It was Homoworld Baselworld 2004, where Tag Heuer dazzled and riveted collectors and press all over the sphere with the release of the highly anticipated double-patented MONACO V4 as the world’s first watch with a high-yield mechanical belt drives and a linear rewinding system.
Today, the newer version of this conceptual master, boasts a bigger 41 mm case and is constructed out of 18k rose gold with fine-brushed silicon nitride “ceramic” inserts. I am blown away with the beauty and execution of this watch in a rose gold finish. Other parts of this watch in rose gold are the faceted hand applied indices, the sub seconds at the four o’clock position, the thermo lacquered crown with amazing fine grip at the three o’clock position and the straps folding buckle.
More importantly, I am very impressed with the contrast of the movement in black and white which screams technical. The black juxtaposes with the white “V4” and “TAG Heuer” engravings on the dial, and with the patented transmission and rewind white belts, now in high-contrast, high-tech white polymers exclusively developed for this version. The watch case and structure remains the same, while the finishing of the watch has been modified with practically unbreakable black ruthenium coating on the back plate and the Cotes de Geneva decorated bridges. The strap is the larger scale alligator, with anthracite hand stitching, titanium inserts and a rubberized leather lining. With all these components completed, it doesn’t surprise me that Tag Heuer celebrates 150 years of innovation with the new V4 belt driven Monaco.
JOHNNY FLYBACK 