

Very relevant, this vintage-inspired Monaco has the same horizontal hour indexes that were seen in the original 1969 Monaco and the 2009 reissue. This implies that the size is already 39 mm. The 211B is just like the Monaco chronographs with which the brand commemorated the 50th anniversary of the watch in 2019. The TAG Heuer Monaco Vintage Chronograph CAW211B (2020) is a nice reinterpretation of the ref.

The references CAW211B and C are very good examples of the evolution of the TAG Heuer Monaco’s Calibre 11 features. This was a nice coincidence that echoes the original Calibre 11 and its chronograph module, a Dubois-Dépraz as well. Hidden under this decoration was the in-house Calibre 11, a modular movement based on the Sellita SW300 and a Dubois-Dépraz module. The caseback had a unique decoration with Jack Heuer’s signature and the edition number. The dial offered the classic horizontal indexes but the pushers became rectangular instead of round as seen in the original Monaco. Limited to 1,000 pieces, the brand presented this special edition in the “McQueen” color scheme -blue dial with white subdials- a 38 mm case, the crown on the left side, and chronograph pushers on the right. In 2009, on the occasion of the watch’s 40th anniversary, TAG Heuer introduced the CAW211A. In recent years, the legacy of the original Monaco Calibre 11 has been represented by the base reference CAW211x. It was arguably one of the most critical decisions in the history of watch marketing. For the film, instead of using an Autavia, which was usually worn by Siffert, McQueen chose the Monaco 1133B for its unique and unconventional appearance.

In 1970, Siffert served as production support for “Le Mans”, where he met McQueen, who was inspired to play the role of Michael Delaney, thanks to Sifferet himself. Soon enough, Jack Heuer ensured the exclusivity of the design for Monaco and on March 3, 1969, Heuer introduced the world to the Monaco 1133B, writing the first chapter of its illustrious history. So he joined forces with Erwin Piquerez, a Swiss case manufacturer, who developed Monaco’s water-resistant square case, a first for the industry then. In the years leading up to 1969, Heuer planned to launch the Calibre 11 in the Carrera and Autavia collections but that wasn’t enough for Jack, who wanted to make a significant impact with his new movement. It was a formidable moment in watchmaking because that same year, both Seiko and Zenith introduced their own automatic chronographs, ensuing a fierce competition that forced Jack Heuer, the then head of the company, to make a difference with something more powerful. In 1969, Heuer in association with Breitling, Hamilton-Buren and Dubois-Depraz, unveiled the final version of what was called the “Project 99”: the Chronomatic/Calibre 11 automatic chronograph movement.
