TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 Night Diver
The TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 Night Diver is a new addition to the Swiss marque’s range of divers’ models. Moreover, the venerable watch brand has also released two references supplied on colour-coordinated rubber straps, augmenting consumer choice.
In April 2021, TAG Heuer, the avant-garde Swiss watch brand, unveiled its new Aquaracer Professional 300 collection. At the time, the line-up comprised of three 43mm models in steel, one 43mm model in Grade 2 titanium, a limited edition reference in Grade 5 titanium, the Tribute to Ref. 844, and, lastly, three 36mm references. With the exception of the Tribute to Ref. 844, all models came supplied on a 3-rows metal bracelet.
Image – TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 with rubber strap
At the time of launch, the casual observer may have failed to notice any differences from the previous versions of the Aquaracer, however, closer examination revealed a plethora of changes. Back in April, Guy Bove, TAG Heuer’s Creative Product Design Director, spent much time with me, explaining the many improvements that can be found on this latest generation of Aquaracer.
Cleverly, the new model doesn’t undermine the charm of the former model, potentially disenfranchising the company’s loyal fan base. Instead, the new Aquaracer collection is an evolution of what has gone before. The Product Design team has cleverly honed tiny details which collectively enrich the overall ownership experience.
A few weeks later, I was granted the opportunity to wear the TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 Silver Dial. Everything I had been told was true. The watch exuded refinement from every square millimetre of its handsome form. Surprisingly, despite my press loan costing a mere £2500, the model demonstrates the firm’s incredible attention to detail and exhibits an overriding sense of quality.
Now, the Swiss marque has announced a few additional references. Two versions of the TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 43mm, the blue dial and black dial variants, are now offered with new colour-coordinated rubber straps. The straps are paired with stainless steel folding clasps featuring double safety push buttons and a fine adjustment system. Prospective purchasers are not only indulged with an alternative appearance, courtesy of the rubber straps, they can also look forward to a meaningful £250 cost saving. The TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 fitted with a rubber strap retails for £2250 (RRP as at 7.9.2021).
Prices for the long-anticipated TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 Tribute to Ref. 844 have also been announced (for more details see link). This model will be available in September and is priced at £3,600 (RRP as at 7.9.2021).
Image – TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 Tribute to Ref. 844
However, the model that piques my interest the most is, without a doubt, the TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 Night Diver. In common with its siblings, this latest addition to the brand’s subaquatic model range measures 43mm in diameter.
Interestingly, while the regular models employ gleaming facets to engage with light, the case on this 300 Night Diver is presented in black DLC steel with a sandblasted finish. The resultant appearance is understated, courtesy of its stealthy character. However, the TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 Night Diver has an alter ego, manifest with its white luminescent dial. In daylight, it appears bright, crisp and pure, but when night falls, vivid blue and green hues come out to play. The TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 Night Diver is priced at £2750 (RRP as at 7.9.2021).
The brand’s press release (September 2021)
Following the launch of the new TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 series during Watches and Wonders Geneva in April, TAG Heuer today announces three additions to the go-anywhere family of watches, including a new iteration of a TAG Heuer icon, the all-black, lume-dialled TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 Night Diver.
TAG Heuer enthusiasts will recognise the name “Night Diver”, which was first introduced in the mid- 1980s. Loved by active, style-conscious watch buyers who push their limits, exploring nature and going beyond the edge, it became one of the most celebrated sports watches of its era.
Today’s TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 collection picks up this story. TAG Heuer’s design, engineering and heritage teams worked together to deliver a faithful update to a much-loved watch, retaining and improving signature details such as the famous 12-sided bezel and the dial’s horizontal engraved lines to produce a refined, highly versatile modern classic.
THE POWER OF THREE: Introducing a trio of new TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 models
Today’s TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 drop adds three models to the eight announced in April, taking the collection to 11 references. All three new models are non-limited and go into the core collection, each with a 43 mm stainless steel case and rubber strap equipped with TAG Heuer’s innovative adjustable folding clasp.
