SpotlightUpdated Divers: Introducing The TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 Date And GMT Collection
The TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 Date and GMT collections get more than just a facelift with updated cases and dials, and are now powered by chronometer-certified calibres with an 80-hour power reserve
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While TAG Heuer’s most identifiable and historic collections may be inspired by motor racing, the Aquaracer line of dive watches is also fairly well known for its easy accessibility and versatility. Now, barely three years after their latest overhaul, TAG Heuer update their Aquaracer Professional 300 Date and GMT editions once again. Only, this time the changes go beyond the cosmetic. An updated COSC-certified movement with an 80-hour power reserve now sits inside a marginally smaller case with angular rotating bezels that frame beautiful new textured dials in hues that evoke the oceans. All this comes with 300m of water resistance, making this collection just as versatile as its older siblings, and just as ready for both adventure and the everyday.
TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 Date
First released in 2004, the Aquaracer soon came to be known for its everyday functionality. In 2021, the brand overhauled the collection, with larger cases sized at 43mm, housing the brand’s calibre 5 with a power reserve of approximately 38 hours. The new TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 Date watches are now powered by the TH31-00 calibre, with an official chronometer certification and a much more significant power reserve of up to 80 hours. Not only that, the case sizes have been reduced to a more versatile 42mm, with a screw-down crown, geometric crown guards, and closed caseback decorated with the line’s signature diver’s helmet. Angular dodecagonal unidirectional rotating dive bezels feature ceramic inserts with numerals marked in intervals of 10, and an inverted triangle at 12 o’clock.
Dial colours of blue, black and green match the hues on the bezel, with contrasting seconds hands in orange, blue and lime, respectively, aiding legibility underwater. Interestingly, the hour hand now has a TAG Heuer shield-like tip, and the minute track on the flange has been redesigned with little arrows at five-minute intervals. Indexes with their distinct octagonal shape are filled with Super-LumiNova, as are the new hands. Besides hues that are reminiscent of the ocean, an asymmetrical wave pattern now decorates the dials of the Aquaracer Professional 300 Date. A ‘magnifying lens’ date window at six o’clock enhances the optics of the timepiece—both underwater, and above the surface.
TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 GMT
On the 42mm Aquaracer Professional 300 GMT, the ceramic bezel is marked with the 24-hour scale in black and blue or green for night and day. Unlike the Aquaracer Professional 300 Date versions, the Aquaracer Professional 300 GMT timepieces feature a bidirectional rotating bezel. On the wave-patterned dial, a GMT arrow-tipped hand indicates a second time zone on the 24-hour scale. While this light-hued hand stands out against the deep blue and green of the dials, it doesn’t take away from the time-telling functions of the watch, even underwater.
The Aquaracer Professional 300 GMT timepieces are powered by the COSC-certified chronometer calibre TH31-03, with hours, minutes, seconds, date and GMT functions, and a power reserve of 80 hours. The calibre is, unfortunately, hidden behind a closed caseback decorated with a diver’s helmet, as were all previous Aquaracer timepieces, a sort of signature of the line.
Still, this new collection of TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 Date and GMT timepieces are all geared to possibly serve as the watch for a whole generation of future collectors, with their functionality, robustness, and ability to handle the everyday knocks both underwater and above ground.
