It’s Vegas, Baby! And with the Las Vegas Formula 1 on this weekend, TAG Heuer has released this year’s Monaco Las Vegas F1 edition. Neon lights and all!
As the Formula 1 season is entering its final straight with three races left to go, and a hotly contested Driver’s Championship with the McLaren boys, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris vying for the title, the Las Vegas Formula 1 will be very interesting this weekend. Under the bright lights of the track and the famous Vegas Strip at night, the Las Vegas F1 is like no other race. And TAG Heuer is celebrating this with the new 2025 Monaco Las Vegas limited edition.
TAG Heuer has made a bit of a tradition of releasing their Monaco special editions just ahead of key Formula One races. Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen some brilliant Monaco releases ahead of races like Monaco and Las Vegas. Last year, we saw the release of the hot pink Monaco skeleton ahead of the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix, and just like that watch, this new one celebrates the glitz and glamour that is Las Vegas.
Created in a 39 mm black-DLC titanium case, which is 13.8 mm thick, or just over 15 mm if you count the crystal, this Monaco is one of the better-wearing models from the entire collection. I went hands-on last year with the 2024 Monaco Las Vegas edition, and after the week on my wrist, I actually really liked the piece. The fact that it was sized well and also light, thanks to the titanium construction, it actually ended up being a great watch that grew on me over the time I had it.
We were lucky enough to preview this year’s Monaco Las Vegas edition, back at Watches & Wonders, so I have been eagerly awaiting writing this release up ahead of this year’s Formula One Grand Prix.
With this piece, TAG Heuer has given the skeleton dial a complete gradient finish from violet at the top through to a deep blue, which, according to TAG Heuer, “echoes the descent from twilight into full night, which captures the mood of the city when it shifts into race mode.” The effect is actually pretty cool when you see it in person.
The other unique thing that TAG Heuer has done with this piece is to apply different shades of Super-LumiNova to the dial elements, depending on what area of the dial you’re looking at. Each of the hour indices on the outer part of the dial has bright blue Super-LumiNova, as does the second hand for the chronograph, the subdials and their respective hands.
The hour and minute hands glow with a green Super-LumiNova, as does the date disc and the minute graduations around the dial. Then, just to top it off, the inner part of the skeleton dial is a deep blue/purple Super-LumiNova. So this kind of mimics the neon lights that you see along the Vegas strip and gives this new Monaco edition a completely different look at night.
Inside, of course, beats the TH20–00 chronograph, developed in-house at TAG Heuer in La Chaux-de-Fonds. The movement is visible through the sapphire crystal case back, but instead of being completely clear like other Monacos, TAG Heuer has tinted this case back to be in line with the theme of the rest of the watch. It actually gives a pretty cool effect – done through an iridescent metalisation process, and ranges from blue to purple, which again, complements the dial’s colour scheme.
TAG Heuer has also permeated that colour scheme through the rubber and embossed calf skin for the strap, with its purple stitching that runs down each side of it. On that note, the strap is ultra comfortable thanks to the combination of the rubber and calf skin, plus it’s not too thick, so it is one of the better rubber straps in TAG Heuer’s collections.
Initial thoughts
While this Monaco is not a major departure from the skeletonised Monacos that have come before it, especially those that are celebrating key Formula 1 races, TAG Heuer has still somehow managed to set this apart, thanks to the dial design and colour scheme used.
This piece is also limited to 600 pieces, which is new for this year versus last year’s Las Vegas model. I feel done right, limited editions work well, as there is a shift in the watch world currently, where many people are looking at more pieces that are not the standard production run. And why not? Everyone likes to feel special and unique, right?!
That aspect aside, it is a watch designed for those who want a sporty watch with a difference, and the black does give the dial a good background to stand out from. We can expect to see this model on Max Verstappen’s wrist this weekend, as is the norm, thanks to TAG Heuer’s partnership with Red Bull Racing. Will we see it on the podium, though? Max will need to do better than his 5th place last year if we are, but I still hope Oscar can secure a win this weekend. Go Australia!
Reference: CBL218E.FT6312
Specifications:
- Size: 39mm, 47.4mm lug to lug & 13.8mm thick (15.2mm inc. crystal)
- Case Material: Titanium grade 2 sandblasted black DLC
- Case back: Grade 2 Titanium with sapphire crystal case back
- Dial: Skeletonised dial with deep gradient ranging from purple to dark blue. Indexes with blue Super-LumiNova® by night, black-gold-plated facetted hour and minute hands with white Super-LumiNova®, green by night & bright turquoise lacquered central hand with blue Super-LumiNova® by night.
- Crystal: Bevelled, box sapphire crystal
- Water resistance: 100m / 10bar
- Movement: Calibre HEUER 02 TH20-00 Automatic Column Wheel Chronograph
- Power reserve: 80 Hours
- Strap: Embossed black calfskin & rubber strap. Sandblasted titanium grade 2 folding clasp with double safety pushbuttons: TAG Heuer shield