Tag Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 Titanium
Tag Heuer is an iconic brand, having involvement in many different facets including golf, tennis, and most notably Formula One. However, out of their current offerings, one model in particular that stands out in the modern watch landscape is the Tag Heuer Aquaracer. This series had it’s start in 2004 when the “Aquaracer” name was released as a sub-model for the Tag Heuer 2000 series watch; the Aquaracer name would later transition and take over the Tag Heuer 2000 series watch.
Since it’s release, the Aquaracer became known for being a functional dive watch with substantial durability, an abundance of water resistance, and undeniable aesthetics. Over the years the Aquaracer has undergone various iterations, with Tag Heuer most recently launching it’s 5th generation of the model. In conjunction with the various generations, the Aquaracer has had various models and movements such as chronographs, 1/10th chronographs, automatic variants, quartz variants, pieces with 500m water resistance, standard 3-hand watches, and many more. Below shows a chronological highlight of the Aquaracer generations:
The Heuer 2000 was relaunched with the new Aquaracer name from 2005.
Generation 1: 2005-2009
Generation 2: 2009-2012
Generation 3: 2012-2014
Generation 4: 2014-2021
Generation 5: 2021-Present
With all of these generations and variants, the current 5th generation has one offer in particular that stands out, the Tag Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 Titanium. Today we are going to dive into the details on this exceptional piece.
The Specs:
The Tag Heuer Aquaracer Professional Titanium has significance in relation to the rest of the lineup thanks to the titanium case and bracelet, along with a few other differentiating quirks. The titanium case comes in at the standard 43mm in diameter, 16.56mm in thickness and uniquely features a matte sandblasted finish on the case and bracelet. As to be expected with a dive watch, a screw-down crown is standard and gives this watch 300m of water resistance.
The Aquaracer Professional Titanium, similar to the standard offering, features the automatic Calibre 5 movement which oscillates at 28,800 Vph and features a 38 hour power reserve. The features on this watch include all time on center, a ceramic uni-directional rotating bezel, and a date display at 6 O’clock. All other technical specifications and features are shown below:
Specifications:
Reference Number: WBP208B.BF0631
Movement: Automatic Calibre 5
Frequency: 28,800 Vph
Power Reserve: 38 Hours
Case Material: Titanium
Case Diameter: 43mm
Case Thickness: 16.56mm
Water Resistance: 300m
Features:
Time on center
Date display at 6
Uni-directional rotating titanium/ceramic bezel
Super LumiNova on hands, indices, and bezel
Screw down crown
Price: $4200
The Details:
The details are what make this watch special. It’s ability to standout from the rest of the Aquaracer lineup is unprecedented thanks to the attributes covered below:
The Dial/Bezel:
The dial on this piece is aesthetically similar to the standard Aquaracer offering, having shuttered embossments running horizontal across the dial surface. However, this piece gets the green dial, which as we have come to know is highly sought after and typically reserved to limited run pieces. In true “hulkesque” fashion, the bezel is color matched to the same color green used on the dial.
Insignia on the dial is fairly standard with “Aquaracer” and the “Tag Heuer” logo written just north of center and “Automatic”, “300m/1000ft”, and “Swiss made” written just south of center. The white and yellow color scheme used with the insignia is color matched to other features of the watches indices, hands, and bezel.
The Aquaracer utilizes various different style hour indices inboard of the bezel and chapter ring. The first style is a trapeze shaped hour marker seen at the 12, 3, and 9 O’clock locations whos’ surface is angled from the indicator centerline downward to the dials surface. The second style marker is an octagon shaped indicator shown between the quarter hour markings, having a chamfered metal edge leading up to the white luminescent indicator. The last style hour indicator is unique and is featured at the 6 O’clock location, having only a partial indicator due to the intrusion of the date window. As alluded to, all of these indices are filled with a white Super LumiNova, giving them a greenish glow in low light conditions, as seen above.
Moving inward to the watch hands we see the sword style hour, minute, and second hands which are all filled with white Super LumiNova. The hour hand gets a green Super LumiNova to match the hour indicators which it tracks along, while the minute and seconds hands get a Super LumiNova that illuminates blue in low light conditions. Now, while luminescent hands and indices are fairly standard for a dive watch, a fully luminescent bezel is not. Contrary to the standard Aquaracer offerings, this model features a bezel that has Super LumiNova on all the bezel indicators and numbers (rather than lume only on the top most indicator). A great addition from a functional aspect and considering manufactures like Omega and Seiko offer this on their divers.
The Case/Band:
The case of this Aquaracer is part of what makes it special; not only is it constructed of titanium, but it also utilizes an interesting atypical finishing technique. Rather than a brushed or polished finish, this piece gets a sandblasted finish giving a sort of matte texture to the piece which is carried through to the bracelet in the same fashion. This finishing technique is so prevalent that Tag Heuer did not bother to offer additional finishing contrast on the case; the matte titanium is all encompassing from the bezel, to the lugs, to the case back, etc.… The only portion that gets a different finishing technique is the back of the bracelet links, which have a linear brushed finished as can be seen below.
Consistent with the standard offering, the case-back features the iconic dive helmet that is synonymous to the Aquaracer name, surround by a raised circular honeycomb pattern. Outboard of that, the standard insignia is shown, having the “Tag Heuer”, “Aquaracer” , “300 Meters” water resistance rating, and “Swiss Made Since 1860” written around the circumference of the case back.
Typically there would be various offerings for a watch that is covered; however, this piece is a bit of a standalone to the rest of the Aquaracer lineup. Customization is left off the table for this piece with the exception of the buyer being able to request the band size based on wrist size when ordering; other than that, what you see is what you get.
What do you think about the Tag Heuer Aquaracer Titanium? Would you prefer this over the standard Aquaracer offering? Let us know in the comments.