 11 in the movie, "Le Mans"

It wasn't only the watch that was inspired by racing, but so was its original red box

Among all the iterations sold, there was always room for one watch that came as close to the original as possible. And with that, we come to the TAG Heuer Monaco Calibre 11. The timepiece is instantly recognisable by its distinct square, satin-brushed finish stainless steel case. Measuring 39mm wide and 15mm thick, it is ever so slightly larger than its 1969 counterpart. The Monaco isn’t a particularly small watch, but neither does it look too chunky on the wrist. Mimicking the original, the crown sits on the left at nine o’clock, while two pushers lie on the right-hand flank of the case, angled at 45°. The signature blue dial features white hour and minute hands with red accents, red five-minute markers and white horizontal indices. The similarities are spot on. But the biggest difference between the original and this version lies in the name: Calibre 11. While the old watch did use the original Calibre 11, they’ve decided to name the modern movement Calibre 11 as well. The name might be the same, but the movement’s brand new.

To the untrained eye, the differences between the original watch from 1969 and its modern counterpart are extremely minute, but the movement inside is brand new and robust

Beating at 28,800 vph (4Hz), the new Calibre 11 contains 59 jewels with an impressive power reserve of approximately 40 hours. A sapphire crystal caseback allows you to appreciate the intricate workings of the watch and you can see the rotor with the words ‘Heuer’ in bold red—a hat tip to the bygone days of racing. Personally, I love that they used the old-school ‘Heuer’ for branding, instead of the newer ‘Tag Heuer’ shield. It just brings in a heavy dose of nostalgia.

The Monaco Calibre 11 is an icon for various reasons. It took TAG Heuer 46 years to re-release what is essentially the same watch, albeit with modern touches. The historical charm that this watch carries harks back to the good old days of motorsport. If that isn’t reason enough for you to get one, it’s got Steve McQueen’s seal of approval. Fifty years ago, this was the coolest watch you could possibly buy. And fifty years later, thanks to this reboot, it still is.