Patrick Dempsey Makes the Case for the TAG Heuer Monaco | Watches and Wonders 2026

Patrick Dempsey. Actor. Racing driver. TAG Heuer ambassador. And as it turns out, a man who genuinely cannot stop talking about the Monaco. We caught up with Patrick at Watches and Wonders 2026 in Geneva, where TAG Heuer had gone full motorsport immersion — Formula 1 cars, heritage racers, the works. And Dempsey, predictably, was in his element. The man did Le Mans. He nearly timed us out the door with his chronograph. He definitely tried to walk off with our watch. The centrepiece of the conversation? The new TAG Heuer Monaco — and Dempsey's surprisingly sharp case for why it might just be the most iconic motor racing watch ever made. Not because it rested on its laurels, but because it never stopped evolving. New movement. Titanium case. Dramatically reduced weight. It wears nothing like the Monaco you remember — which, if you've ever strapped on a Calibre 11, you'll know was a brick of a watch. Iconic, yes. Comfortable? Less so. Dempsey also reflects on his own journey from TAG Heuer sponsorship newcomer in 2014 to full-blown horological devotee — a collection that has, by his own admission, become "a little bit fanatical." He talks about the Monaco's original commercial failure, why that makes its current status even more remarkable, and why passing watches to the next generation matters to him. There are also some genuinely funny moments — including an extended negotiation over whether Andrew was going to walk off with the watch Dempsey was wearing. (Reader: he tried.) It's the kind of conversation that only happens at Watches & Wonders — where the energy is high, the cars are real, and even Hollywood's most famous amateur racing driver turns out to know more about movement refinement than you'd expect. ------------------------------- https://www.tagheuer.com/ ------------------------------- 00:00 The itch: Patrick Dempsey on Formula 1 cars and what they do to him 01:19 Watches, Monaco, and how the addiction started 02:36 On giving watches away and the ambassador life 03:06 Making the case: Is the Heuer Monaco the most iconic racing watch ever? 04:02 Inside the redesign — what it actually took to update a legend 05:00 The watch that wouldn't come off ------------------------------- Read more articles: https://timeandtidewatches.com Shop: https://shop.timeandtidewatches.com ------------------------------- MB01OTIXZLPJ5VH INSTAGRAM @timetidewatches TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/search?q=timeandtidewatches T+T Shop Instagram https://www.instagram.com/timetideshop/