TAG Heuer has introduced the latest Monaco Twenty Four Concept Chronograph as a tribute to one of the toughest car races on the planet, 24 hours of Le Mans.
Inspired by the powerful racing cars, Tag Heuer created the first Monaco chronograph with its iconic square dial supported by Tag Heuer’s water-proof system 40 years ago. Previous Monaco chronographs have won prestigious awards, in 2003, the double-sided Monaco Sixty-Nine won the coveted Design Watch of the Year Award at the Grand Prix d’Horloge in Geneva; the following year, the belt-driven Monaco V4 was named Watch of the Year by Wallpaper Magazine and “Best of What’s New” by Popular Science and in 2007, the Monaco 360 LS Concept Chronograph was awarded the IF Design Award suggesting that this latest one will be no different in the awards stakes.
The most notable difference between the current Monaco Twenty Four Concept Chronograph and previous ones is an over-sized “24” at 12; the core of the Monaco 24’s innovation however, concerns the shock resistance engineered into the watch. In a world first, the Monaco 24’s movement “floats” inside its polished black PVD case, suspended within a steel-tube housing very much like a race car’s protective cockpit cage. The components inside the case (based on the MONACO V4 case) are further insulated with a shock-absorbing “composite filter” material used in aerospace and auto racing. The manifold arms collect vibrations and direct them away from the movement and into the composite filter which absorbs and dissipates their energy. The technical beauty of this movement is visible through sapphire crystal dial face; the front sapphire crystal has anti-reflective at both sides for ideal readability. It is also water resistant to 100 meters. The new Monaco Twenty Four Concept Chronograph is presented on a blue alligator leather strap with orange stitching.
I was scanning something else about this on another blog. Interesting. Your linear perspective on it is diametrically contradicted to what I read to begin with. I am still pondering over the opposite points of view, but I’m leaning heavily toward yours. And no matter, that’s what is so superb about advanced democracy and the marketplace of thoughts on-line.
Good blog. I got a lot of good data. I’ve been watching this technology for awhile. It’s fascinating how it keeps changing, yet some of the core factors remain the same. Have you seen much change since Google made their latest acquisition in the field?