Once upon a time on the Le Mans circuit, Steve McQueen was at the wheel of his Porsche 917. On his wrist the MONACO – an automatic, square, blue chronograph that suddenly caused mayhem in the orderly world of the small, round, white timepiece… A stone had been thrown into the watchmaking pond that is still making waves 40 years later. That beautiful stranger, which met with such enormous and lasting success and became an icon, deserved an offspring worthy of the same degree of popularity. Now TAG Heuer is launching the MONACO LS Chronograph Calibre 12 so that the legendary collection can have a fresh opportunity to reveal its DNA.

One word that springs to mind when thinking of the MONACO is Audacity: the audacity of  the first square automatic chronograph on the market;  the audacity of a design that mocked the established rules; the audacity of associating it with a rebel actor at a time when the Ambassador concept did not exist.  The MONACO LS Chronograph Calibre 12 does justice to its sire : the movement, the look and design detail all turn received ideas upside down and flout convention : this timepiece is other-worldly.

The movement is a basic Dubois Depraz calibre so that the seconds, shown in a linear date opening, can be read linearly from the tip of a double red rhodium hand. The dial, inspired by the MONACO 360 Concept Chronograph, the polished bridges, the translucent embossed numerals, the chronograph dials and the angled date opening are voice and counter-voice in a black, deliberately hi-tech song sheet. The 40.5 mm case, waterproof down to 100 m, simply had to be made of polished or brushed stainless steel, and its ergonomic shape is achieved thanks to the generously curved and bevelled sapphire glass. The spirit of the MONACO V4 is palpable … The bracelet in black alligator with a folding clasp adds a classically elegant gloss to the avant-garde look whilst the stainless steel strap, with its unique micro-adjustment device,  underlines the definitely futuristic bent of this Ode to Otherness.

TAG Heuer certainly knows how to give a new lease of life to a watchmaking legend. Resuscitating Steve McQueen is more complicated. An actor, but more than anything a racing driver, he used to say : « Racing is life…… everything before or after is just waiting ». A phrase that Lewis Hamilton, the 2008 Formula 1 World Champion, could have made his own since, aged just 10, he used to pull Ron Dennis’s sleeve saying « One day I shall drive a McLaren ». Thanks to the magic of film, TAG Heuer made the impossible encounter of the Hollywood idol and the virtuoso of the racing circuit possible. For the length of a film, they bandied words, challenged each other and crossed swords.  On the actor’s wrist the original MONACO, on the champion’s the MONACO LS. A modern duel dramatising one of the great driving forces throughout history: the spirit of competition. The same spirit that drives the technicians and watchmakers of TAG Heuer when, day after day, they face the challenge of surpassing their own achievements, of doing more to innovate and reinvent themselves. This is how today we shape the timepieces of the future.

Source: TAG Heuer

The acknowledged leader amongst motor sports watch brands, TAG Heuer underscores its reputation with the Grand Carrera collection of watches, including the now available Grand Carrera Calibre 36 RS Caliper Chronograph.The Swiss brand references the original 1964 Carrera chronograph in each of the watches you see here. In 2007, the Grand Carrera debuted the exclusive Rotating System (mobile discs that take the place of conventional hands and subdials) for small seconds, second time zone (GMT) and the chronograph functions.

The Grand Carrera Calibre 36 RS Caliper Chronograph is an evolution of this design philosophy, making it the first mechanical chronograph in the world to display precisely and exactly the 1/10th of a second feature.

It does this via the Caliper Rotating Scale (note the crown at 10 o’clock), a magnifying device and the red marker on the flange between 12 and 1 o’clock.Just like the concept piece in 2008, thi watch also boasts a linear small seconds counter (9 o’clock), date window at 4.30 and the chronograph minutes at 3 o’clock and hours at 6 o’clock.

Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer celebrated its 150th anniversary in Woking, England with partners McLaren, where it launched a new coffee table book – TAG Heuer: 150 Years by Editions Assouline.

Brand ambassador and former Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton presided over the ceremony, with TAG Heuer Honorary Chairman Jack Heuer, TAG Heuer CEO Jean-Christophe Babin, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Team Principal Martin Whitmarsh and McLaren Automotive Chairman Ron Dennis.It was also the occasion of the 25th anniversary of TAG Heuer’s partnership with McLaren in F1. Of course, the true stars of the event were TAG Heuer’s two latest creations, the Silverstone, a “one-off” re-edition of one of an iconic 1974 timekeeper from the brand’s past, and Calibre 1887, a column wheel chronograph movement made entirely in-house.

Calibre 1887 marks a significant milestone for the brand in the 21st century and will no doubt leave collectors and the brand’s many fans trembling with anticipation.

Back in 1974, Tag Heuer launched the Silverstone, featuring the first automatic chronograph movement on the market. It became an instant favorite around the Formula One grid, whose drivers wore Heuer chronographs with pride. Thirty-five years later, TAG Heuer has announced it is re-issuing the classic in limited quantities.

The re-released Silverstone will be available in brown or blue with a perforated alligator leather strap. It features TAG Heuer’s Calibre 11 movement with Dubois-Depraz module, date window at 6 o’clock and anti-glare sapphire crystal front and back. Only 1500 examples will be offered, with an asking price at $6,500 apiece.

