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