TAG Heuer Monaco Chronograph Night Driver Watch Review
At first glance, the TAG Heuer Monaco Chronograph Night Driver looks reassuringly familiar save for its grey complexion and black DLC dinner suit. However, when the sun goes down and everyone comes out to play, this handsome watch shows a very different side to its character.
Heuer Monaco (1969)
In 2019, TAG Heuer donned party hats, cracked open the Party Seven and feasted on celebration cake. It was the year of the Monaco, or to be more precise, the 50-year anniversary of the iconic watch first appearing on the watch scene.
Back in 1969, when Heuer released the inaugural Monaco, it was truly groundbreaking. Firstly, its distinctive square housing was water-resistant, an essential requirement for a sporty Heuer timepiece. Secondly, the chronograph movement was, unusually for the period, self-winding. Sure, there will be some commentators who talk about Seiko or Zenith being first, but the fact remains that the Calibre 11 was cutting-edge back in the day.
Heuer Carrera (1963)
This year, TAG Heuer is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Carrera and, rest assured, the avant-garde Maison has not let the event go by unnoticed. Indeed, the firm has been prolific, releasing a plethora of new references.
The Monaco team
With this in mind, you would think that the Monaco team would be taking a breather. Unfortunately for them, their workload has not abated. The parks in La Chaux-de-Fonds remain empty. There’s been no time for extended lunches, devouring raclette in the summer sun. Nope, there’s no respite for the Monaco team.
Quite simply, new Monacos have been emerging from the Manufacture, thick and fast. In recent weeks, TAG Heuer has released the Monaco Chronograph Racing Blue and the Monaco Chronograph Skeleton as well as creating a unique piece, a Split-Seconds Chronograph for the Only Watch charity auction. Now, the über-creative Monaco team has unveiled yet another novelty for 2023, the Night Driver. And, irrespective of whether it’s day or night, I can already report it is stunning.
TAG Heuer Monaco Chronograph Night Driver – the familiar and the new
Several familiar Monaco elements are in evidence. The case measures the customary 39 mm in diameter, the dial counters are square with rounded corners and the hour and minute hands uphold the design of the 1969 classic, albeit they now eschew the blood-red hues of the original.
However, some aspects of the Night Driver and unequivocally new. For instance, the case is executed in contemporary black DLC Grade 5 titanium. The two-piece dial, comprising a circle within a square, unites dark grey tones with pewter-like hues.
Beneath the dial roars a sublime engine. The Calibre Heuer 02 Automatic movement is produced at the company’s specialist facility in Chevenez. First released in 2016, it’s fully integrated and unites a column-wheel with a vertical coupling, providing stutter-free starts and super smooth pushpiece actuation. In addition, the movement has an impressive power-reserve of 80 hours. While traditionalists may lament the passing of the Calibre 11 of 1969, objectively there can be no arguments that the Calibre Heuer 02 Automatic is far more sophisticated.
TAG Heuer Monaco Chronograph Night Driver – coming out to play
Just when you think you know the Monaco Chronograph Night Driver, it reveals its alter ego. When the day ends and the night appears and everyone comes out to play, the handsome Night Driver shows a different side to its character.
The circular area to the centre of the dial transitions to a brooding disc of blackness, playing a deferential role to the counters and remaining pewter-toned elements. The darkness transforms these latter areas into pockets of cyan-coloured luminescent brilliance. The nocturnal legibility is intended to aid drivers when navigating the autobahn at night, but it also endows the watch with a fresh and striking appearance.
TAG Heuer Monaco Chronograph Night Driver – closing thoughts
Every year, just a few weeks before Christmas, several watch company executives write to Santa Claus. They all ask for one thing, an iconic watch. For over half a century, TAG Heuer (née Heuer) has had two iconic watches in its portfolio.
Both the Carrera and the Monaco are horological gems, each with their own character, but both highly covetable. Based on this latest model, the TAG Heuer Monaco Chronograph Night Driver, I suspect there will be additional square chronographs to come. However, just pause for a moment and consider those poor lads and lasses who work on the Monaco team, they are now deficient in vitamin D after working on several new iterations of this much-loved horological icon.
Further reading
Technical specifications
- Model: TAG Heuer Monaco Chronograph Night Driver
- Reference: CBL2181.FC6515
- Case: black DLC Grade 5 titanium, diameter 39 mm, water resistance 10 ATM (100 metres); sapphire crystal to the front and exhibition caseback
- Functions: hours, minutes, seconds, date, chronograph
- Movement: Calibre Heuer 02 automatic, frequency 28,800 vph (4 Hz), power reserve 80 hours
- Strap: black perforated calfskin strap with black DLC Grade 5 titanium folding clasp with double safety pushbuttons
- Price – £8,300 (RRP as of 15.9.2023)
- Limited Edition: 600 pieces