At COUTUREtime I got a chance to have a meeting with TAG Heuer. Since I had not had the time to meet with the brand during Baselworld, I was happy to be able to see their entire collection in Las Vegas. The model that stood out to me immediately was the Monaco Bamford limited edition of 500. As the owner of a modern Carrera model, the Monaco has always been the one I’d consider as a second watch from the brand.
The Monaco has an interesting history in that it is the first square chronograph in production. It remains iconic not only due to its unique shape but also because it originally came out during the golden years (1970s and 80s) of Formula One racing. And also because it was the watch prominently featured on the wrist of actor Steve McQueen in the legendary movie LeMans.
Heuer Monaco Calibre 11 "Gulf" re-issued edition
How does one revive such a classic? Well TAG Heuer has attempted this with various re-issued models that faithfully follows the original like the Gulf edition as well as some models that try to go beyond, such as the limited Monaco 24 Calibre 36 with a innovative suspended movement that will absorb shocks and the Monaco V4 with unique belt-driven movement. They even attempted an evolution of the McQueen blue dial model with a different layout of the indices and moving the crown to 3 o’clock vs the quirky 9 o’clock in the original model.
TAG Heuer Monaco Calibre 11 Bamford limited edition in forged carbon
Reissuing models are great but also can result with watches that have no-souls. What makes the Monaco iconic is its history. So trying to release the exact model allows younger generations to fall in love with the design but creates little new emotions. There is a need to create new models like the 24 or perhaps allow some customization?
Enter Bamford Watch Department who has established itself as a legendary watch customizer. They are most famous for the black out Rolex and Patek Philippe that you can see Hollywood stars spotting, but Bamford has also established a legitimate online business allowing anyone to pick various current models and customize them to their liking. And that’s exactly the partnership Bamford has officially established with some of the LVMH brands under Jean Claude Biver, notably: Zenith and TAG Heuer.
To celebrate this long-term partnership, Bamford has release a unique Monaco that caries Bamford’s logo on the dial in addition to the Monaco badge. It starts with the design of the original McQueen model but is executed in a super light black forged carbon. The dial is identical to the original but black with light blue highlights and subdials. It seems to be a completely different watch but on close observation all of the original design cues are present. It’s as if the Monaco had entered a time machine where it got transformed with all the recent crave for exotic materials and funky darker themes.
Naturally, the question is what are the drawbacks of such high-level of customization? Is there a risk the new model not survive the test of time like the original Monaco? These are reasonable questions since the drastic look and feel of the forged carbon could fall out of favor, even though this is a material that offers clear advantages (lightweight and resistance to scratches) and is a material that has been adopted by many haute horlogerie manufactures, e.g., Audemars Piguet and Richard Mille, asking many times the price that the Bamford Monaco is going for: $8,100.
One of the cool things in the Bamford Monaco Heritage (as it is called on Bamford's site) is the ability to start with the design and make small to many adjustments. For instance you can change the color of the hands, the indices, the markings on the dial, and even the stitching on the strap. The overall color scheme can also be adjusted. And as far as I could see from Bamford's online store, the resulting watch price does not change much. You can even remove the Bamford initial on the dial and add your own; making the resulting design truly yours. Not clear how long it takes to get delivery but I imagine even a couple more months for a unique bespoke model would be worth it.
And perhaps the best part of this announcement and the broad Bamford partnership is the reasonable price point. The original Monaco blue dial Steve McQueen goes for under $5,000 on the used market on eBay in 2018 and here you can get a totally unique model that respects the original design but transports it to modern days. And best you can even customize it to your liking. The main caution for such bespoke products is to be sure that’s what you want since it becomes automatically difficult to resell it on the secondary market. Of course, if that’s a worry then the plain Bamford model should do.
Overall for me, this is a great direction to be going with iconic models. By allowing a bespoke version to be created, Bamford allows the collector who likely already has a version of the original watch to create one that is unique to him and can acquire its own history. It’s not for everybody but then we are not all at the same maturity level in our watch collecting, and that’s OK. It’s for the niche market of collectors wanting something unique and who is sure of his tastes and style. And that for me is the end goal of collecting and of developing and curating one’s style. tagheuer.com
The Tudor brand of watches is interesting. Not only because they are the watches from the “little sister” brand to the mighty Rolex, but because they have a design language onto themselves that many like and many don’t. While I don’t own a Tudor watch and not many of their models sing to my sensibilities and aesthetic, I always like to see what novelties they produce every year.
At the COUTUREtime show in Las Vegas, I had this exact opportunity. It’s not clear I left with a lust for any of their new watches, but what Tudor showed me was streamlined, strong, well priced, and overall desirable. Let’s take a closer look.