TAG Heuer’s extended 50th anniversary celebration of its iconic Monaco model rolled into New York last night, with the high-profile launch of the third of five limited-edition Monaco timepieces at Cipriani Wall Street. Continuing the “decade by decade” theme of its two predecessors, the Monaco 1989-1999 Limited Edition applies stylistic influences and design codes from the 1990s to the template of the classical 1969 chronograph.
TAG Heuer Monaco 1989-1999 Limited Edition

The watch follows up the first anniversary edition’s 1970s vibe and the second one’s colorful tribute to the go-go ’80s with an industrial, steely, “street” design evocative of the decade of tech booms and grunge. The gray dial is grained and rhodium-plated, with blue scales around the characteristic squared subdials, which have a sandblasted finish. Red details, such as the central chronograph seconds hand, the tips of the hour and minute hands, and the hour indices, add depth and contrast. All the other elements of the original Monaco ? introduced in 1969 and notable for its introduction of the first water-resistant square case and for housing one of the watch industry’s very first self-winding chronograph movements ? are present in this special edition: the four-sided 39-mm steel case, the date window at 6 o’clock, the unconventional placement of the crown (left) and pushers (right), even the vintage-look, historically accurate “Monac...