The square-faced icon of Sports and
Glamour

For 35 years, the square-faced TAG Heuer
Monaco has shaped watchmaking history. From Steve McQueen to Brad
Pitt, from the world's first automatic chronograph to its glamorous
incarnations in the 21st century, the Monaco legend
continues.

A racing legend, often copied, never
equaled

In 1969, TAG Heuer launched the square-shaped
Monaco, the world’s first chronograph equipped with an automatic
self-winding microrotor mechanism, the truly revolutionary
Chronomatic Calibre 11. Worn by racing great Jo Siffert and
immortalized by Steve McQueen in the classic film Le Mans, the
original Monaco's big, squared-off case with bold blue dial signaled
an entirely new watchmaking aesthetic.

For the Porsche 917 Gulf driving scenes,
McQueen wanted to remain as faithful as possible to the race driver's
universe, so he insisted that the film's accessories department
procure him Jo Siffert’s complete driving suit, which, of
course, had to include the Monaco chronograph. The Monaco's starring
role on the actor's wrist helped create its legend, but it was the
chronograph's radical look and it's complete break with tradition
inside and outside the case that made it stand out from the
pack.

Reissued and re-invented, the Monaco
becomes a fashion icon

The Monaco's emblematic square-shaped case
has been synonymous with TAG Heuer's innovative aesthetic ever since.
Reissued in 1998, it instantly became a must -have of racing purists
and watch and fashion lovers. In 2003, the chronograph was
re-engineered again, this time refitted with a steel bracelet made up
of seven rows of square, beveled links echoing the daring aesthetics
of the case. With its blue and black dials it is a Beverley Hills
favourite. The re-interpretations that followed were even more
revolutionary.

The Monaco V4 Concept Watch

Launched at Basel in 2004, the Monaco V4
represents a stunning technological and design breakthrough. At its
heart is an advanced integrated mechanical movement - the first ever
with a belt-driven transmission - encased upside down in a
high-design evolution of the classic square-faced Monaco. It made
perfect sense to borrow from this ground-breaking heritage and
symbolize TAG Heuer’s continuing quest to push outside the
dotted lines of conventional watchmaking. The name V4 derives from
the movement's four barrels, which are mounted in a V shape, like
cylinders in a supercharged motor-racing engine. The name also pays
tribute to the movement's inspiration: while the V4 draws from the
newest concepts in industrial technology, its true muse, like the
original Monaco's, is the world of high-tech, high-performance
racecar engines.

The Monaco Sixty-Nine Concept
Watch

In Basel 2003, TAG Heuer announced the launch
of the Monaco Sixty-Nine Concept Watch, the first Swiss wrist-worn
mechanical watch combined with a 1/1000th of a second digital
chronograph. The brand's first reversible, mechanical/digital watch
is a daring timepiece that brings together traditional and
cutting-edge in a way never seen before.

On one side, the pure and slick black dial of
the mechanical watch with a small second and on the other side, the
distinctive, high-tech digital face of the Microtimer, the first
prestigious Swiss chronograph accurate to 1/1000th of a second. Two
TAG Heuer watches - one for unmatchable precision, the other for
telling local time with unmatchable, Steve McQueen-vintage flair - in
one extraordinary wristwatch. Daring and innovative, the Monaco Sixty
Nine won the 2004 prestigious “Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de
Genève” in the much coveted design
category.

The Monaco Python and Monaco Absolute
White

Steve McQueen's Monaco, the definitively
masculine, international racing-circuit watch, became one of the
fashion's most sought-after accessory last year, when two highly
exclusive, seriously hard-to-come-by versions caught the women's
watch world by storm. The first has a delicious chocolate brown dial
with sunray effect and interchangeable bracelets in rare python or
glamorous chocolate brown crocodile. The second sports a gorgeous
dial in classic white (THE fashion color of 2004/2005) with a retro,
70s sportscar-chic bracelet in white calfskin. The overlook
aesthetic, however, is classic Monaco, made over, in this gorgeous
feminine edition, into a timepiece of exceptional fashion prestige
and power, highlighting TAG Heuer's “Masculine– Feminine"
duality.

For the 35th anniversary of this mythic
timepiece TAG Heuer launches in 2005 The Monaco square shaped
Automatic Watch

The newest addition to the Monaco timekeeping
lineage is this year’s about-to-be-launched Monaco Automatic
Watch. Inspired by the clean, square, architectural lines of the
Monaco V4 case, the automatic watch is the first Monaco with a
sapphire crystal back. On the front face, its special curved sapphire
crystal is completely integrated in the case’s design, uniquely
linking together its distinctive lines. Polished on the top and fine
brushed on the edges, the case’s finishing calls to mind the
iconic Monaco chronograph. Its sporty rubber strap with massive,
polished-steel folding buckle is singularly
striking.

The 37mm stainless steel case houses a TAG
Heuer Calibre 6 automatic winding movement with an elegant small
second hand at 6 o’clock. The squared-off case is radically
counterpoised by the hour circle and its hand-applied indexes are
topped with super-luminova. The squared and snailed small second
counter at 6 o’clock and the bright diamond-shaped hands are
topped with luminova.

Available with black or blue dials, the
Monaco Automatic Watch will be launched in November 2005.
Compellingly designed and crafted, it is the latest chapter in the
Monaco legend, resolutely modern and avant-garde.

The one and only Monaco series: an
original shape, a distinctive history

The Monaco of 1969 represented a true
revolution in Swiss watchmaking. Not only did it showcased the first
swiss automatic chronograph movement but it also was the first
waterproof square chronograph case ever designed. Copied, imitated
but never matched, the Monaco's big, bold and square shape has
influenced Swiss watchmaking aesthetics even more. The first
contemporary square watch to become a fashion icon and Hollywood
favorite, it looks as cool on the wrist of new TAG Heuer Brand
Ambassador Brad Pitt in 2005 as it did on Steve McQueen's in 1969.
Alone in its field, the Monaco remains the one and only true
square-faced icon of sports and glamour.