Dubai Watch Week 2025: TAG Heuer Ignites A New Era With The Monaco Split Seconds Chronograph Air 1

Dubai Watch Week has always loved a big reveal, but this year the lights seem to dim a little lower and the anticipation cuts a little sharper. That is because TAG Heuer has chosen this stage to fire up the engines of a brand new era, introducing the Monaco Split Seconds Chronograph Air 1. It is a watch that feels like the moment a driver dips into a corner at full speed, where precision and bravery meet. And that sensibility is at the heart of this launch. TAG Heuer has always thrived at the intersection of motorsport and mechanical innovation, but with this new creation, the brand takes the Monaco story into unexplored territory.

The first impression is shaped by the case, a muscular, three dimensional structure that looks as if it could have been sculpted by airflow itself. It is crafted from ultra lightweight Grade 5 titanium using Selective Laser Melting, a manufacturing technique more familiar to aerospace and automotive engineers than traditional Swiss ateliers. By adapting this additive process, the TAG Heuer LAB unlocked a new creative freedom. Instead of machining material away, SLM builds forms layer by layer, translating digital ideas directly into complex geometry. The result is a case that weighs just eighty five grams even with its flashes of solid gold, and that gives the impression of being hollowed out for speed. The curved openings, the taut edges and the exoskeleton like frame resemble the intakes and covers of modern hypercars, creating a watch that genuinely looks like it was born in a wind tunnel.

This high tech shell surrounds the most complex chronograph movement in the TAG Heuer catalogue. The automatic Calibre TH81 00 beats at a high frequency of thirty six thousand vibrations per hour and brings a rattrapante function into the Monaco line. The complication allows the wearer to measure two events that begin together but end independently, a function that echoes the drama of timing two Formula 1 cars battling through a race. The movement is developed in collaboration with Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier and even features Grade 5 titanium components to reduce weight. At just thirty grams, the calibre manages to remain robust, stable and beautifully decorated. The checkered flag motif visible through the sapphire crystal caseback becomes a subtle nod to TAG Heuer’s timing history.

The design embraces its motorsport spirit unapologetically. The Grade 5 titanium case is paired with lattices on the caseband and under the bezel, the titanium sections in their natural tone and the gold ones shimmering in 2N yellow gold. Together they form a twin layered honeycomb motif that recalls racing engine covers. A translucent sapphire dial gives a full view of the mechanics beneath, allowing the split seconds hand, the golden chronograph hands and the golden tipped hour and minute hands to float above the movement. Black DLC coated titanium pushers and crown complete the look, along with a solid gold split seconds pusher at nine o clock which cleverly references the original left sided crown of the Monaco. The strap continues this sporty identity through a combination of black rubber and alcantara inserts, anchored by a titanium buckle in the same black DLC finish.

For all its futuristic attitude, the watch remains rooted in more than a century of TAG Heuer chronograph expertise. The story began in 1916 with the Mikrograph and its unprecedented precision. Over the decades the brand has supplied timing instruments to the most prestigious motorsport events, and today serves as the Official Timekeeper of Formula 1. This heritage flows naturally into the Monaco collection, a design icon since 1969 and the first square cased automatic chronograph that was fully water resistant. The Air 1 continues this line of pioneering references and follows the Split Seconds model introduced at Watches and Wonders Geneva 2024 which already signaled a return to elite chronograph innovation.

The Air 1 elevates that ambition again. It is limited to just thirty numbered pieces and sits confidently at the top of TAG Heuer’s high performance chronograph portfolio. What makes it remarkable is how wearable it remains. Despite its complex forms, experimental materials and conceptual origins, the watch stays true to the brand’s philosophy of intuitive ergonomics and everyday usability. Legibility remains strong through the sapphire dial. The case feels balanced. The movement delivers a power reserve of sixty five hours. The engineering and artistry coexist without contradiction.

TAG Heuer describes this watch as a revolution and that does not feel like an exaggeration. By leaning into additive manufacturing, the brand has created a design language that was previously unreachable. Technology no longer follows design, but leads it. And launching this new vision at Dubai Watch Week, a stage known for forward thinking creativity, makes the statement even clearer. The Monaco Split Seconds Chronograph Air 1 represents the beginning of a new generation of avant garde watchmaking from TAG Heuer. It feels bold and aerodynamic, almost ready to accelerate on its own, and it opens the door to the conceptual timepieces that will follow.

If this is the start line, the race ahead looks exhilarating.