The New Aquaracer 200: Is Tag Heuer Listening to It's Fans?
Last year, when Tag Heuer announced it’s new CEO (The young Frederic Arnault), the industry was buzzing with rumor of nepotism and a bit of cynicism. Personally, I felt a fresh set of eyes on the brand from someone in tune with the younger audience Tag has seemed to resonate with was a good thing. One of the first items on the agenda was a complete re-tune of the Aquaracer Collection. This week, Tag Heuer has announced a fresh take on the Aquaracer 200 line - spiced up, and ready for diving.
THE BASICS:
Brand: Tag Heuer
Model: Tag Heuer Professional Aquaracer 200 Date (Ref. WBP2111.BA0627) and No Date (Ref. WBP1110.BA0627)
Case Material: Steel
Case Size: 40mm x 11mm
Water Resistance: 200m
Crystal: Sapphire Crystal
Movement: Tag Heuer Calibre 5 Automatic and Quartz for the No Date
Strap Options: Steel Bracelet with Fold-Over Steel Clasp
THE JUICE:
To kick off the re-vamped collection, 4 new models were added to the collection. There are two date models that feature the brands Calibre 5 automatic movement, and 2 cheaper quartz models that feature, well, a quartz movement. Personally, I’m not sure why the quartz models were included, they aren’t that much cheaper and feel a bit unecessary. I think keeping with the Calibre 5 theme, and simply removing the date would have beena more coherrent decision.
The all steel cases measure in at 40mm x 11mm, sizing them down from, say, the Professional 300 Series that was released late last year. The new 200 series seems to do a fantastic job of taking what was best from the old Aquaracers, and what was best from the new Aquaracers, and melding them together.
For starters, you’ll notice in addition to the sized-down case, the bezel is a cool steel instead of the Ceramic insert fastened to the 300 series - bringing back that almost vintage-esque vibe the previous generations of Aquaracer has had in the past. Personally? This is a win for me. As much as I love Ceramic, offering an alternative that is still inately “tool-ey” feels good.
The dial feels a bit more concise than in previous generations of the model. In fact, I’d go so far as to say this may be my favorite dial in recent memory. The 6 o’ clock indice is replaced with a date window, while the rest of the hour indicators are slimmer, and more pointed. This results in a more versatile wear than as been with previous generations. The smoke texture provides some more visual interest, and the bulky handset with piped seconds hand means that the dial has been designed with the Aquaracer remaining, first-and-foremost a tool watch.
Inside the new Aquaracer is either a Quartz or a Calibre 5 movement. The Quartz movement is pretty standard, and I guess harkens back to a time where Quartz dominated the Aquaracer collections. The Calibre 5 is fairly standard specs. 4-Hz, 27-jewels, 38 hour power reserve etc. The caseback is the Aquaracer star, so you won’t be able to see it anyway, as the collection has 200m of water resistance.
Many people have been asking for the Aquaracer Collection to get back to it’s roots, and this feels a lot like that. The marriage of the old and the new come together for the Professional 200, and while I do feel that adding a couple Quartz models for only slightly less money kind of cheapens the overall release, I don’t mind that there are more options rather than less. And I suppose, for those who know the name, and don’t want to deal with the hastle of waitlists for their steel sports watches, these models will do just fine.
How much is the new Tag Heuer Aquaracer Professional 200?
Price for the Quartz model will be $2,050 USD, while the Calibre 5 model will be $2,750 USD.