The Aquaracer draws upon its heritage to inspire modern-day explorers.
In the past couple of decades, the dive watch has, unfortunately, gone from being on the wrists of the most celebrated underwater explorers to what we today call desk divers. However, last year, TAG Heuer decided to take its Aquaracer collection and rewind the clock back 40 years, taking inspiration from its tool watch origins and applying it to modern-day watches creating an interesting blend of form and function.
This year, TAG Heuer is taking this ethos one step further with its latest Aquaracer novelties offering fans of the collection three different references that will appeal to different types of watch enthusiasts. Each of these Aquaracers may look decidedly different but the common thread between them is that they all were designed as extremely functional tool watches, and will definitely inspire a sense of adventure. Even if it’s not a diving adventure, these watches are all built to be robust enough to handle almost any kind of activity you can throw at them and still look stylish enough for a good night out.
Aquaracer Professional 300 Orange Diver
For the hardcore dive watch enthusiast, the orange dial is definitely a must-have within their collection. When it comes to these underwater tools, legibility becomes a major point of consideration as a slight miscalculation of dive or decompression times can mean the difference between life or death. Legend has it, back in the 1960s, a well-known company making dive watches tested out multiple dial colours underwater and orange was the one that provided the most contrast between the dial and the other markers even as light began to fade at increasing depth.
Thus, offering an orange dial for the brand’s newly revamped Aquaracer Professional 300 range was a no brainer. This reference combines the historic colour with iconic design elements of the brand which includes the vertical lines on the dial and a 12-sided unidirectional bezel. To further bolster contrast and legibility, the applied indices have also been given a black coating which stands out from the orange even during the day.
The indices in black help to stand out against a bright dial in bright areas while in the dark, the watch relies on the Superluminova’s glow.
The case for this Aquaracer Professional 300 measures in at a larger 43mm in keeping with its function as a tool watch. The case and bracelet are made of brushed stainless steel while the bezel is equipped with a ceramic insert which is harder and more corrosion resistant than the traditional anodised aluminium.
Aquaracer Professional 200 Solargraph
This Aquaracer is the perfect option for those that are looking for brand history and provenance but still love having contemporary technology on the wrist. This is the first time TAG Heuer is offering a watch that is powered by the sun. Thanks to a collaboration with La Joux-Perret the quartz movement, Calibre TH50-00, cleverly hides the solar panel beneath the dial. So, on the surface, the dial looks exactly like a standard Aquaracer dial, but it will cleverly charge the watch’s battery anytime it is in the sun.
Cleverly hidden beneath the dial, its solar-charging capabilities can function without disrupting aesthetic beauty.
What is exceptional about this movement is that thanks to its ultra-efficient charging module, the watch can run the whole day after only about two minutes under direct sunlight. It gets fully charged within about 20 hours, and on a full charge can last for 6 months. Additionally, if you rotate your watches and don’t want to use the Aquaracer for a while, there is a cool Power Save mode that activates when you pull on the crown extending the battery life to a massive 3.5 years.
Mirroring the high-tech innovations of the movement, the aesthetics have also been given a similar treatment. Black DLC coats the entire stainless steel case while the bezel insert is a mixture of carbon and SuperLuminova. After a good charge in the sun, the bezel will glow in the dark with a unique shade reminiscent of the incredible colours of the aurora borealis that light up the nights above the Arctic Circles.
Aquaracer Professional 1000 Superdiver
This watch is undoubtedly a spec monster. Take everything you love about the new Aquaracer and dial it up to 1000 and you will get this beast right here. With the previous two watches clocking in at 300m and 200m of water resistance respectively, the Superdiver offers a massive 1000m of water resistance making it capable of reaching depths that most humans will never even come near.
TAG Heuer’s 1000m diver was first created back in 1984 and for this modern version, they decided to give it an overhaul, equipping it with the most updated technology in terms of watchmaking. The massive 45mm case is made entirely of grade 5 titanium so even with its hefty size, the watch still feels light and comfortable on the wrist. Another hallmark of innovation is that even with its 1000m waterproof case, they were able to keep the thickness to just 15.75mm. Last but certainly not least, TAG Heuer has also included a crown guard to further increase the robustness of the Superdiver.
As an added safety feature, the red ring around the base of the crown helps to inform the wearer in case they forget to screw it down.
If the watch is going to such depths, a helium escape valve will allow gas to escape so the crystal doesn’t pop out.
Internally, the watch also boasts some new improvements, namely the brand new TH30-00 calibre movement produced by Kenissi Manufacture in Switzerland. This highly regarded movement manufacture makes this movement exclusively for TAG Heuer offering significant improvements in terms of reliability and durability. Ensuring its accurate timekeeping, the movement is also officially Chronometer certified by the COSC.
The TH30-00 calibre will be produced by Kenissi exclusively for TAG Heuer.
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