TAG Heuer Monaco Skeleton Chronograph Review

TAG Heuer is one of those brands that really need no introduction. Being in my early 40s, growing up TAG Heuer was the watch brand we all knew about and aspired to own. Maybe it was the launch of the F1 series that made the brand so visible to us, or that brands like Rolex were what we thought the old people wore. Either way, TAG Heuer has just always been in my conscience.

The first nice watch I remember owning was a TAG Heuer SEL when I was a teenager. How I ended up with that watch is a total mystery all these years later. Where it is, or if it was even a real TAG Heuer is also up in the air. Either way I’m sure this little 36 mm watch put the watch bug into me. I guess I can blame or thank TAG Heuer for the past 20 years of my professional life and watch obsession if you really think about it.



Heuer was founded by Edouard Heuer in 1860 in St-Imier Switzerland. In 1882 Heuer patented his first chronograph with elements that are still used in modern chronographs. Through the 1910s to the 1950s, Heuer was well known for their dashboard timers in automobiles. This was the start of Heuer’s strong relationship with automobiles and especially racing.

The 1950s, 60s and 70s saw Heuer become the go to watch and stopwatch for serious motorsports. 1969 saw the introduction of arguably the most successful and respected of Heuer’s collection of chronographs, the Monaco. The Monaco was released to celebrate the Monaco Grand Prix. The Monaco was also one of the early watches that did not have a round case and instead had a bold square design.



Besides being worn by a huge number of professional racecar drivers and those involved with motorsports, the Monaco saw its biggest uptick in notoriety when it was worn by actor / driver Steve McQueen in the iconic 1971 movie Le Mans. Le Mans is still one of the most respected and referenced movies about racing, holding cult status with those into motorsports.

The watch we’re going to look at today is a very modern take on the classic TAG Heuer Monaco in the Monaco Skeleton Chronograph. This particular watch was released for the 2023 running of the Monaco Grand Prix and features stunning turquoise accents on the skeletonized dial.



The first Monaco with a skeleton dial debuted in 2021 when TAG Heuer did a unique Monaco Skeleton Chronograph called the Dark Lord. Two short years later TAG Heuer would release three Monaco Skeleton Chronographs into their main catalog. Of course being lovers of blacked out watches, the black DLC-Coated titanium version was our favorite of the trio.

When TAG Heuer asked us which watch we would like to review from their catalog first, we picked the black DLC titanium Monaco Skeleton Chronograph with the turquoise highlights. We thought this Monaco would be a great watch to get familiar with TAG Heuer’s modern line-up and we just had the Uylsse Nardin Diver X Skeleton OPS in, so we’re kind of on a skeleton watch kick.



Now the first thing I noticed on the Monaco Skeleton was the turquoise highlights. TAG Heuer uses the color on the chronograph subdials as well as the lume points on the hour and minute hands and the indices. With the case and dial being fully black, the turquoise just pops. Being able to match the color of the lume so well with the subdials is also truly impressive.

Moving on, the next thing that really catches your eye is the skeleton dial. TAG didn’t go too crazy here like say a Royal Oak skeleton or the Ulysse Nardin Diver X Skeleton, but removed just enough from the dial to make the skeletonization subtle and not in your face. Remember this watch was designed for the sole reason to timing events, a full skeleton dial would compromise this watch’s role as a chronograph. TAG has managed to keep a high level of legibility on a skeleton watch with this Monaco.



While talking about how the main purpose of this Monaco is to be a time keeper, the turquoise chronograph subdials with red hands, as well as the chronograph’s seconds hand also in red are given the most importance on the dial. Something funny about the watch, I never even noticed there was a small running seconds on the watch. Now on a diver’s watch where the running seconds hand can mean the difference between life and death, the seconds hand here is of no real importance. TAG intends this watch to be used mainly as a chronograph, so the running seconds hand is set at 6 o’clock and has a black hand with no second markings. It took me a few times of wearing the watch to actually realize it was there. I don’t think there has been another watch that has caught me so by surprise as finally seeing the running seconds hand.

The rest of the dial is composed of Monaco and TAG Heuer logos at 12 o’clock and a date window at 6 o’clock. TAG chose to leave the date wheel exposed around the dial being slightly smoke tinted. The opening at 6 o’clock shows off the clear date. This is an interesting date execution and goes well with the partially skeletonized look. Various parts of the TAG Heuer in-house caliber Heuer 02 can be seen on the dial as well. The movement has been sandblasted and gives off a true tool watch appearance.



The next thing that caught my eye was how raised the sapphire crystal on the watch was. TAG had a huge hit with their glassbox Carrera models. These watches feature a sapphire similar to what is found on this Monaco in being raised far off of the bezel giving the watch a 3D appearance. As opposed to a standard round sapphire, the one on the Monaco forms a true square with nice sharp corners and edges.