Image – TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 with rubber strap
The new black and blue versions pick up on the bracelet models introduced at Watches and Wonders: both are colour-themed with matching black or blue dials, ceramic bezel inserts and rubber straps.
The standout model of the release is the black DLC-coated Night Diver, joining the TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 Tribute to Ref. 844 as the collection’s hero pieces. Its stainless-steel case, bezel, crown, caseback and clasp are all coated in matt black diamond-like carbon, known as DLC, a high-performance, hard-wearing finish designed for use in extreme conditions. The bezel insert is highly resistant black ceramic.
The Night Diver’s other signature feature is its fully luminescent dial, which is coated in green Super- LumiNova® to deliver exceptional glow-in-the-dark performance. To ensure ultimate legibility in extreme low-light conditions, the watch’s minute and central seconds hands are filled with blue lume to contrast with the green of the dial. The hour hand and octagonal hour markers at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock are filled with green lume, and the remaining octagonal hour markers are all edged with black lacquer. The triangle on the unidirectional rotating bezel at 12, which is crucial to accurately and safely measure dive times, is also filled with striking blue lume to match the blue of the minute and central seconds hands.
WELL ADJUSTED: TAG Heuer’s sliding clasps come as standard
Each of the new TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 references comes with a beautifully engineered integrated rubber strap equipped with TAG Heuer’s newly developed adjustable clasp system.
Image – TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 with rubber strap
These straps will be cut to length as part of a fitting process at a TAG Heuer boutique or by an authorised dealer. The wearer will then have the freedom to adjust their strap to accommodate a wetsuit, or simply to reflect changes in ambient conditions that make the wrist expand or contract.
The fine-tuning system developed by TAG Heuer’s engineers means this adjustment can be made to extremely small tolerances. This is done by pinching and sliding the button on the side of the clasp. The clasp also features double safety push-buttons that prevent it from being unlocked by accident.
It’s this level of utility that underscores the Aquaracer Professional 300 series’ ultimate luxury tool watch status.
FIT FOR PURPOSE: the detailing on the TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 is what makes it exceptional.
The detailing doesn’t stop there. As with the eight pieces in the launch collection, the three new references pick up on the six signature features that have defined TAG Heuer dive watches since 1983: a unidirectional rotating bezel, a screw-down crown, water resistance to at least 200 metres, luminous markings, a scratch-resistant crystal and a double safety clasp. These real-world functions became the model’s design pillars and have been reassuring underwater explorers for almost four decades.
The form carries a number of further details that enhance its luxury feel and performance. The 12 sides of the bezel are all faceted for grip, the crown is protected to prevent accidental damage and there’s a magnifying glass over the date, which is integrated into the underside of the sapphire crystal, making it smooth to the touch.
All this is set against the backdrop of the TAG Heuer Aquaracer’s dial with its trademark horizontally engraved lines. These have also been refined for the new generation of watches and are now set slightly further apart than in previous TAG Heuer Aquaracer iterations, giving the watches their elegant, sophisticated look.
As with the launch collection, the three new TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 references are powered by TAG Heuer’s Calibre 5 automatic movement. They all have solid casebacks stamped with the famous scaphander diving suit, complete with a 12-sided faceplate. All TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 models are water-resistant to 300 metres (30 bar, 1,000 feet).
THE FIRST 11: the TAG Heuer Aquaracer story continues
The three new TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 references announced today round out this year’s collection of 11 high-performance watches. These are confident, high-performing pieces designed for divers, adventurers and urban explorers who want to go beyond the edge and push their limits, and to get to the place where they find themselves. And they are the benchmark for what is to come …
TRIBUTE TO REF. 844: diving back in time
In April, TAG Heuer also introduced a highly collectable limited-edition version of the TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 at launch to both complement the core collection and salute the design’s wonderful heritage. It’s called the TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 Tribute to Ref. 844, and, as the name suggests, it picks up on the story of the fabled Ref. 844 divers’ watch introduced in 1978.
Image – TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 Tribute to Ref. 844
Only 844 examples of the TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 Tribute to Ref. 844 will be made and launched in September 2021.
Further reading