Fresh from the Showcase here at SwissWatchExpo today, we are talking about one of the craziest
funkiest sports chronographs I have ever seen from none other than TAG Heuer.
So, let's check
it out.
One of, if not, the flagship of the TAG Heuer line is the Monaco.
It's super unique with its square case.
It's an iconic look.
It's been made famous by Steve McQueen.
It's appeared in a ton of movies, television shows.
Even people who may not know anything about watches may at least be able to recognize
the
Monaco.
So, as such, TAG Heuer is, very, very proud of this brand.
I certainly love the way it looks and there's been so many variations on it.
So many complications added to it.
So many interesting lines.
I mean, there are legit Monaco collectors out there, who can't even get their hands
on everything that they want.
One of the most interesting pieces I've seen in a long time that is come here into SwissWatchExpo
is the TAG Heuer Monaco LS.
LS stands for linear system, and there is so many cool things about this and with all
the linear technology.
First of all, it's going into the movement, which is a Caliber 12 movement on this watch.
But to be honest, it's so incredibly complicated.
I can't even get into all of that and look at how much interesting stuff is going in
on this dial.
And that is the linear system that we're going to be getting into today.
If you recognize, this is not exactly a traditional Monaco case.
It's a good bit larger.
It's 40.5 millimeters compared to the 39-millimeter size of a traditional Monaco in diameter,
but that extra millimeter and a half actually goes a long way.
Also, as you might know, anyone who's even tried on a Monaco in the store before would
know that with that square case and those sharp edges.
That 39 millimeters sits a lot higher on the wrist than a rounded case watch would at the
same size.
40.5 millimeters, which is a lot of case, would you consider this square case.
So this is going to be a large sports watch.
Definitely not for someone on a small wrist.
Definitely not for someone who's not used to wearing oversized cases.
Because not only is this 40.5 millimeters in diameter, the thickness is just under 17
millimeters.
So this is a very hefty case here.
This is a really big, really sporty-looking chronograph of in so many ways, but the definitely
the size and dimensions of the case go a long way too.
You'll also see it's not quite as squared off as a traditional Monaco would be we do
have an angled sort of bezel and an angled lugs here really interesting contemporary
shape.
So as such, it's not quite as square and boxy as a 39-millimeter traditional like SteveMcQueen
Monaco would be.
However, again, that extra millimeter and a half, this is much larger than the Monacos
that you were used to wearing.
Now let's get into the dial, which is the reason why I wanted to do this video.
This is one of a kind and there is a lot going on here.
The first thing I'll just start from the top.
You've got Monaco LS here at 12 o'clock and one of my favorites is a preview linear date
window.
I love oversized date windows.
I love any date window that does something interesting other than just putting the date
there.
So, in this case, we do have a preview date window with three different numbers on there
and then two red lines in the center highlighting the current date.
Here it says 18.
This is definitely a watch that's gonna take a lot of getting used to as far as looking
at.
But I think that's gonna be the fun part about owning it is sort of familiarizing yourself
with it and it'll become second nature in just a day.
The second hand is also linear here at 3 o'clock and you'll see there's two different colors
that are expressed on here.
We have a 0, 15,, and 30 in red and then 30, 45 60 in silver.
And as you'll see, actually the first 30 seconds counts literally with this red stripe that
is moving linearly, sorry, across the second hand window.
And then again after 30 seconds has elapsed with the black line that will do the same
in that same linear fashion.
So again, this is a really interesting way to tell time and sort of engage this chronograph.
So this is in many ways not what you would be expecting.
The 12-hour chronograph counter is a little bit more traditional.
It is in a circular pattern and you'll see, it just does count up to 12 here.
But we also do have a linear pattern with the 30-minute chronograph sub-dial here, where
this is just a singular red line that only counts up to 30
and then sort of retrogrades back to 15.
Again, just to reiterate one more time, this is definitely a very complicated-to-look-at
watch, but this is really fun to sort of dig into and figure out, especially once you're
able to own this thing and use this sort of, as your, either a regular chronograph or something
that you're just gonna wear seldomly as part of a really interesting Monaco collection.
One more thing that will make this a bit more sportier than the regular McQueen is going
to be the bracelet.
This sort of bracelet construction has a lot larger links, a lot thicker links, as well
as in diameter to the traditional either steel bracelet that you might see on the Monaco.
Even though again, the McQueen much more common to find that on a leather or a cloth strap
of some sort.
And then one of the last things I want to get
into, which is a really interesting development
they did for this is the clasp.
But one, the clasp does sort of bend here in the center of the clasp.
This is a very wide clasp because it actually has a micro-adjustment here in the clasp that
you actually turn clockwise or counterclockwise to fine-tune the sizing of this bracelet.
So this is great.
You have within, I think maybe half an inch of motion here just in the clasp itself.
So this is great for wearing, especially in these hot Georgia summers.
If you're here in Atlanta like we are, I know with all of my watches on the steel bracelets,
I end up wanting to adjust these you know, pretty common throughout the year.
And this is a great, great feature for someone who wants to do that, especially if you swell
or if you gain or lose weight throughout the seasons.
This is such an interesting piece of technology.
And I really hope TAG Heuer is going to incorporate this into more of their sports watches, because
I just think it's so incredibly convenient so much going on with this watch.
I haven't even had time to get into the movement, but read about the Caliber 12.
It is such an interesting piece of technology for watchmaking, which isn't even necessarily
something TAG Heuer is known for.
But this is such an interesting take on the 24, especially if you like big chronographs,
especially if you like big sporty pieces that don't look really like anything else on the
market.
Take a look at this piece.
We've got a ton of interesting pieces in stock, but of course, if you're looking for something
more traditional, be it TAG Heuer or any other brand, just shoot us an email, give us a call
and check out our new arrival section because we are adding new stuff every single day at
SwissWatchExpo.com.