Heuer Monaco (1133G)

About This Timepiece

When Ferrari driver’s began to wear Heuer watches in the early 1970’s, the watchmaker became the first non-automotive sponsor of Formula 1 racing.  When the company became TAG Heuer, they also became the sponsor of McLaren and soon after introduced the Formula 1 watch.  In 2004, TAG Heuer relaunched the Formula 1 watch and also became the official timekeeper of the Indianapolis 500.  As recently as 2016, TAG Heuer became the partner of Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Formula 1 Team.  Designed to be youthful and sporty, the watch is also tough, undergoing 60 quality tests to ensure it is highly shock resistant and as tough as the race it is named after.

TAG Heuer watches can be seen on the wrists of many celebrities who are attracted to the brand’s iconic watches of the fifties, sixties and seventies.  TAG Heuer was formed in 1985, when the Techniques d’Avant Garde group purchased a controlling interest in Heuer watchmakers.  Often referred to simply as “Heuer” when discussing vintage timepieces, the company was formed in 1860 by Edouard Heuer.  From its roots, Heuer has been affiliated with the chronograph watch and automobile racing.  For some watchmakers, the chronograph was either ignored or offered as one model among many, whereas for Heuer, the chronograph took a primary position.  Heuer produced his first chronograph in 1882, then five years later patented an oscillating pin, which simplified the workings of the time keeping with the stopwatch functions of the watch; it is still in use today by many watchmakers.  Heuer went on to develop the first stopwatch accurate to 1/100 of a second and split-second timers that allowed a person to time multiple events.  In 1933, Heuer introduced chronographs for the dashboards of automobiles and airplanes, dubbed the Autavia for a combination of “AUto” and “AVIAtion”.  There were one pusher chronographs, two pusher chronographs, two and three sub-register chronographs, and three-register chronographs with day, date and month.

In the 1950s, Heuer produced watches to be sold by Abercrombie and Fitch.  When Jack Heuer was recounting how he had developed the iconic Carrera chronograph, he said the CEO of Abercrombie and Fitch had started giving the new models names, which Jack Heuer decided he would continue with the Carrera.  In addition to innovative design, Heuer chronographs tended to use movements that have since earned a reputation amongst collectors as some of finest ever produced, including the Valjoux 72 and the Lemania 5100.  These movements together with the clean, beautiful design, make Heuer chronographs some of the most sought- after watches.  Today, TAG Heuer celebrates this history with vintage inspired models that reference the earlier models, as well as new models such as the Monaco V4 that evoke a racing engine, and also a new model luxury digital watch.  TAG Heuer watches will likely continue to be seen on many wrists to come.