OWNED: TAG Heuer Aquaracer WAB1112 Quartz Watch

WAB1112.BA0801

When TAG Heuer say that the Aquaracer's roots lie in the classic 1000 Series, I can only assume they are referring to this watch, the original Aquaracer released in 2005, or as it was called back then the '2000 Aquaracer'. Because for sure pretty much every Aquaracer that followed has much more in common with the 2000 Series it evolved from and indeed the unbelievably cool 3000 Series. But hey, let's not let facts get in the way of a good story, they are both dive watches made by the same company and that's surely enough, right?

But to be honest, to me this one has always reminded me of the Rolex Submariner. Yes it shares a lot of similarities with the 1000, most notably those round hour markers and the 'triangle' at the 12 position, but where did they come from originally? Well, who knows, probably someone more educated in vintage watches will inform me that actually those details were 'inspired' by another (older) watch, but let's be completely honest - rightly or wrongly, most people equate round hour markers, a triangle at the 12 and this kind of bezel with the Rolex Submariner.

Initially I was never really that interested in this model, but as my collection grew and I started looking around for pieces that were 'different' to what I already had this one finally caught my eye. I've always thought of this as the 'classic' Aquaracer, indeed that's what I always referred to it as in my wrist time journal. By 'classic' I really mean 'retro' since to me this is similar to the equally 'retro' Tudor Black Bay... now I know at least some of you are shaking your heads at such simplistic terms, but hear me out.

When you look at my collection, this one stands out a mile, it looks, for want of a better term 'old'. I had this discussion with someone the other day on the Calibre 11 forum and he said the watch didn't look 'retro' it just looks 'dated'. Which is a bit harsh; I much prefer to call it 'classic', but then I guess that implies some semblance of 'heritage' and I guess some people would also baulk at my comparisons between this and the 'genuinely classic' 1000 Series.

But whichever way you look at it, in the context of my collection this one is decidedly 'retro-looking' which is perhaps why I have a slightly hot/cold relationship with it. Y'see I really don't do 'retro', it's just not my bag. The Tudor Black Bay does nothing for me, really... despite the protestations of others to me it is a 'retro' styled watch and this is much the same. And yet, for some reason I go through phases of wearing this quite a lot. 

I think the twist here is the colour scheme, I don't think I would have bought the black or silver models, but the blue comes with this fantastic yellow second hand and that is enough to elevate it from being just another 'retro' inspired diver to being something else entirely. It's quite a blingy watch too, which may come as a surprise. The polished centre links are one reason, but also the aluminium bezel is also very shiny when it catches the light right too... I must admit I quite like that about it. The lume on the dial/hands is great too.

I bought my WAB1112 on eBay a couple of years ago, but it originally came from Bicester Village (it was a full set with box and papers including the warranty card) and is still in immaculate condition. I got really lucky with this one, I was looking for a while and they always seemed to fall in the £700-900 price band, but somehow I managed to snag this for about £550. 

Regardless of 'market value' I feel like for that money this was something of a bargain and would probably be an ideal 'only watch' for someone slightly less TAG Heuer obsessed. It's a perfect everyday watch that would go just as well with a suit as on the beach (300M water resistance) and looks enough like a Rolex Submariner to be an affordable alternative without being a homage/knock off. All in all, I'd say it has a lot to recommend it, or is it just 'dated'? Let me know in the comments below...