TAG Heuer has unveiled the new Aquaracer Professional 300, a luxury tool watch set for sea adventures, continuing a legacy that began more than 40 years ago.
With its striking, instantly recognisable aesthetic, epitomised by the Aquaracer's signature 12 faceted bezel, and its high specifications, it's entirely contemporary, and yet it recalls a legacy that TAG Heuer began more than 40 years ago.
That legacy began with the Heuer Ref. 844, a divers' watch released in 1978. It had a memorable dial design with a red 24-hour scale, prominent lume-filled hour markers and a rotating divers' bezel with a crystal-clear minutes scale for safely timing dives. It set the standard for reliable diver's watches and was adopted by professional and recreational divers all over the world. In the four decades since the watch was launched, TAG Heuer has continued to push the limits of divers' watch design and performance, through celebrated pieces such as the Night Diver and the 1000 and 2000 Series models, while the Ref. 844 has become a collectors' favourite.
The new-generation model is called the Aquaracer Professional 300. Bold and yet elegant, highly functional and yet versatile, it's a highly robust watch with a luxury feel that goes beyond the edge and sets a new high-water mark: for ergonomic, extreme-performance mechanical watches. Designed for work and play, and to soak up nature's harshest challenges, it's a pure symbol of TAG Heuer's fearless, avant-garde spirit.
Frédéric Arnault, TAG Heuer CEO, said: "TAG Heuer has been making bold, high-performance, stylish, luxury tool watches for more than four decades. The Aquaracer Professional 300 picks up a much-loved story and moves it on with the most significant step we've taken to develop our Aquaracer collection in many years. Pushing the limits, high functionality, a bold and unmistakable aesthetic, and the promise of going with you, even to the extremes – the Aquaracer Professional 300 is a watch that will take you beyond the edge. This is, after all, the place where we truly find ourselves."
For the new collection, the Aquaracer's six signature features have been updated and upgraded.
Firstly, the Aquaracer's 12-sided unidirectional rotating bezel has been retained, yet evolved. It is now integrated with a scratch-resistant ceramic insert across the collection and fluting each of the 12 facets so the bezel would be easy to grip and turn, no matter which facets the wearer is holding.
The bezel's internal tooth profile has also been re-engineered so that the rotating mechanism becomes smoother, quieter and easier to set. The result is a highly ergonomic device that delivers tangible improvements to the watch's functionality.
The sapphire glass has also been upgraded, with a a magnifier over the date at 6 o'clock into the underside of the glass so that the surface is smooth to the touch. This simple but effective forward step also makes the date easier to read from wider angles.
The bezel's silhouette was then used to inform further elements of the Aquaracer Professional 300's design, so that it now has eight octagonal hour markers and a 12-sided crown. This elegant uniformity gives the new watch's design language its consistency.
Further improvements were then made to the overall look and legibility of the watch. The new model has a wider, more sword-shaped hour hand (reminiscent of the last of the TAG Heuer 2000 Series, introduced in 2004) and a narrower minutes hand to create a clearer distinction between the two hands in low-light conditions. Green Super-LumiNova® for the hour hand and hour markers, and blue Super-LumiNova® for the minutes hand enhance clarity in dimly lit conditions. The crown protection is now softer and more rounded, cupping the crown in a style reminiscent of the Ref. 844.
Overall, the new case, bezel and metal bracelet have all been slimmed down, and its lugs are now shorter, while the case edge has been chamfered and polished to give more harmony to the watch's visual impact and add refinement. As a result, on the wrist, the watch now has a more sophisticated profile, and is lighter and more ergonomic.
The motif with the famous scaphander diving suit that first appeared on the Aquaracer caseback in 2004, continues to underline the value of the watch to its users, who are the latest in a long line of underwater explorers who chose the Aquaracer. Reflecting the facets that become the new design's fil rouge, they made the diving helmet more angular and added a 12-faceted faceplate. Behind it sits a repeating hexagonal motif. The case back will now also always be square to the case so that the scaphander sits upright.
As a result of these technical and aesthetic upgrades, the new Aquaracer Professional 300 is both a nod to the past and a contemporary design ready for the future.
Seven references in two sizes are available in this newly-launched collection. Four references will have a 43 mm case diameter, and three will feature a case measuring 36 mm. Each has a uni-directional rotating divers' bezel with a ceramic insert and an engraved minutes scale.
Six of these will be in stainless steel, with the choice of black, blue or silver dials. There will also be a 43 mm piece in high-tech matte Grade 2 titanium with a green dial. The stainless-steel models have either a black or blue ceramic bezel insert with a white triangle at 12 o'clock filled with blue Super-LumiNova®. The titanium model has a green ceramic bezel insert with a yellow triangle at 12 o'clock, and every indication on its minutes scale is filled with blue Super-LumiNova® to maximise low-light visibility.
To give the watches the bold sophistication established as a core principle during the concept phase, all seven references have been given stylish engraved dials. The 43 mm models carry over one of the signature design cues from the outgoing Aquaracer, namely the dial's engraved horizontal lines, only now these have been set further apart, contributing to the watch's more considered look. The dials on the smaller 36 mm models are engraved with a wave pattern, which was introduced in 2019. The blue 36 mm model also has eight diamond hour markers and polished central bracelet links.
Each reference features a new integrated metal bracelet design, equipped with a highly sophisticated fine adjustment system that can extend or reduce the bracelet length by up to 1.5 cm. This enables wearers to resize the bracelet so the watch can be worn over a wetsuit, or adjust the bracelet size to cater for changes in climate or temperature, without taking the watch off.
Aquaracer Professional 300 Tribute to Ref. 844
A limited-edition Aquaracer Professional 300 Tribute to Ref. 844 completes the launch. This timepiece picks up on the story of the fabled Ref. 844 divers' watch, introduced in 1978. It boasts a high-tech Grade 5 titanium case with a number of visual elements from the archive piece. The flat black dial carries the Ref. 844's red 24-hour scale, which was originally intended as a quick conversion chart for on-the-field professionals reporting the time against the 24-hour clock.
The watch also has vintage lume and a black perforated rubber strap based on an original design created to allow water to swiftly pass between the watch and the wearer's wrist. In keeping with the watch's repeating-facet design code, those perforations are octagonal.
Only 844 examples of the Aquaracer Professional 300 Tribute to Ref. 844 will be made.
All eight references in the new Aquaracer Professional 300 collection are powered by TAG Heuer's Calibre 5, an ultra-reliable Swiss-made, automatic mechanical movement that drives hour, minute and seconds hands and a date, which is now positioned at 6 o'clock, in keeping with the design codes of the new generation of TAG Heuer watches. Every model has a solid case back and provides water resistance to 300 metres (30 bar).
