The date wheel is fully visible, but pops the current date against a white background at six, another thoughtful design touch. Despite the open dial, everything stays legible thanks to the highly contrasted dial elements, including the hands, markers, and subdials. The Skeleton is available in three colourways: blue or black dial with a titanium case, or the Tiffany-by-way-of-Tron Riviera blue and black in black DLC titanium. It’s not the first time the Monaco has gotten the openworked treatment, if you count the carbon version for Only Watch and the Monte Carlo boutique edition, but since those were both extremely limited, this is probably the first time you’ve seen the Monaco deconstructed like this. This is not a watch to shy away from the spotlight, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the details of the skeletonised dial. The front of the case is capped off with a nicely boxed square sapphire crystal. Unless you’re a vintage purist, it becomes largely a matter of taste, and the techy aesthetic skews heavily toward the modern side of things. Modern Monacos come in two flavours, retro, with the vintage left hand crown placement, and modern, with both the crown and pushers on the right side of the case, and the Skeleton is the latter. Although the diameter is a reasonable 39mm (with a height of 14.7mm and lug-to-lug of 47.4mm), remember, this is a square case, so it’s going to wear larger than more traditional rounded ones. The case has been sandblasted, too, for a look that’s more tech than bling, and you can have your titanium raw, or DLC-blackened, depending on your aesthetic proclivities. Personally, I think titanium is a logical choice, given the Monaco’s racing heritage, and we all know that high performance materials are coveted for their strength-to-weight ratios. But instead of stainless steel, the new Skeleton models are rendered in Grade 2 titanium, and the light weight might throw you at first. If you’re at all familiar with the Monaco, the unique 39mm square case keeps with tradition as far as its contours and dimensions. So let’s take a look at the retro-futuristic stylings of the new Skeleton series, available in three variants. And now, the new Monaco Skeleton is here, with surprising design touches that make it one of TAG Heuer’s most audacious yet. Fans were absolutely thrilled upon the revival of the Monaco in 1997, and the brand has uncorked some real lookers in the ensuing years. Heuer’s fortunes waned by the dawn of the ‘80s, but after the formation of TAG Heuer, things were looking up, and the new company began to reach back into the archives for inspiration. And the legend was cemented forever when the Monaco appeared on the wrist of Steve McQueen in Le Mans. Putting a then-new automatic chronograph movement in a square case (and then making the whole thing waterproof) was quite the coup in 1969. Boldfaced imitators aside, there really isn’t another watch like it, and for good reason: it was a tough nut to crack. There’s no questioning the icon status of Heuer among racing chronographs, and one of the main reasons is the Monaco. I/trending 7331 The new TAG Heuer Monaco Skeleton sends the racing classic accelerating toward the future D.C.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |