TAG Heuer Monaco Calibre 11 CAW211P

This watch is in excellent condition.

Watch comes with original pouch, outer box, booklet and warranty card.

The Monaco might be eye-catching because of its bold rectangular case, but the watch was also one of the very first to house an automatic chronograph movement. Until 1969, an automatic chronograph was considered extremely difficult to achieve. The Caliber 11 that sat inside the watch was in fact a chronograph module developed by Dubois Depraz that sat on top of a Buren microrotor movement, highlighting the collaborative nature of the industry at the time.

In addition to the new movement, the Monaco featured a waterproof case. This was especially impressive given that the waterproofing gaskets had to be square in order to fit the case, and these were more difficult to produce.

However, it was the square case and dial that really propelled the Monaco into legendary status. Large and unapologetically coloured with bright accents, the overall aesthetic of the watch was clearly inspired by motorsport racing, which Heuer had long been associated with. This business-savvy design meant that the Monaco stood out from the rest of the market, and made it a natural fit for Steve McQueen to wear in the movie "Le Mans". While the unusual design meant the Monaco was never a mainstream commercial success, it has since then been revived by Heuer's successor, TAG Heuer.

TAG HEUER

Established in 1860, Heuer has had a long history beyond its modern conception as TAG Heuer. Heuer quickly became known for mastering the chronograph, then one of the most difficult complications to design and produce due to the complexity of starting and stopping an independent timing system.

Like many other watchmakers, Heuer also ventured into precision instrument manufacture. The company produced the world's first chronograph for use in a motor vehicle in 1911, allowing the user to start, stop and reset the mechanism via the pusher embedded in the crown. The company's very first chronograph wristwatch was released in 1914, and they quickly became one of the company's specialties.

Heuer continued its success as a chronograph specialist all through the 20th Century, introducing the Autavia in 1962 which featured the first rotating bezel. It also produced one of the three contenders (the others were Zenith and Seiko) for the first automatic chronograph movement, which remarkably were all released in 1969. Heuer's new movement was cased in an unusual square-shaped case, named the Monaco.

In 1985, the company was purchased by a business group named "Techniques d’Avant Garde", and the company was reformed into TAG Heuer, initially focusing on contemporary designs but also on implementing new technologies into watchmaking.