The TAG Heuer Monza was launched in 2000 as part of the Re-edition series of watches released by TAG in the last days before the acquisition by LVMH.
The first model was the CR2111 which was available with a white or black dial, with simply “Heuer” on the logo- no “TAG” for this first series.
Interestingly, the second hand of the watch changed between the time that the catalogue photos were taken and the time that the watch hit the shops- you will never see a CR2111 Monza with the sweeping second hand shown to the left.
The use of the the Monza name was a somewhat controversial choice by TAG, as the new Monza bore no relationship at all to the old Carrera-based Heuer Monza of the 1970′s. In actual fact, the design was more based on the Heuer Camaro, with a little of the second-generation Heuer Silverstone thrown in for good measure.
Its certain that the choice of name was influenced in the changing perception of the worthiness of the Camaro brand- Chevrolet had well and truly destroyed any cache that the Camaro had by the late 1990′s, so I guess when compared to the historic relevance of the Monza name, it was probably an easy choice..but one that automatically put the vintage Heuer collectors offside.
Cheers Arno