The elephant in the room when it comes to the Monaco collection of watches is the unique case shape. The Monaco Skeleton Chronograph is mostly a square design with the sides of the case having a slight tonneau shape to them. We measured the case to be 39 mm wide with a lug to lug of 47.2 mm, making the watch look a little more rectangle on the wrist. The thickness of the watch came in at 15.2 mm.



The 39 mm size is pretty misleading, since the watch wears much larger given the lug to lug measurement. With the thickness of the Monaco, the watch does not shy away on the wrist. To be honest I’m not the biggest fan of square and tonneau watches, even those from Richard Mille. It took me a few times of wearing the Monaco Skeleton Chronograph out to get more used to the case shape. I think the all black look of the case did help me get used to the shape quicker though. Wearing a non-round watch is a bit like writing with your non-dominant hand, in time you can get used to it, but there is a steep learning curve. I remember wearing a Richard Mille RM005 for a week or so and I couldn’t wait to go back to a round watch… so yeah it’s an acquired taste.

The Monaco Skeleton Chronograph weighs in at 100 grams thanks to its titanium case. While not as feather light as some of the carbon composite watches we’ve reviewed recently, the Monaco is still on the light side of larger watches. During our time with the watch, I was never hit with any kind of wrist fatigue from the watch’s weight. The black rubber strap is also extremely flexible and forms well to the wrist aiding in the comfort. The strap measures 22 mm at the lugs and tappers down to 19 mm at the clasp.



Just this week I raved about how Formex had a deployant clasp that allowed micro-adjustments of up to 7 mm on the strap. As far as I knew, this was the only adjustable non-bracelet watch I had seen before. Well I guess I’m pretty misinformed since this TAG Heuer Monaco also uses an adjustable clasp system. The way Formex and TAG do their adjustments are completely different though. While the Formex system uses a small lever to let the strap move in and out, TAG lets the entire length of the strap slide along the clasp and then lets you lock the clasp when the desired length is found. TAG does not even use holes or pins with this system, basically making every inch of the strap usable for sizing. The only issue I can see with this system is that the areas of the strap that lock in place seem to show signs of wear, otherwise it is a brilliant system.

Flipping the watch over shows off the in-house caliber Heuer 02 automatic movement through the sapphire caseback. The movement is decorated nicely with nice striping and a partial skeleton rotor in the shape of the TAG Heuer logo. The movement also features some turquoise highlights like text on the rotor and a few pieces of the actual movement. The Heuer 02 beats away at 28,800 VPH (4Hz) and has a power reserve of 80 hours. During my time with the watch I never had to wind it between wearing it out, the watch always had sufficient power to last a day or so off wrist and regained the power while being worn. On our timegrapher the Monaco Skeleton Chronograph measured in at + 9 seconds a day, not the best we’ve seen but definitely respectable and within spec from TAG.



One thing that bugs me about 99.9% of watches that are not round and have a display back is the shape of the movement. To me it looks a little bit off to have a square watch with a circular display window showing off a round movement. Maybe attaching the movement to a square plate and adding a square display window would solve this issue. When you look at a Richard Mille for example, the movement fits the non-round case shape. Unfortunately the Monaco Skeleton Chronograph falls victim to this and has a round display back showing off a round movement housed in a square watch case. This might just be my weird way of thinking and others might not be bothered by this practice, but I thought it was fair to bring up.

The right side of the case sees the two chronograph pushers along with a crown featuring the TAG Heuer logo on it. The upper pusher starts and stops the chronograph, while the lower pusher resets it. The chronograph found in the Monaco Skeleton Chronograph is a standard chronograph and not a flyback. The crown is not screw down and offers manually winding when pushed in. Position one allows you to set the date, while position two allows you to set the time. Although the crown is not screwed down, the watch still offers a respectable 100 meters of water resistance.



If you’ve been reading many of our reviews, you probably know that we’re parents of young twin daughters, so watches we review are put to such extreme tests as going to the grocery store and to dinner. Also for the first time in my life the last two years or so have been the only years in my adult life that I don’t have one or multiple sports cars. We’re now a two SUV family! Either way the Monaco did allow me to time various drives from our house to the places we often frequent. I now am well aware it takes us 12 minutes and 25 seconds from our front door to the grocery store and 11 minutes and 10 seconds to get to the outdoor mall my frequent.

I feel the TAG Heuer Monaco Skeleton Chronograph got its fair share of looks when being worn out. The watch being square and having bright turquoise hands on an all black aesthetic is pretty eye catching. Most people I spoke to were pretty surprised the watch was a TAG and not something more exotic. I got to explain to these people that TAG has really come a long way since the days of the F1. People have been raving over the glassbox Carreras and just this year TAG Heuer came out with a high-end Monaco flyback chronograph that rivals Richard Mille in technology and finishing as well as price. Finally these skeleton Monacos also showoff what TAG is able to achieve design wise.



