JOINING IN THE PARTY: MONACO BAMFORD

Squaring the track with the Carrera is TAG Heuer’s other icon, the world’s first square-cased automatic chronograph, the Monaco, introduced in 1969. At Baselworld 2018, the quadrilateral icon made a special appearance in the form of the manufacture’s first official in-house built collaboration ‒ the Monaco Bamford.

Composed of a solid carbon case, an elegant full black dial and aqua blue chronograph counters, the special timepiece is a collaboration with Bamford Watch Department, whose CEO George Bamford is noted for pioneering the customisation of luxury watches by personalising each with a recognisable identity and its own ultra-modern style.

As one would expect, the new Monaco Bamford features the hallmarks of the original Monaco: the square 39mm case and the crown positioned on the left. But now, it also boasts a case made from incredibly lightweight and highly resistant carbon. In making the case, TAG Heuer specially created a mould for the carbon case to perfectly match the dimensions of the Monaco and meet the technical constraints of this specific material.

Bamford’s signature style is evident in the chronograph counters highlighted with luminous marks on the indices and the date window, which glow in the dark in a magnificent aqua blue ‒ Bamford Watch Department’s favourite shade of blue ‒ a detail which gives the timepiece a resolutely modern look. Engraved with “Monaco Bamford” on the case back, the whole piece is set off perfectly with an exquisite black alligator leather strap. In all, it’s a sleek and smouldering expression of the progressive spirit of the two parties.