Speed and precision. Engineering and craftsmanship. No sport offers the visceral thrills of motor racing, no timepiece is more purpose-built for speed than the chronograph, and among iconic racing chronographs – including the Rolex Daytona and the Omega Speedmaster – the one with the most direct connection to motorsport is the (TAG) Heuer Monaco.
That’s a bold statement, considering TAG Heuer are the motorsports best replica TAG Heuer watches, with other racing icons such as the Autavia and Carrera in its catalogue. But among these, the Monaco reigns supreme: not just because it’s named after one of the most famous and glamorous locations in all of motor racing, but because of its unique aesthetic and history.
The Monaco’s most recognizable feature, that iconic case shape, presented some real technical puzzles to solve – most notably waterproofing a square-cased chronograph. Sure, square-cased fake watches had come before, but making those case shapes water-resistant is a challenge: if you’ve got a square case, you need a square gasket, for instance. The additional challenge of the chronograph pushers proved to be a real feat, but Heuer managed to enlist some outside help from Swiss casemaker Piquerez (best known for its Compressor and Super Compressor case designs and a supplier to brands including Breguet, Enicar, Hamilton, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Longines and Universal Genève) to execute the Monaco.
They also gained some real credibility in the racing community via the first Heuer brand ambassador, Formula 1 driver Jo Siffert. Siffert would be the first of many F1 drivers to wear Heuer replica watches (however it’s worth pointing out that Siffert famously wore an Autavia rather than a Monaco or Carrera). Not long after coming on board, Siffert was tapped to serve as a technical advisor for the landmark Le Mans film, starring Steve McQueen, and thus a legend was born…
Already a household name from starring roles in The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape, Bullitt, and The Thomas Crown Affair, McQueen was also a serious race driver, and that passion was poured into his 1971 film, which was shot in part during the 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans. McQueen wore the Monaco ref. 1133B throughout filming, thus cementing that reference’s exalted place in the eyes of collectors. Of course, McQueen, known as “the King of Cool”, occupies a particularly special place in watch culture: the original Rolex Explorer II ref. 1655 is nicknamed after him (although it’s worth pointing out that he never wore the Explorer II himself: he mostly wore a Submariner, actually). But the Heuer Monaco is the cheap copy TAG Heuer watches most closely associated with him, and McQueen more than any other figure helped make the Monaco an icon.
Despite the star power associated with the Monaco, its success wasn’t built to last. By the mid-70s, due to changing tastes and the dominance of quartz perfect fake TAG Heuer watches in the marketplace, the watch disappeared from Heuer’s catalogue. Heuer gradually lost their mojo, and were in somewhat dire straits when they were bought out by Techniques d’Avant Garde in 1986, thus birthing the TAG Heuer moniker. The company began an aggressive new marketing direction and enlisted the racing drivers of the day to introduce new quartz-based lines, like the colourful composite-cased Formula 1 (which TAG brought back in a big way in 2024 through a collaboration with NYC streetwear brand KITH) and the S/el, endorsed by Brazilian F1 legend Ayrton Senna.
One of the most notable Monaco Swiss fake TAG Heuer watches in recent memory is the Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph. First produced as a piece unique for the delayed Only Watch 2023 auction, this watch has since been entered series production and boasts TAG Heuer’s first mechanical split-seconds chronograph movement, the Calibre TH81-00, marking TAG Heuer’s return to producing higher complication movements. Its skeletonised dial is particularly eye-catching, as is its novel caseback: the entire bottom ‘sandwich’ of the case is made from a single piece of sapphire in order to further exhibit its movement.