BY JOVAN KRSTEVSKI
TAG Heuer, in my opinion, is an underrated brand. While it produces some high-quality watches that offer great bang for the buck in their respective categories, TAG Heuer does not get the credit they deserve. For 2021, TAG Heuer has announced a slew of new Aquaracer Professional 300 watches that feature interesting design updates making them stand out from other members of the Aquaracer family whilst maintaining familiarity with the overall design. On offer are four models with blue, silver, black and green sunburst dials and a special limited-edition homage to the vintage reference 844. Let’ have a quick look.
The biggest noteworthy change on the new Aquaracer Professional 300 watches can be seen on the dial, which is now more refined and balanced. Two things drive this change. First and foremost is the scale and shape of the indices and the hands. The indices are now smaller and have now been presented as a combination of applied octagons and trapezoids. The hour and minute hands now have a sword-style shape instead of the batons seen on the existing models.
Second and more importantly, the date window has now been shifted from the 3 O’clock to the 6 O’clock position making the dial look more symmetrical than before. Apart from this, the dial still features a printed minute track and horizontal stripes with a sunburst effect that have been a signature design highlight of Aquaracer watches for a while now. Having said that, the vintage-inspired Tribute to Ref. 844 drops the horizontal stripe pattern for a matt black textured dial with a 24-hour scale in red. Also, to emit a vintage vibe, the indices and hands in this variant have been filled with custard-colored luminous paint.
The case on the Aquaracer Professional 300 watches still measures 43mm in diameter and maintains a familiar angular geometry. However, like the dial, the case gets some refinement. While the regular Aquaracer models feature fully polished sides, the case on these new watches comes with brushed sides and a smooth polished bevel that flows through the sides, all the way down to the lugs. Another notable update to the case comes in the form of the bezel on top that now features a coin edge pattern for better grip and the bezel insert is also ceramic for better scratch resistance. The case is still water-resistant to 300 meters and is being offered in different choices of materials. The blue, black, and silver dial variants get a stainless-steel body, the green dial variant gets a grade 2 Titanium case and finally, the Tribute to 844 version gets a case made from lightweight grade 5 titanium.
Beating inside the new Aquaracer Professional 300 is the trustworthy calibre 5 which is based on the Sellita SW 200-1 and offers a power reserve of around 38 hours. The movement operates at 4 Hz and is hidden underneath a closed case back which has been decorated with a deeply stamped motif of a diver’s helmet. The limited-edition variant also gets the number engraved on the back.
The new Aquaracer Professional 300 watches come attached to a bracelet except for the Tribute to 844 model, which is accompanied by a black rubber strap with octagonal perforations to match the aesthetic of the case. The regular models would retail for USD2,800 whereas the green dial variant and the Tribute to 844 would retail for USD4,200 and USD4,350 respectively.
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