TAG HEUER – Monaco 40th Anniversary Re-edition
Steve McQueen
Forty years after its birth as the world’s first square-cased water resistant sports watch, and deified a year later, thanks to Steve McQueen who famously strapped it on during the set of his 1970 movie smash, Le Mans, TAG Heuer’s Monaco remains an icon for fans of sport watches, with the ability to turn perfectly coherent gentlemen into squealing school boys with each new roll-out.
Calibre 12 Chronograph Gulf Limited Edition
This year, the brand has gone the whole nine yards to celebrate its 40th birthday. There is an ultra-robust concept watch, the Monaco Twenty Four (read about it in Lab Dance), an all-white beauty for the lasses (see Dame Game), and two limited editions – the Calibre 12 Chronograph and the Automatic Calibre 11 Chronograph which are the subjects of our affection in this review.
Michel Nieto – CEO of Boume & Mercier
Michel Nieto’s two decades in the watch industry has seen him work for the Swatch and the Richemont Groups, where he was heavily involved in product development and marketing and communication. He took over as Baume & Mercier’s CEO in late 2002 and has been constantly reinforcing the 179-year-old brand’s contemporary appeal as well as its historical lineage.
High-Lights
A perceptive man who has had a hand in developing over 3,000 watches in his time with the watch industry, Nieto can be credited for consolidating Baume & Mercier’s market position through iconic lines like the Hampton and the Riviera. He is also responsible for opening up the lucrative Chinese market for the brand, as well as getting its production unit fully up to speed with the timely delivery of its products to global markets.
His Words:
“We will be affected for sure, but we also have a good card to play. I think we will be gaining more market share”
