Last year, TAG Heuer made news when it introduced the most significant refresh to its Aquaracer dive-watch collection since 2014, introducing the fifth generation of the Aquaracer Professional 300. So named for its 300-meter water resistance and professional-grade dive specs, the watch was positioned as the new core design of the Aquaracer collection from which the brand which could introduce updates in the years to come. Now, one year later, TAG Heuer is doing just that — debuting the next-generation collection’s first major expansion with the Aquaracer “Outdoor” Professional 200.
As its name hints, the new series features a 200-meter water resistance, positioned in TAG Heuer’s catalog as a more casual dive sports watch compared to the more robust Aquaracer Professional 300 base models — 11 of them in total, including four 40-mm models and seven 30-mm options, each size category offering both automatic and quartz movements.
Nicknamed the “Outdoor,” the new collection recalls TAG Heuer’s history in dive watches spanning back to 1978 and the Heuer Reference 844, a professional-grade diver designed for both men and women and one perfectly at home on the wrist in both more serious and casual outdoorsy situations. With this new launch, in effect, TAG Heuer poses a watch ready for anything, and one positioned for its wearers to declare those now famous, memed words, “We outside.”
TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 200 40mm
Among the 40-mm models of the TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 200, we find two mechanical pieces available with smoked blue or black dials, and two quartz watches with black or silver sunray dials. Each watch features a steel case in the modern Aquaracer silhouette, complete with octagonal bezel, oversized crown, and streamlined guards flanking that crown. Aside from the downgraded but still very dive-ready 200-meter water resistance, the models feature a solid steel bezel rather than the 300’s bezel with ceramic insert.
Differing in color, as well as the use of a date complication in the mechanical versions, each watch otherwise features the Aquaracer’s engraved horizontal pattern dial texture, as well as other familiar Aquaracer signatures like the extended-sword handset and matching lume-filled trapezoidal-shaped hour indices. This configuration is notably more similar to pre-2021 Aquaracers, with TAG Heuer possibly using this style to differentiate the more casual divers from the brand’s more premium 300 range. The mechanical options also don’t include a cyclops magnifying window over their 6 o’clock date windows, which was another significant detail first seen in the 300 range.
While the quartz caliber used in the range go unnamed by the brand, the mechanical one inside the 200s is TAG Heuer’s no-nonsense, automatic Caliber 5. Regardless of which movement is inside, both are protected behind a solid steel caseback, its surface engraved with a compass and an engraved hexagonal motif in an effort “to capture the go-anywhere spirit of exploration” of the series. The compass image notably differs from the scaphander diving helmet featured on Aquaracer casebacks (and those of their predecessors) since 2002, including on last year’s 300.
TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 200 30mm
The 30-mm options in the TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 200 release, while smaller in size, are also poised for the “Outdoor” world, and include two automatic editions and five quartz models.
In most ways, the design of these more compact watches follows that established in the 40-mm — obviously sized down but with the same insert-less unidirectional dive bezel and 200-meter dive rating. It’s on the dial that we see the greatest differentiation from their larger siblings: each watch eschews the horizontal line texture in favor of a flat surface; the automatic models use a smoked look in either black or blue and include a subtle 6 o’clock date window and diamond indices, while the date-less quartz versions feature either mother-of-pearl dials with varying degrees of diamond accenting, or sunray dials in black, light blue, or silver, sans any additional gemstones.
All the watches have the extended, sword-style handset to indicate the time, though the automatic and mother-of-pearl editions use the current generation’s octagonal hour indices while the remaining quartz watches opt for the older aesthetic. The TAG Heuer caliber 9 powers the automatic watches, while another unnamed movement is used for the quartz models. The new, compass-adorned style is found on all the casebacks.
Pricing and Availability
The TAG Heuer Aquaracer “Outdoor” Professional 200 series is available now, directly through TAG Heuer as well as its authorized retailers. The 40-mm quartz editions are priced at $1,850, the automatic versions at $2,500. The 30-mm, non-diamond quartz models are marked at $1,800, while the diamond-set watches range from $2,500 to $4,550; the automatic editions sell for $3,200.
To learn more, visit TAG Heuer, here.
Wich quartz movement have inside?
Just how many times is TAG going to retread this model? I’ve noticed they are reducing the amount of new releases and just keep tweaking some of the older models. It’s like they are a tire company putting new treads on used truck tires.
Even my TAG AD where I live is noticing this and doesn’t like what they are doing.