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To start the new year off, here is Jeff's Top 3 Monacos. I'm genuinely sorry to have tourtured Jeff with this question and appreciate his time and effort, as it makes interesting reading...

My Top Three Monacos (and Two for the Museum)

Since Rich first asked me to select my “top three Monacos”, the attempt to answer this simple question has thrown me into turmoil. You see, I own five Monacos at the moment, am entirely happy with each of them, and my various attempts to pare the list to three have produced considerable pain. Of course, as is so often the case, the “answer” is found in the way the question is phrased, so with that introduction, let me tell you about the three Monacos that I would want to have in my collection (to wear and enjoy), and the two that we can send off to the Museum.

At the moment, I own the following five Monacos: (1) 1133B Chronomatic, of the “paintless’” variety, (2) 1133B, transitional model, with the polished hands and brushed blue paint, (3) 1133B, production model . . . the one that Steve wore, (4) 73633G, three-register, manual-wind, with the gray dial and contrasting black subs, and (5) 74033, black PVD, manual-wind.

Of these five Monacos, the three that I would want to keep and enjoy are the 1133B Transitional, the 73633G (gray / black) and the 74033, in black PVD.

Explanation is as follows:

1. I “need” (or want) to have a blue Monaco, and when I put them side-by-side, or wear them in the same timeframe, I find myself liking the “Transitional” model better than the normal “Production” model. Yes, Steve wore the production model, and yes this one has become the icon, but when I wear the transitional guy, I just keep staring at the shiny steel hands, and the beautiful grain in the paint, and smiling. So that’s that in terms of the blue Monacos . . . the Transitional model is the one I choose to wear, so that’s the one that I will keep and enjoy. Perfect with the navy suit, white shirt and red tie..

2. Next up, I will need to have a gray Monaco, and the one that I have retained is the gray / black guy, Reference 73633. Yes, the gray/gray is also very nice, and I was relatively indifferent between the gray/gray and the gray/black, when I owned them both. But David DeVos wanted “his” gray/gray back (after it spent some months traveling around the rural South), so I’m left with the gray / back one, and perfectly happy with it. Perfect with the charcoal gray suit!

3. In deciding which three to keep, to wear and enjoy, the Black PVD was the easiest choice of all. “No”, Steve didn’t wear it, and “yes”, my sample shows lots of wear, but wear this one for a week, and you may say that this is simply the best looking Monaco there is . . . period. This one has some added “plus” factors – the greatest scarcity, a bargain purchase, restoration by The Master, and the whole mystery of the origins. I have one for the navy suits, and one for the gray suits, this one is best for casual Friday or any sporty occasion.

But what about the two that I have left behind? Easy enough, these are probably the most “important” Monacos, so we can send them to the Museum:

1. The “paintless” Chronomatic may be the most important of all, because it was the first Monaco. And what an amazing thing this first Monaco was: Heuer developed the world’s first automatic movement (the Caliber 11 Chronomatic movement), but of course the movement was nothing without the watches. So Heuer also developed three new chronographs that would be powered by the Caliber 11 – the Autavia, the Carrera and the Monaco. Of these, the Monaco was the sensation, the uber cool design that screamed “1970’s” nine months before the decade arrived. So we’ll send my “Chronomatic” to the Museum, and give it a prominent spot in the display . . . well deserved, for one of the very first Monacos.

2. Of my five Monacos, the other “important” one is the production version of the McQueen Monaco, Reference 1133B. This is the one that Steve selected to wear for the filming of Le Mans; this is the one that became the icon; this was a relatively high production version that established the Monaco as the most recognizable Heuer chronograph. But as I said at the beginning, this selection of my “Top Three” Monacos isn’t about being important, it’s about being on my wrist, and for my blue Monaco, I’ll go with the “transitional” version.

So there we have it, my three top Monacos to wear and enjoy, and two “important” ones for the Museum. I’ll be very happy with my three – the blue transitional, the gray/black manual-wind, and the black PVD -- three colors; three movements; three very different looks; two straps and one on steel . . . after weeks of anguished deliberations, my “top three” Monacos.

Thanks to Rich for posing this interesting question and for his patience with me, as I struggled mightily with this answer.