Even during the severe heat and humidity we’ve been having here in Austin, Texas the Monaco Skeleton Chronograph stayed very comfortable on my wrist. I had to use the fully adjustable clasp a few times when my wrist would swell up due to the heat. The way the clasp locks in on the rubber strap is extremely secure, I never felt the strap would move after being locked in place. The clasp also has two buttons that need to be depressed to deploy and I never felt the watch would ever come off by mistake.

Being a press sample, this particular Monaco Skeleton Chronograph has been worn by a few people but shows zero signs of wear. Typically a DLC coating is still just a coating and prone to nicks and scratches, but I didn’t see any on this watch. That makes me confident in the durability of this watch long term. Typically you’ve seen a lot of brands switch to ceramic to avoid scratches, but this DLC coated titanium seems tough.



At $11,250 the Monaco Skeleton Chronograph is in the upper end of non-precious metal or highly complicated watches from TAG Heuer. This also puts the Monaco up against a lot of great chronographs in the same price bracket.

Going with a historical foe you have the Rolex Daytona in stainless steel which retails for $15,100, although realistic prices are $25,000 to $30,000 on the secondhand market. The Daytona is a more traditional shaped round watch with an in-house Rolex automatic chronograph movement. New updates to the Daytona see it move to a ceramic bezel and slightly refreshed dial design. The Daytona along with the Monaco have deep ties to auto racing, even getting their names from races.



Omega also has a motorsports themed chronograph with the Speedmaster Racing. This watch retails for $9,200 and features a larger 44.25 mm stainless steel case on a motorsports inspired perforated leather strap. The dial has a motif that evokes the checkered flag at the end of a race. As with the Monaco and Daytona, the Speedmaster Racing also features an in-house automatic chronograph movement.

Finally new to the scene is the IWC Pilot’s Watch Performance Chronograph 41 AMG. This watch is crafted out of titanium and measures 41 mm and features an in-house IWC caliber 69385 automatic chronograph movement. IWC transformed their Pilot’s watches into motorsports watches by adding the tachymeter scale to the standard pilot’s bezel and also capitalizes off of their partnership with the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team.



All four of these watches are exceptional chronographs intended to be used in motorsports and each has their own pros and cons. You really couldn’t go wrong with any of these watches, but the Monaco does have a very distinct style that sets it apart from the other three. The square case is instantly recognizable as a Monaco and the watch offers such a rich history in motorsports, that besides the Daytona’s history can’t really be matched. The partial skeleton dial also isn’t something you see often in a watch just north of $10,000, it’s typically reserved for the top echelon of watchmaking in watches costing multiple times more than the Monaco does.

After spending a week with the watch, is it for me? In all honesty, I’m just not the biggest fan of square, rectangle or tonneau watches. Like I stated earlier, even with a Richard Mille that cost a few hundred thousand dollars, I’d still be a little weirded out by the case shape… call it decades of being groomed to wear round watches.



There are people that are huge fans of this case shape, and for those people the Tag Heuer Monaco Skeleton Chronograph could be a great option for them. TAG did a great job with their skeleton work allowing the watch to still be easy to read while being partially skeletonized. Although the Tiffany blue trend in watches has come and gone, I feel that TAG used some restraint when adding it to the Monaco Skeleton Chronograph. This was a smart move in hindsight and doesn’t date the watch like it does a Tiffany blue Rolex Oyster Perpetual.

The Monaco Skeleton Chronograph was a great re-introduction for me back to TAG Heuer. It shows that TAG can design a watch crafted out of high tech materials while still keeping with its traditions. Just like their aggressively priced tourbillions, this watch also shows that TAG can produce a well executed and relatively affordable skeleton watch.



I’d really like to thank TAG Heuer for sending us the Monaco Skeleton Chronograph to review. It genuinely makes me excited to see what is in store for the brand in the coming months and years and can’t wait to get another watch in from them to review.

For more information about the Monaco Skeleton Chronograph please visit : TAG Heuer

Technical Specifications

Reference Number: CBL2184.FT6236

Retail Price: $11,250

Case Size: 39 mm

Lug to Lug: 47.2 mm

Thickness: 15.2 mm

Weight: 100 Grams

Case Material:  DLC Coated Titanium

Bezel: DLC Coated Titanium

Strap: Black Rubber with an Adjustable Deployant Clasp

Movement: Heuer 02 Automatic

Functions: Chronograph, Hours, Minutes, Seconds, Date

Power Reserve: 80 Hours

Water Resistance: 100 Meters