Green is the new black - reviewing the TAG Heuer Green Monaco CBL2116
WHATS WITH ALL THE GREEN WATCHES!?
My theory? Lockdown is to blame. Hear me out.
When you were stuck inside for what seemed like an eternity what did you crave the most? A bit of greenery, right? I’m convinced that the world’s watch designers subliminally channelled this desire into 2021's concepts and just knew that we’d all go crazy for it.
It’s safe to say that green is the new black this year. We’ve seen the arrival of many different shades of green. From Breitling’s mint green Premier Heritage, to the bright green Cartier Tank, through to the Rolex’s leafy green Oyster – they’ve all been at it!
But the one that steals the show for me in the battle of the green crown has to be this:
Yes, the TAG Heuer Green Monaco CBL2116. This beautiful green machine was released by TAG as a celebratory piece to mark their second year of being associated with the Monaco Historic Grand Prix. Only 500 of these watches were produced, so it’s pretty special.
This limited edition timepiece takes everything that we love about TAG’s classic Monaco and turns them… well, green. We still have the same 39mm square case, powered by an automatic in-house Heuer 02 movement, and we even have the leather strap configuration. But that all so important dial pallet just makes this one different!
But TAG have done something special here. They have been clever. They haven’t taken the easy route of just sticking a plain old green dial on there and calling it a day *cough Patek Phillippe Nautilus*. No. They’ve taken their time with this one to make it stand out from the rivals.
The deep, subtle green is a shade that TAG have never used before on any of their watches. As you can see the green is so deep that it pretty much fades completely to black as it reaches the outer edges of the dial. This deepness gets broken up so beautifully by the fact that TAG have used a sunburst affect; meaning that when light hits the dial just right we get some amazing bright flashes of green peak out.
The cleverly recessed chronograph sub dials and date window also play a big part in the overall deepness of the dial’s palette, thanks to the fact that they have been blacked out. But to offset all of this darkness TAG have included a lot of white flecks, namely in regard to the hands and numeral markers, just to subtly bring some light back into the dial and improve time telling legibility.
Away from the dial we have the black alligator strap which contrasts with the dial beautifully and adds nicely to the overall deepness of the green.
As a departing treat TAG have even spiced up the exhibition case back for us. Usually on these Heuer 02 Monaco’s we are able to see the lovely inner workings of the watch, with the addition of some red colouring engraved onto the movement. However, in this case TAG have gone to the effort of changing the red to green and I think that it really does make all of the difference in making this watch special.
It’s a masterpiece. Or at least we think so. What do you think? Do you like the new green Monaco? Are you a fan of the new green trend? What trend would you like to see make an appearance in the watch community? Tell us below 👇
Also, if you’d like to see the watch in more detail or just simply want to listen to the sound of my voice, please feel free to check out our YouTube video.
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