Back in 2022 TAG Heuer relaunched their hard-core dive watch in the guise of the 'Superdiver', a 45mm Aquaracer with a grade 5 titanium case, 1000M of water resistance, an integrated helium escape valve and a fancy crown mechanism. On top of all that it came complete with a Kenissi manufactured (sort of) in-house movement (the TH30-00, which is carried over into these models incidentally).
It looked pretty cool, but at 45mm it was absolutely HUGE on the wrist and also very expensive (only those short lived solid gold Aquaracers cost more IIRC) both of which negatively impacted its sales potential. First they tried giving away an orange rubber strap to stimulate interest and then it started falling in price (something practically unheard of in the Swiss watch world), but seemingly to no avail, and after a few short years in the catalogue it was sent to Bicester and deleted from the website.
But fear not deep water enthusiasts, the Superdiver concept is not dead! Because a few weeks ago TAG Heuer launched not one, but two new 'Superdivers', now in a much more wrist-friendly 42mm case and about £1000 cheaper to boot. Hurrah!
Funnily enough, we got our first glimpse of the new Superdiver a few months ago when Time & Tide (accidentally?) leaked a blurry shot of it in a video they made about the new 41mm Carrera chronos. Of course we couldn't see it very well at the time, and it wasn't even clear if it was a 36mm or a 42mm, but the black with orange highlights colour scheme was clear and instantly piqued my interest.
But, as I said, there are two new Superdivers, and alongside the black and orange WBP5183 there's also the black and blue version (WBP5182). As it happens, I visited Stratford Upon Avon last week and I saw the WBP5182 in the window of a jewellers there. To be honest I didn't even notice it was a Superdiver to start with because at first glance it looked more like a 40mm Aquaracer, and as the helium escape valve is coated black I didn't spot that either.
But then the penny dropped and I realised what I was looking at and, well, honestly... while I like the overall package I really didn't like the dial. The textured wave pattern is just too fussy for a tool watch and on the blue one they've made it even less appealing by giving the whole thing a light to dark gradient from top to bottom. Ugh.
I haven't seen the orange and black one yet, but looking at the renders it doesn't appear to be the same on that one. So while it does also have the overly-busy wave-texture at least it looks like it might be dark enough not to be too off-putting.
It's funny, the previous Super Diver (and the 500M Aquagraph) both had 'internal' HEV's so it's interesting that they've chosen to make them 'external' on these models. It kinda makes you wonder if it's more about being 'seen' to have a 'HEV' than it actually being a practical consideration. And conversely Omega have gone the other way with their new watches, so that's... 'noteworthy', perhaps?
It looks very much like they've reverted to a more traditional crown on these, which is a shame as it was quite cool, but probably saved a few bucks and perhaps it was a bit ungainly. Overall these look much closer to regular Aquaracers which is probably a good thing when it comes to pulling in buyers.
I predict a decent score for these as they are visually appealing, but I highly doubt anyone in the C.O.C.O. will actually put their money where their mouth is and buy one. For me, it's all about the black and orange, so I'll wait until that one turns up to give it a try. These are both limited to 1500pcs but somehow I doubt they'll be flying off the shelves, so hopefully I'll get an opportunity for an 'On the Wrist' before these too are 'sent to Bicester'. 🤣
Over to the C.O.C.O. then. At least this time it's not yet another bloody Carrera or another F1 Solargraph... (but you can bet it won't be long)!
Blue: 6/10, Orange 6.5/10: "I don't particularly like this wave-pattern dial, but I find the orange version quite attractive."
Blue 7.5/10, Orange 8.5/10: "Really like both of these, especially the orange which really stands out. Not 100% sure about the helium escape valve, if anything."
Blue 6/10, Orange 6.5/10: "I don’t care for the wave dial on the current series."
Blue 8.5/10, Orange 7/10: "I like the colourway / design on both of these but prefer the blue overall. The lighter blue edging really makes the dial pop."
Blue 9/10, Orange 9.5/10: "Two excellent releases but a real shame that there was very little attention given to them by TAG Heuer and so very little press coverage. I really like them, with the Orange being the pick for me, albeit the Blue is cool too. Fingers crossed that the colour of the bracelet matches the colour of the case, as I note that this is a concern to many, when the angle of each part gives off a different shade of titanium."
Blue 7/10, Orange 8/10: "I saw these at Watches & Wonders and they are much nicer in person especially the orange!!!"
Blue 7.5/10, Orange 8/10: "These are both nice releases, touch large for me at 42mm on a sub 7 inch wrist but I'm not going to mark them down for that. Titanium case and bracelet will keep the weight reasonable. The price isn't horrific for a chronometer either."
Blue 7/10, Orange 8/10: "Both like them."
Blue 7/10, Orange 7/10: "The first Superdiver was pretty brilliant, including in terms of design. These new versions aren’t sufficiently differentiated from the standard Aquaracers. And why bring back the controversial date magnifier again?"
Blue 7/10, Orange 8/10: "I wish I had the wrist for something like this."
Blue 7/10, Orange 8/10: "Fυck yeah dude, enough with the plastic watches for kids and finally some proper timepieces! Blue 7. Orange a strong 8. One point deducted from each for the poor choice of movement."
Blue 5/10, Orange 3/10: "These ones are just not for me I'm afraid."
Blue 6.5/10, Orange 6/10: "Overall they look nice, but I would have preferred the HEV to be the same material and color as the crown.
Blue 8/10, Orange 8/10: "Both 8's for me, they are getting better with each minor update."
Blue 6.5/10, Orange 6.5/10: "Is this new? Weird I feel like I saw them somewhere before, I could be so wrong though. Anyway, 6.5/10 for both of them."
Blue 7.5/10, Orange 7.5/10: "I think they are nice looking dive watches. Pop of colour is a nice touch, helium escape valve - not my favourite part of the watch."
Blue 6.5/10, Orange 6.5/10: "Decent looking dive watches, but don't like the escape valve sticking out like that. If they really needed to add the escape valve, they could have made it flush like some other brands have done."
Blue 7/10, Orange 7.5/10: "They’re fine."
No comments:
Post a Comment