Heuer introduced its Monaco chronograph in March 1969, as one of its first three automatic chronographs – along with the Autavia and the Carrera – and in retrospect we can say that, with its radical shape, size and colors, the Monaco was ahead of its time. The Monaco was produced in a variety of configurations, including automatic and manual models, with dials in blue, gray and black, but by the late 1970s, Heuer had stopped producing the Monaco. The Autavia and Carrera were introduced in the early 1960s, and lasted into the mid-1980s, but the Monaco had a much shorter life in the Heuer catalog, the combination of its radical style and conditions in the Swiss watch industry bringing the model to an early end.

In 1996, TAG Heuer created its first re-edition of the Carrera and the 10-year break in production seems to have served the company well. So, it is not surprising that in 1997, TAG Heuer would follow this same playbook in creating a re-edition of the Monaco.

GENERATION 2: HEUER MONACO CS2111- 1998
The second Monaco re-edition offered by TAG Heuer (CS2111) took an entirely different approach, but was still without a clear precedent in the Heuer heritage portfolio. The sculptured dial was all black, but the new model offered three registers, with 12-hour chronograph capacity. The dial featured radial applied markers and hash marks, with a “circle in the square” motif that would be used in many subsequent versions of the Monaco chronograph.