Review of the TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 1000 Superdiver. One of the best diving watches in its segment ref. WBP5A8A.BF0619 has a price of €6300
Presented last March on occasion of the Watches and Wonders watch event in Geneva, the new TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 1000 Superdiver is at the top of the Aquaracer range in terms of performances, offering a remarkable water resistance of 100 ATM (1,000 metres / 3,330 feet) and ISO 6425:2018 certification for saturation divers’ watches.
Characterised by a bold look with original design details, this model also introduces a totally new movement, the Calibre TH30-00 that we will describe later.
The Aquaracer Professional 1000 Superdiver comes in a imposing case with a diameter of 45 mm and a total height of 15.75 mm and it is crafted from a Grade 5 titanium alloy (titanium, aluminium and vanadium), lighter and more hard-wearing than steel.
Offering the highest strength-to-density ratio of any metal, Grade 5 titanium is also darker than steel for a more technical look.
The alternation of brushed and (few) polished surfaces highlights the dynamic lines of the watch. When you first handle it, the eye is immediately drawn to the new steel crown protector at 3 o’clock, a detail which adds character while also improving the overall robustness. In fact, the winding crown is a weak point in water making its way inside the watch case, especially in case of shocks.
Security is essential for a diver's watch and TAG Heuer did not overlook anything: when you unscrew the crown, a clearly visible orange section of the tube serves as a reminder for the wearer to screw down the crown to prevent water and dust from entering. The orange seal stands out clearly thanks to the black DLC coating of the crown.
On the other side, at 9 o'clock, the Helium escape valve enables the gas - that would otherwise increase the internal pressure of the watch causing damages - to escape. Made of steel with a black DLC finish, the rectangular is engraved with the letters "He", identifying Helium in the periodic table of the elements.
The 12-sided unidirectional turning bezel features a black ceramic and orange hybrid ceramic insert with a 60-minute scale. The first quarter is orange to bring out the portion most often used for timing decompression stops.
The counter-clockwise rotation of the bezel is smooth thanks to the precise construction of the internal tooth profile that guarantees 60 precise clicks and a pleasant sound.
Despite its size, the watch sits comfortably on an average male wrist (the wrist in our pictures is 17.7 cm / 7 in) thanks to short and slightly curved lugs.
Flawlessly executed, the black sunray brushed dial features the typical engraved horizontal lines, slightly set further apart to improve visibility.
The minute and second hands, the most important during an immersion, stand out for their bright orange colour. It is not by chance that orange is the colour of maritime safety, just the opposite of the blue of the ocean on the colour wheel.
The hands and the octagonal hour markers are generously filled with the highest grade of Super-LumiNova, SLN Grade X1, and glow in green or blue (minutes hand, seconds hand and bezel) in darker environments.
TAG Heuer’s most extreme and robust diver's watch is powered by a brand new self-winding movement produced exclusively for the brand by Kenissi Manufacture SA, a highly regarded Swiss movement manufacturer.
Certified as a chronometer by COSC (Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres), the new TH30-00 calibre beats at a frequency of 4 Hz (28,800 vibrations per hour) and offers a practical 70-hours power reserve.
This model has received ISO 6425:2018 certification for saturation divers’ watches. ISO 6425:2018 has two levels of certification: a certification for dive watches, which few watches on the market can match, and a certification for saturation diving, which is more difficult to obtain and pretty rare among dive watches for this reason. Different criteria are verified, such as resistance to magnetism, shocks, and corrosion and photoluminescence. A magnetic shielding of the movement has also been achieved to better withstand magnetic fields that are present in electronic devices, such as cellular phones.
The caseback is decorated with the scaphandre diving suit that first appeared on the Aquaracer case back in 2004, here reinterpreted with a faceted contour.
The Superdiver is completed by a tapered Grade 5 titanium 3-link bracelet equipped with a double safety clasp with two safety push buttons and a fine adjustment system that can extend the bracelet length by up to 1.5 cm, a useful feature not just for wearing the watch over a diving suit but, more in general, for wearing it in total comfort in any situation or weather condition.
One of the best diving watches you can buy in its price segment, the TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 1000 Superdiver ref. WBP5A8A.BF0619 combines exceptional performances with a unique appearance that sets it apart from the competition. Other pluses are the use of Grade 5 titanium for case and bracelet and the new exclusive movement with COSC certification and magnetic shielding.
Delivered in a custom protective case, which is as resistant as the watch and includes a rescue dive torch, this model benefits from an extended international warranty up to five years and has a suggested retail price of CHF 6,500 / Euro 6,300 / US$ 6,650. tagheuer.com
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It looks amazing and it doesn't look so big on the wrist like other extreme divers'. The designer made an excellent job.
ReplyDeleteThis Aquaracer 1000 Superdiver looks awesome! The attention to detail is what sets this watch apart from just about every serious diver currently on the market. I would say it's only serious competition would be the new Omega Planet Ocean Ultra Deep, but whereas the Omega beats the Tag in terms of water-resistance, who are we kidding here? Sure, 6000m is impressive, but is anyone really going to need that? Even 1000m is almost 10 times overkill, but where the Tag beats the Omega hands down is the overall construction features of the Superdiver.
ReplyDeleteUse of Grade 5 Titanium for case and bracelet is huge. Grade 5 titanium alloy is lighter, and twice as scratch-resistant as stainless steel, and is not used on the Omega Ultra Deep except for only 1 model in the line. And you cannot get a metal bracelet with that model.
I believe that in real world situations, the bold white and orange hands and octagonal indices of the Tag Superdiver 1000 are much easier to read in darker environments, including underwater. The Omega granted, has a prettier face, but but when it's dark, and you really need to know what's going on, I don't believe the black face and silvery white hands will be as legible to the naked eye as the the face and hands of the Tag Superdiver.
Finally, the price point of the Omega Planet Ocean Ultra Deep is almost double that of the Tag Superdiver 1000. That is a serious amount of coin to plunk down for an extra 5000m of water resistance. But even if both watches were priced equally, (and they aren't,) and you just have these 2 beastly divers go head to head, I just prefer the look, form, function, and performance of the Tag Aquaracer Superdiver 1000 over just about every diver currently on the market, including the Omega.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
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