Editor’s Note: Years before they disrupted convention with affordable tourbillons and smartwatches, TAG Heuer was breaking new ground, with the technically challenging, belt-driven Monaco V4. We take a closer look at the blacker-than-black Phantom version.
Een van de meest overgebruikte woorden in de horlogebedrijf is 'icon'. Als u Zwitserse marketingafdelingen geloofde, is bijna elk horloge van elk merk een iconisch stuk. De echte deal is veel minder schaars. En dingen worden speculatief wanneer we beginnen te praten over 'moderne iconen' - als een vuistregel duurt het een goede generatie of twee voor een object om de alledaagse transcenders te worden en ik word iconisch. Zelfs de marketingmagnate die nu TAG Heuer, Jean-Claude Biver, helpt, heeft voorzichtig gemaakt toen Pundits Hublot's Big Bang in 2005 een 'instant icon' verklaarde. Zijn boodschap was er in de loop van 20 jaar over gezegd. Zelfs bij deze maatregel is de TAG Heuer Monaco V4, die sinds 2004 in gebruik is, op de goede weg voor bona fide icon status.
So what makes the V4 special? Well, when the watch announced as a concept watch 11 years ago it was revolutionary. The V4 looked more like a car than a watch, with its angled ‘V’ main plate and four barrels (hence the V4 name). But the V4 is more than just a regular Monaco with some automative-inspired design tweaks. Kinetic energy is not generated by an oscillating weight, but rather by a linear weight (that you can see in the centre of the movement). What’s more, this energy is not transmitted through the watch by common gears, but rather by a system of incredibly small belts. Ironing out the kinks in these 0.07mm thick belts is something that took TAG Heuer five years, when they felt confident enough make the watch commercially available. Since that time the V4 has been released in a range of variants, and the model holds a special place in the upper echelons of TAG Heuer’s catalogue.
Which brings us to the Monaco V4 Phantom – the latest version of this high-tech timepiece. As you might suspect from the model name, this V4 Phantom is a black beauty. While the internals are structurally unchanged from previous versions, the seven dial bridges are made from Carbon Matrix Composite (CMC), which adds some richness and depth to the watch, something often lacking in all black pieces. It should be noted that the finish of the dial bridges in the press picture looks very different to that in our Baselworld photos – I suspect that is because the watch we were shown in Basel is a pre-production prototype, and may not feature the CMC dial of the final version. The classic Monaco shaped case is also made from this special carbon material. CMC is a material appropriated by TAG Heuer from the aerospace industry, a mix of carbon fibres and epoxy. The result is a strong, light material (the watch only weighs 98 grams). Forged carbon materials like this are very trendy in watches at the moment, and the V4 Phantom is a particularly good-looking execution.
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