Home Watches TAG’s Monaco Drops the Hour Hand for 12 Pistons That Fire Like a V12
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The TAG Heuer Monaco built its legend as a chronograph. It’s the square-cased watch Steve McQueen wore in Le Mans, the one that made a left-side crown a flex, and really, the watch most people picture when someone says “motorsport.” So leave it to TAG to launch a new Monaco that throws the chronograph receipe out the window entirely.
Meet the Monaco Speed 12, a time-only piece that swaps the hour display for 12 rotating titanium pistons. Yes, really.
Instead of an hour hand, the Speed 12 rings its dial with 12 individual pistons, each engraved with a numeral.
As the central minute hand finishes a lap, one piston rotates 90 degrees to flip the next hour into view while the old one turns away. Only one is ever readable at a time, and the whole sequence is meant to ape the firing order of a 12-cylinder engine.
The trick comes from the new Calibre TH84-00, built with La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton. If that name rings a bell, it’s the Geneva atelier behind LV’s serious watchmaking, and the TH84-00 is a reworked take on its patented Spin Time system.
Both brands sit under the LVMH roof, so this is essentially TAG tapping into its family connections. The rhodium-plated pistons are sandblasted and brushed, floating over an openworked dial whose vertical grooves nod to an engine cover.
The 40mm case is Grade 5 titanium, capped with sapphire on the front, back, and even the bezel, which makes the thing effectively see-through. And it’s definitely a sight to see.
A lone skeletonized minute hand with a red-tipped needle stands in for a tachymeter gauge, while red accents run through the dial and the stitched rubber strap. Just remember, it won’t time your laps, but that’s not the point.
Brand: TAG Heuer
Model: Monaco Speed 12
Case Size: 40mm
Case Material: Grade 5 titanium
Crystal: Box-style sapphire (front and back), plus sapphire bezel
Movement: Calibre TH84-00, automatic
Frequency: 28,800 vph (4Hz)
Power Reserve: 45 hours
Water Resistance: 30m
Functions: Jumping hours (12 rotating pistons), central minute hand
Strap: Black textile-pattern rubber with red stitching, titanium butterfly clasp
Limited Edition: Yes, 50 pieces
The Monaco Speed 12 is limited to 50 pieces worldwide, with deliveries starting in December. Pricing is estimated at roughly CHF 70,000 (about $87,000). Expensive for a watch? Maybe. But it’s quite a deal for a V12.
TAG Heuer Monaco Speed 12
TAG Heuer reimagines its motorsport icon as a time-only watch with 12 rotating pistons that fire like a V12, limited to just 50 examples.
