Take the Monaco, Heuer’s first automatic chronograph and one of the first automatic chronographs ever, dress it completely in black and you have the Tag Heuer Monaco Dark-Lord, the remake of a very rare reference so dubbed by enthusiasts of the brand.

Dark-Lord: The Story
Contrary to what you might think, when the Monaco came out it was quite difficult to sell. His very personal but at the same time unique shape of the square case, and the internal competition by the Autavia and the Carrera certainly did not help him.

So most likely in 1974 to try something new Jack Heuer thought of taking some crates and blackening them.

Black thanks to a PVD treatment of the case, these Monaco were powered by an equally minute lot of unused Valjoux 7740s. In addition to oscillating much faster than the standard movement (Caliber 11 – frequency 19,800 a / h) they had the winding crown in the normal position to the right between the chronograph pushers instead of to the left like the classic model.

Nicknamed Dark-Lord, due to the presence of many different details, they did not resemble the original Monk very much but were yet another example of how in those days watchmaking was all about the future.

Today the original Heuer Dark-Lords are highly sought after and highly rated. What you see in the picture was sold in 2017 by Phillips for CHF 52,500. Today I believe they would no longer be enough.

TAG Heuer Monaco Dark-Lord
And so 48 years after its first appearance, the re-edition of the Dark-Lord returns.

The standard 39 mm case is in grade 2 titanium with black DLC treatment and sandblasted finish.fake watches

The dial consisting of two separate parts introduces a new interpretation of the circle around the square. The circle in the center offers a circular satin finish that contrasts with the exterior of the dial, hammered for an even more racing look.

Thanks to a rose gold color applied indexes and hour and minute hands immediately catch the eye; that of the seconds in the center and the counters which are bright red emphasize the sports chronographs of fifty years ago.

The strap is black alligator leather and features a black DLC coated titanium folding clasp.

Movement
Like the latest high-end fake tag heuer Monaco, the Dark-Lord is also powered by the Caliber 02, an in-house movement which, equipped with a column wheel and a vertical clutch, is a guarantee and avoids any jamming with respect to a governed timing system. from cams.

To echo the tones highlighted by the dial, the skeletonized oscillating weight has been plated in rose gold.high quality replica watches uk

Monk Dark-Lord price
TAG Heuer Monaco Dark-Lord costs 7,750 euros and has been on sale on the official website since May 27, even if it is not done on purpose on Friday of the Monaco GP practice.

What do you think?
Institutionally, TAG Heuer has called this novelty the Monaco Special Edition because it wanted to put the accent that was created for the 2022 Monaco Grand Prix, won as you know by Sergio Pérez on Oracle Red Bull. So – being the sponsoring team – she was also lucky.

But to me this will always be a “Dark-Lord” – nickname which makes it more intriguing. It should also be noted that it is not released in a limited edition.

What is your opinion?

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