TAG Heuer’s nearly mythic Monaco V4 watch, the world’s first mechanical timepiece with a belt-driven movement and a linear winding mass, will soon be available.  The landmark watch’s debut marks the 150-year anniversary of TAG Heuer, and will be produced in a symbolic edition of just 150 pieces.  According to a press statement from the brand, seventy-five examples of the Monaco V4 will be delivered in November 2009, with a second run of the same quantity following in June of 2010.  These watches, all of which are cased in platinum, share the same technical features as the Monaco V4 which TAG Heuer recently announced for the Only Watch 2009 charity auction. TAG Heuer first announced the Monaco V4 Concept watch in 2004, to great acclaim and nearly equal amounts of skepticism as to whether or not it could ever become a functional product.  Completely unlike any mechanical timepiece before it, the V4 Concept did away with the essential gears and pinions so integral to the mechanical watch movement, replacing them belt drives and ball bearings.  The winding system was also a complete departure from established technique–rather than a centralized or off-centered circular rotor, the Monaco V4 presented a linear winding mass situated between the mainspring barrels.  Fully five years of dedicated effort has been invested by TAG Heuer to make this avant garde mechanical luxury watch a ticking reality.  Beyond watchmakers, 3D design specialists and mechanical engineers, the brand also received assistance from experts in computer and automotive engineering, chemistry, mathematics, and various micro-mechanical sciences.  Along the way, TAG Heuer obtained two worldwide patents for the Monaco V4.

A system of five micro drive-belts governed by two turnbuckles form the mechanical heart of the TAG Heuer Monaco V4 watch, and take the place of the going train of a conventional mechanical watch.  The belts themselves were a daunting proposition to manufacture, being approximately the same diameter as a typical human hair.  TAG Heuer notes that while it may be unparalleled in function within the watch world, the belt drives offer the advantages of much more direct energy transmission compared to a system of wheels and pinions, as well as considerably greater simplicity for maintenance purposes.

The TAG Heuer Monaco V4 watch takes its name from the shape of the movement’s platinum main plate.  This component is shaped out of necessity to accommodate a system of four spring barrels.  Reminiscent of the cylinders in a car motor, the barrels are mounted in a two-by-two fashion.  Between the paired spring barrels is the unique tungsten sliding block which supplies operating energy to the watch.  The great density of this element contributes to an efficient motion of the sliding winding mass when the watch is worn; a system of gears and a cogwheel convert this motion into energy which is stored in the barrels.

To showcase the revolutionary movement of the V4 Monaco Watch, TAG Heuer created an equally novel and complex case.  Measuring 40.5mm in diameter, it recalls elements of the classic Monaco timepiece which Steve McQueen wore in 1970’s race classic Le Mans, while presenting a number of futuristic cues that enhance the striking visuals of the belt-driven movement.  The front-mounted sapphire crystal features an arched profile and distinctive downward sloping bevels to enhance the view of the belt drives, the brilliant blue hands, and the rapidly pulsating escapement.  Equally captivating is the caseback, with its three separated exhibition windows; the two outermost windows present the linked mainspring drives, while the central window reveals the sliding linear winding mass.

Each of the 150 TAG Heuer Monaco V4 watches are hand-assembled by master TAG Heuer watchmaker Denis Badin, and will be completed by a hand-sewn blue alligator leather strap and a platinum folding clasp with twin safety releases.  According to TAG Heuer, the Monaco V4’s retail price will come in at around 100,000 Swiss Francs–a princely sum to be certain, but one commensurate with the unprecedented mechanics and unique status of this revolutionary high-luxury wristwatch.

Source : Vialuxe

Some companies make things. Others make things better. Take for example the Bamford Watch Department. They don’t make their own watches. Probably because they know there are enough companies out there making excellent timepieces. What’s lacking, in the eyes of the British purveyor of luxury items, is customization options.

So they offer a line of Rolex wristwatches – like their PVD-coated Daytona Cosmograph – with a seemingly endless array of color combinations. The watches can be customized right on their website (not unlike premium automakers’ configurators on which we’ve wasted countless hours), and now Bamford has added another model to their portfolio: the TAG Heuer Monaco.

Now celebrating its fortieth anniversary, the square-cased Monaco is one of the most iconic wristwatches of all time. But while TAG Heuer has released some special anniversary editions in various color combinations, Bamford lets you specify everything, from the dial color and strap stitching to the date window and chronograph indices.

Tough times call for tough timepieces and the new TAG Heuer Aquaracer 500M Calibre 5 fits the bill. Designed with the world of professional water sports in mind, this is one timepiece that literally won’t crack under pressure.

With a guaranteed water-resistance of 500 meters (hence the 500M of the name), the watch calls out to professional divers with a penchant for horological excellence. Like all good diver’s watches, this one has the required unidirectional bezel, high luminescence on the markers and hands, and the traditional screwed-down crown.

Interestingly, Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer has a long history with the Big Blue, having patented its first water-resistant case in 1895. In 1950, the brand launched the Mareograph, the world’s first chronograph with tide and regatta indicators. This led to the 2000 collection, released in 1982, from which the Aquaracer is descended.

The Aquaracer 500M Calibre 5 is available in brushed steel, with a variant available with a rose gold bezel. Straps come in steel or rubber.

The Monaco Twenty Four Concept Chronograph. The Star of the show is this latest groundbreaking concept watch based on the mystic Monaco.

The Tag Heuer Calibre 36 movement floats inside the oversized black PVD-coated casem suspended within a streel-tube housing very much like a race car’s driver’s protective cockpit cage, and visible through the dial face and the sapphire crystal caseback.

This high-tech watch water resistant is 100 meters, with anti-reflective double-sided treatment on the curved sapphire scratch-resistant crystal glass to ensure the best readability.