TAG Heuer's iconic collection of tool watches has new incorporation. We are talking about the 'little brother' of the Aquaracer Professional 300 -which was launched last year and aspires to be the brand's ultimate luxury watch for divers–, But beware, it is an exclusive design in its own right, and don't let the 'small' thing fool you.
“The codes and philosophy behind this watch were defined decades ago and they continue to be as relevant and exciting today as ever, especially in this time of new beginnings and projects”, he tells us Frédéric Arnault, CEO of TAG Heuer, on the Aquaracer Professional 200 model, which he defines as “an ideal companion for a frenetic and memorable life, full of adventures and achievements, a life beyond the limits”.
High-speed flying sports, ice skiing, ice climbing… are we going on an adventure?
His appearance has required several years of research and development by the firm's design and engineering teams and the result is eleven references, all of them in stainless steel, ideal for the most daring travellers. We talk about ice climbing or high speed flying, but also of those who enjoy visiting the most cosmopolitan cities in the world.
Each of them has been subjected to the most rigorous tests in the manufacture of La Chaux-de-Fonds to check its accuracy, its tightness and its resistance to abrasion, as well as to ensure that the strap supports accidental tensions. The main guarantee of the Aquaracer Professional collection is its performance under pressure.
Film director Thierry Donard has shot the Tag Heuer Aquaracer Professional 200 campaign.
And who better than film director Thierry Donard, director of the famous series on extreme sports Nuit de la Glisse, to bring this new watch to life on the screen. The ads created for this new release focus on high-speed flight sports, ice skiing and ice climbing, featuring athletes wearing the Aquaracer Professional 200 watch during their prowess in some of the wildest and most amazing natural spaces on the planet.
AN OFF-ROAD WITH A LOT OF HISTORY
The new luxury tool watch continues with the rich legacy of the historic Swiss high-performance sports watch brand, started four decades ago. It will be available with a 30 or 40mm stainless steel case; Each model will have a unidirectional rotating bezel with twelve facets, will offer water resistance to 200 m and will be equipped with a mechanical automatic or quartz movement.
The story began in 1978, when Jack Heuer introduced the Heuer Reference 844. Designed for men and women who love outdoor sports and adventures in nature - both on land and in the water - that watch defined a new category of timepieces high-performance, versatile wristbands that could be relied upon even in extreme conditions.
Are we going on an expedition?
The name 'Aquaracer' was introduced in 2004 and kept the legacy of the collection's six design codes: a unidirectional rotating bezel, a screw-down crown, water resistance to a minimum depth of 200 meters, luminous indexes, a sapphire crystal and a double safety clasp. Just like its 43mm big brother (the Aquaracer Professional 300), this new model also respects the six design codes established more than forty years ago.
“If one contemplates this model, one can appreciate our intention to create a watch for everyday use that, however, retains the look of a tool watch that TAG Heuer lovers have come to expect from icons of the past, such as the Reference 844 and the models of the 1000 and 2000 collections. It represents an evolution of its entire history”, says Guy Bove, creative director of the firm.
The Aquaracer Professional 200 offers various types of movements. In the 40 mm collection there are two automatic references and another two quartz references, while in the 30mm there are two automatic and five quartz options. This supposes another difference compared to the Aquaracer Professional 300 model, which is only available with an automatic mechanical movement.
The main guarantee of the Aquaracer Professional collection is its performance under pressure.
The choice of movement entails changes in the design and functionality of the watch. Automatic models are distinguished by fumé (smoked) gradient dials, date windows (but without magnifying glass, in order to maintain the slim profile of the watch), large Super-Luminova-coated seconds hands and more detailed minute scales. The quartz models lack a date and, on the other hand, have a smaller appearance, although otherwise they retain the same aesthetics and identical technical characteristics.
In the 30mm range we find more fun options. There are three quartz models with light silver, light blue or black sunray dials; a quartz model with a white mother-of-pearl dial and tiny diamonds; another quartz model that incorporates a diamond-set bezel to the white mother-of-pearl dial set with tiny diamonds; and, finally, two automatic watches with a smoked blue or black dial and also set with tiny diamonds. Once again, automatic models have a date window.
One of the attributes that all the references of the new model share is the design of the back of the box. Since these watches are designed to capture the spirit of exploration, their reverse is engraved with a compass, instead of the diving suit that characterized the back of the Aquaracer collection (and its predecessors) since 2002.
Aquaracer Professional 200.
The new Aquaracer Professional 200 is equipped with some additional engineering improvements which were first introduced on the Aquaracer Professional 300 watch, although they are not immediately apparent. For example, the improvements in the bezel, whose rotating mechanism is highly fluid, although we will still be able to hear that reassuring 'click' that indicates reliability under pressure.
Both watches have a slimmer, more elegant strap in the TAG Heuer tradition of designing ergonomic straps that adapt to the natural curvature of the wrist. In addition, the belt of the Aquaracer Professional 200 is equipped with a comfortable attachment point with an adjustable 7mm extension with an ingenious push and pull mechanism.
Likewise, the two models in the collection have been designed in such a way that its undulation from the facets of the bezel facilitates holding and adjustment. Riders sporting the bezels of the previous generation Aquaracer have been removed, bringing a continuous profile is created.
A daring traveler... needs a watch to match.
SOME OTHER DIFFERENCES
The Aquaracer Professional 200 model is considerably more compact thanks to its 40 mm diameter (vs. 43mm); In addition, there is a version with a smaller 30 mm case. The bezel still incorporates a diving scale, only now it's engraved on a steel insert, instead of ceramic. The center strap attachment point is polished, not brushed, which provides a more formal aspect with the aim of increasing its versatility to be able to use it at sea or in the mountains, at the office or on a weekend getaway.
differences continue when we come to geometry. Where the Aquaracer Professional 300 features octagonal hour markers, an oversized hour hand and yellow accents, the new model adopts the most classic codes of a sports watch, with trapezoidal hour markers with straight edges, neater sword-shaped hands and white details.
To improve the readability of the dial, hour markers and hands are coated with Super-LumiNova, although no luminescent material has been applied to the bezel to create a more handcrafted look.