Formula 1 is returning to Monaco this weekend, which means TAG Heuer is ready with a new Monaco of their own. This one is a little different, though. Dubbed the Monaco Speed 12, this expression of the famous square watch eschews the use of an hour hand in favor of 12 rotating piston heads to display the hour. At a glance, the watch might remind you of a radial airplane engine, but in reality it represents a celebration of TAG Heuer’s longstanding relationship with motor racing. The movement was developed in partnership with La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton, and brings a wholly unique display to the Monaco.
The Monaco has been a vehicle to showcase technical innovation for many years, with watches like the belt driven V4, to the more recent Split Seconds Chronograph references. The watch is no stranger to thinking outside of its box like proportions. The Speed 12 picks up on this heritage with an entirely new jumping hour style display that uses rotating piston heads to display the hour in conjunction with a more traditional minutes hand operating at the center of the dial. The layout is unique for the Monaco, but it’s not the first time this idea has been expressed, with the Harry Winston Opus 12 (Emmanuel Bouchet) immediately coming to mind as a similar concept.
The watch is powered by the TAG Heuer caliber TH84-00, and serves as a celebration of 12 cylinder engines, notably the 5.4 liter unit employed by the legendary Porsche 917. The connection there is Steve McQueen and his film, Le Mans, in which he wears the famous Monaco for the first time on the big screen. The last time a V12 was used in F1 was within the Ferrari 412 T2 during the 1995 season.
As mentioned, I get more aviation vibes than automotive vibes with this one, but setting that aside, the display itself is no small feat of horological engineering. The caliber was inspired by the Spin Time movement developed by Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasini (founders of La Fabrique du Temps) that has been in use by Louis Vuitton since 2009, and you’ll find plenty of similarities in their architecture.
Everything is encased within a 40mm titanium case, which frames the largely transparent internals. The pistons are fully sculpted and they occupy their own space, leaving them as the clear star of the show here. As the shape doesn’t change, it all comes down to the display on each of the pistons to provide the time, and legibility will be entirely dependent on your eyesight as far as that is concerned.
TAG Heuer will produce just 50 examples of the Monaco Speed 12, each will be priced at $87,000. TAG Heuer
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