In the late 1960s, when chronographs were as essential to racing as gasoline fumes and burning rubber, Heuer birthed an angular rebel—the Monaco. This wasn't just a timekeeper; it was a wrist-mounted pit lane, all sharp edges and mechanical bravado. Like a racecar's cockpit stripped bare, its square case defied horological convention while its crown lurked rebelliously at 9 o'clock.
The Monaco's legend ignited in 1971 when Steve McQueen strapped one on in Le Mans, fusing watchmaking and motorsport mythology forever. That cinematic moment transformed the chronograph from pit-stop tool to cultural artifact—a mechanical co-star in the theater of speed.
The new Monaco Chronograph x Gulf arrives like a vintage racer emerging from a time capsule. Its sandblasted titanium case (a mere 39mm but packing visual horsepower) wears the Gulf livery like a racing suit: silvery-white dial slashed with those iconic orange and blue stripes. The crown's left-side stance isn't just design—it's a genetic marker of the Calibre 11 movement within, a modular beast with Sellita bones and Dubois-Depraz muscle.
As Formula 1's Monaco Grand Prix adopts TAG Heuer's name for the first time, this chronograph doesn't just tell time—it bottles the metallic scream of vintage racers and the champagne-soaked glory of podium finishes. Not a watch. A mechanical time capsule.
