June 05, 2023

TAG Heuer Monaco Skeleton Chronographs

The legendary Monaco Grand Prix is celebrating its 80th anniversary and to mark the occasion TAG Heuer has developed three new Monaco chronographs. What makes them extra special is the fact that this is the first time the brand has ever crafted a Monaco with a skeleton dial in its full history, since debuting back in 1969. In over half a century we’ve seen many different iterations of this timepiece, but there’s always a first and this one came in the form of a power trio. The iconic square shaped 39mm case is made of grade 2 titanium with or without a black DLC coating, all with a textured finish.
On the flip-side is a sapphire exhibition caseback that allows a view into the inner workings of the mechanical movement. It features a black open-worked rotor decorated with lettering matching each dial's extra hue tone. It comes equipped with two rectangular alternate shaped push-buttons on the right-side of the case to operate the chronograph functions. In between them is a setting-crown embossed with the TAG Heuer logo. All topped by a domed and beveled scratch-resistant sapphire crystal. Water-resistance can reach up to 100 meters (330 feet).Time is exhibited on a skeleton dial with three variations that can be seen on the minute and hour chronograph counter, which is available in either blue, black, or turquoise. It features the classic tri-compax layout with two sloped square sub-dials: a 30-minute counter at 3 o’clock and a 12-hour counter at 9 o’clock. The hands on all these counters, plus the central chronograph hand, are all red lacquered and add an extra touch of color to the overall palette.The central sword-shaped rhodium-plated hands and applied hour index markers, have all been fitted with a SuperLumiNova coating, for an enhanced legibility. There is also a white date window with black numerals, located at 6 o’clock.

TAG Heuer Monaco Skeleton Chronograph

The “TAG Heuer Monaco Skeleton Chronograph” (References below) is powered by the in-house self-winding mechanical movement, caliber Heuer 02 with 33 jewels and 28,800 Vph. This caliber is equipped with a fast date correction and stop-second. It is based on the Sellita SW300 movement with chronograph functions courtesy of the Dubois-Depraz 2008 module. Power reserve can last up to 80 hours, when fully wound.
Mounted on the watches is either a black or blue embossed calfskin and rubber strap, secured to the wrist by a sandblasted titanium grade 2 folding clasp with double safety push buttons. For more information just visit the official TAG Heuer website here.