Watches & Wonders: TAG Heuer Introduces The Aquaracer Professional 300 Collection

Over the past decade, TAG Heuer has focused a lot of energy on its long association with auto racing. But at this year’s Watches & Wonders, TAG Heuer is emphasizing its links to deep-sea adventure with a new Acquaracer collection – the Aquaracer Professional 300. This new lineup contains five 40mm references and three 36mm references.

The new next-generation Aquaracers are aimed at younger enthusiasts by bringing a bright new look with a slimmer, lighter case to the table in a bid to create a more modern watch. Here’s a deeper dive into how this updated collection came about.

Because its most legendary timepieces are so closely associated with action, TAG Heuer has always occupied a unique space in the luxury market. Even though the brand is high-end, it has always offered accessibly priced pieces, making its watches a major reason why sport-chic is so popular today. Tom Brady may represent IWC now, but his first horological love was a TAG Heuer Formula 1.

This new-generation model is called the Aquaracer Professional 300. Functional and versatile, it is aimed at modern consumer expectations. It is, in short, a robust tool watch with a luxury feel.
 

The new luxury also demands comfort: the Aquaracer Professional 300 is ergonomic, a mechanical watch made for the challenges of work and extreme play.

Though the Aquaracer Professional 300 has kept many aesthetic elements of the original – namely the faceted bezel – but it “evolved” (to use TAG Heuer’s terminology). The bezel has a coin edge to make it easier to grip and turn, and its internal tooth profile was re-engineered so that the rotating mechanism is smoother and quieter. And it is kitted out with a scratch-resistant ceramic insert.
 

Also upgraded are the sapphire crystal and the integrated date window magnifier at 6 o'clock, making the dial easier to read from all angles. More than just legibility improvements to the sapphire crystal, the dial design has been tweaked by adding eight octagonal hour markers and a wider sword-shaped hour hand along with a narrower minute hand. And for extra clarity, green Super-LumiNova is on the hour hand and markers while blue Super-LumiNova is on the minutes hand. These changes may sound trivial, but cumulatively they make reading time easier in low-light conditions.
 

The Aquaracer’s signature dive helmet engraving on the caseback is sharper and sits atop a hexagonal, honeycombed background. Plus, a new integrated metal bracelet features an adjustment system that can extend or reduce the bracelet length by up to 1.5cm.
 

Overall, the most impressive development is that the Aquaracer Professional 300 is thinner and lighter than previous iterations without compromising the watch’s core performance (it’s still water resistance to 300 meters). The formerly polished case now has a brushed finish with a wide polished chamfer running from lug to lug. The lugs have also been shortened. And even though the case slimmed down by only 0.35mm for a total thickness of 12.2mm, millimeters matter. These visual tricks help make the silhouette feel slimmer and more streamlined.
 

For the relaunch, the TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 series will spotlight five distinctive 43mm versions, including a model with a green dial and a matte, sand-blasted Grade 2 titanium case. There is also the Aquaracer Professional 300 Tribute to Ref. 844 – limited to 844 pieces – with the old-school pairing of a black bezel and stainless steel case inspired by a vintage Heuer diver from 1978. One detail worth noting, in keeping with the theme, the perforations on the Tribute to Ref. 844's rubber bracelet are 8-sided.
 

There are also three 36mm-sized versions. The dials on these smaller models are embellished with the Aquaracer’s wave pattern introduced in 2019. The blue 36mm model also has eight diamond hour markers and polished central bracelet links. 
 

All models in the updated line are powered by the reliable ETA-based Calibre 5 Automatic with a 42-hour power reserve and 28,800 bph beat rate. These innards are sound, but they also keep the prices down. The new TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 models start at $2,800, while the green dial titanium model and Tribute to Ref. 844 are priced at $4,200 and $4,350, respectively.
 

The TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 collection will be available in June. For more details, please visit tagheuer.com.

(Images © TAG Heuer)