Initiation offense #5 – Should you invest in a Monaco?
It is March 3, 1969: the Monaco is unveiled simultaneously in Geneva and New York. It amazed fans of the time, with its square waterproof case, its blue dial and its winding crown at 9 o’clock. “This watch was designed to be doubly avant-garde, through its movement and its shape,” explains the heritage director of the house. In 1969, it was first an innovative movement, the caliber 11, which was launched. Once perfected, it needed a case to house this first waterproof chronograph. Jack Heuer, the CEO at the time, decided that a strong design was needed. » The idea of the square case quickly took hold. All that remained was to find a dial. That of the Carrera was black, that of the Autavia, white with blue hands and indexes (the famous Jo Siffert, worn by the driver of the same name, with whom Jack Heuer invented the concept of sponsoring Formula 1 races in 1968 ) . The dial of the Monaco, named in tribute to the Grand Prix, will be blue. However, success is long overdue and Monaco almost disappeared. “An object is not born cult, it becomes one,” notes Justine Lamarre, in charge of watchmaking expertise at Artcurial. Often because he is linked to a strong personality who will mark his generation or his chosen field… Steve McQueen made the Monaco mythical, like Michael Jordan made the Nike Air essential or even like Grace Kelly made a Hermès bag iconic. . » Decryption.
Le Item Watches: According to French Google searches over the past 12 months, the Monaco is one of their ten favorite watches. How to explain this success ?
Justine Lamarre: The Monaco is more than a watch, it is above all a subversive design and it is above all a watch linked to an icon: Steve McQueen, the world of speed and motor racing.
The Heuer Monaco speaks to design lovers, fans of Steve McQueen, Porsche enthusiasts and lovers of speed and thrills… It is a watch that mixes several worlds: watchmaking, cinema, automobile.
Is this enthusiasm as strong among collectors?
Watchmaking and the automobile are two related disciplines… Above all, it’s mechanics, chronometry and precision. The Monaco is the watch for those who don’t like having the same watch as everyone else. It’s a design that breaks the codes, it’s a watch that has something transgressive!
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How was Monaco born and what are its characteristics?
The Monaco was born in 1969. It was produced simultaneously in New York and Geneva… We have to put ourselves in context: at the dawn of the 1970s, all manufactures were developing their chronos. There is real competition between the brands, and each seeks to stand out by innovating, and above all by offering the most suitable watch for racing drivers. The Monaco is historically the first waterproof automatic chrono.
Why is it associated with the Principality?
The Monaco Grand Prix is one of the most prestigious races in the world. The chronograph, for its part, is more than a watch, it is a piloting tool, you almost have to imagine that it is an on-board computer for the pilots, it is therefore natural that the manufacturers take up the names of mythical courses to name their emblematic models.
Thus, Rolex borrowed its name from the famous Daytona race for its chrono. Heuer, which had already given one of its models the name “Carrera” in reference to the dangerous Carrera Panamera race (prohibited from 1955), did it again by referring this time to the Monaco Grand Prix.
This tradition continues afterwards, at Chopard, for example, which gives the name of the famous Italian circuit Mille Miglia to one of its chronographs.
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How was it innovative when it was released?
The Monaco innovates through its design: a square case and a winding crown on the left. And for its technicality: an automatic movement equipped with the famous caliber 11, developed in collaboration with Breitling, as well as with the movement manufacturer Büren and the developer Dubois Dépraz.
“Too square”, “too avant-garde”, “too radical”, it did not immediately have the success it was intended, it is said that the model became cult by accident…
With a little hindsight, we realize that it is chosen as usual… An object is not born cult, it becomes one. Often because he is linked to a strong personality who will mark his generation or his chosen field… Steve McQueen made the Monaco mythical, like Michael Jordan made the Nike Air essential or even like Grace Kelly made a Hermès bag iconic. .
In the field of watches, some of the most desirable models of the time were not so attractive and achieved belated success. Even the Rolex Daytona was not unanimous when it was released, it only became cult in the 1990s. Moreover, it was also at the end of the 1990s that the Monaco made a strong comeback ever since. TAG Heure brought it back to life in 1998.
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It seems that in watchmaking too, Monaco is a crown affair! To mark its 50th anniversary, it was equipped with a new caliber, certainly more efficient, but which forced the engineers to move its distinctive crown to the right, provoking the ire of purists. A crime of lèse-majesté?
Indeed, touching an icon is always a scandal. Positioning the crown on the right is in a way touching the DNA of this model… Like when Rolex released a Submariner with a green bezel in 2003 to celebrate the 50and model birthday. When it was released, this “variant” did not particularly conquer the crowds, but, for the past five years, it has become a real collector’s item. Time will tell if it was a crime or a masterstroke!
Records to report…
In order not to get lost in the numbers, I will only mention one: 2.2 million euros. This is the record obtained during the auction in New York in December 2020 for a Monaco model that Steve McQueen wore in the film Le Mans in 1971. The watch that launched the legend. Obviously, he wore several models in the film. All the races in the film are in real conditions and McQueen reportedly gave this watch to the film’s chief mechanic, Haig Altounian, at the end of filming, saying: “Thank you for keeping me alive all these months. »
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Do you believe that they (still) have room for improvement and on which references do you recommend investing in order to get a “good deal”?
This is a trick question that we are often asked as market specialists. I believe that the real challenge is not to make a “good deal”, but to afford a model that makes us vibrate and that we will appreciate wearing tomorrow no matter what, even if this watch does not value not or even discount.
For my part, I like vintage pieces steeped in history. My preference goes to the original reference and to the first series which I find very exciting. Alas, they are not the most affordable! Among the more recent models, I like the “Gulf” reissues from 2018. They are still relatively affordable, second-hand, you can find pieces from 4,500-5,000 euros.