FEATURE: Our Favourite Aquaracers

 

As a follow up to my 'History of the Aquaracer' quadrilogy posted over the last weekend, I thought I would poll a few members of the THF Forum to get their opinions on which of the many, many Aquaracers available is their own personal favourite...

As you would expect, there were a variety of opinions, with convergence on a few models, but really the common theme was that most people really like either the current WBP Aquaracers (and in particular the 43mm ceramic bezel models) or the previous WAY style Aquaracers, with other ranges barely even mentioned. 

First up we have our favourite Swedish Instagram influencer (who, let's not forget tried to buy an Aquaracer last year and ended up buying a Tudor Black Bay 58 by mistake)...

WAY211B.FC6363

Jim Dollares: OK so here goes. Felt like an impossible task to choose just one, I have at least 4-5 options that I would like to crown the number one. However, I have concluded that the WAY211B is the number one Aquaracer of all time. A perfectly sized diver combining a proper blue bezel and a black dial. The blue 'Calibre 5' text on the dial is a nice touch and that wonderful seconds hand pops in a lighter summery blue. I also think the black fabric strap with blue stitching is executed in a wonderful way, taking this package to another level of awesomeness.

WAY218A.FC6362

Imagwai: Tough as there are so many to choose from. I will go with one that I have come very close to actually buying on a couple of occasions. The 41mm titanium WAY218A. The size is just about doable for me, I like the idea of a lightweight case, and the black case and ceramic bezel are a bit different to what I normally go for. And I don't think TAG have designed a better-looking version of Aquaracer. This is a lot cleaner than the geometric confusion of the newer models in my opinion. WAY211C (the steel and blue) would be my close second choice .

WBP201F.BA0632

Abrod520: I think the current generation Aquaracer is the best yet (as evidenced by me putting my money where my mouth is, twice already!). Obviously then it's between the 844 and the Orange for me, and while I do love the lumed bezel and dial numerals of the 844 I think it's edged out by the Orange for my choice of best Aquaracer. I think the slatted dial works best in the matte orange, the black printed minute track looks great against it, and overall the Orange is just an excellent watch that's fun to wear out in the sun and just gets better when you look closely at the details.

WAY201T.BA0927

Hubert: My favourite is probably the Batman, as it's the most attractive. The SuperDiver is my runner-up and I may actually get one. Honourable mentions go to the current generation 'Orange' for its bold and heritage roots, the 'Tribute to 844' and the 'Night Diver', although it's not the most attractive execution...

WBP201D.FT6197

Mspeedster: The current 43mm 'Night Diver' get's my vote. I love the look, it's just cool! Doesn't hurt that it pays tribute to the original 'Night Diver', the only TAG Heuer or Heuer to have ever graced the wrist of James Bond. But even without the Bond connection, it's a great looking watch, day or night. It's also somewhat unique compared to other dive watches on the market.

WAY2012.BA0927

Remo: My favorite Aquaracer is the WAY2012.BA0927. It was my first automatic watch and it had the most wrist-time of all my watches ever. I even wear it right now. I love the blue dial with the yellow accents. It's a heavy steel watch, and I like that. Runner up would be the WAY208C.FC6383 it looks just awesome. If I see pictures of it, I always take a second look. In combination with the black rubber strap it looks even better. (Yes it does - AquaG) And finally my third choice is the new Aquaracer Professional 1000m Superdiver which contains a lot of new elements and boosts the credibility of the AR line.

CAK211B.FT8019

Albert AMG: I like most of the Aquaracers, excepting the two tone (steel/gold) case and bracelet versions, and after your great four posts in your blog showing all of them, I made a list of my ten favourites: CAF2010.FT8011, CAF1010.FT8011, WAJ1110.FT6015, CAJ2111.FT6036, WAJ2180.FT0615, WAY208C.FC6383, WAY108A.FT6141, with my top three including the Tribute to 844 (WBP208C.FT6201), the 2022 Superdiver (WBP5A8A.BF0619) and the Regatta model (CAK211B.FT8019 - pictured above). 

But if I can only have one then then that is a very difficult question because I love all three! I love the Regatta function (and the red touch of this Oracle Team USA L/E), I love the 844 tribute with its dial and rubber strap, and I love the strong look, titanium, orange touch, box, 1000m and chronometer technical features of the Superdiver… so it’s very difficult to choose only one. For me it's a triple tie, but if you need only one, then it would be the CAK211B.FT8019 , with Superdiver in 2nd position, and 844 tribute in 3rd

WAY208C.FC6383

As for me I had to ponder long and hard between my two favourite Aquaracers, both of which I own. Firstly the cool as hell WAY208C released as a novelty for 2016, and actually another 'one year novelty' piece; the yellow dial Calibre S Aquaracer CAF7013. In the end I had to give it to the WAY208C, but it was a very, very difficult decision and I absolutely would not part with either of them

My WAY208C hasn't worn this nylon strap in a long while and I can't see it going back on anytime soon, the black, fluted bespoke FT6127 rubber strap is a great improvement and the all black look suits the watch perfectly. I really can't understand why they didn't sell it on that strap in the first place.

And so, finally we come to Mr Otto, who got a little bit carried away and not only supplied me with a list of his top seven Aquaracers but also gave me explanations for each and every one into the bargain. I only asked for one 'favourite' but since he put so much effort in I decided to share his entire list with you...   

Otto: Here are my favourite Aquaracers of all time. I used to owned two of the bunch and I'm still kicking myself as to why do I sold them. I decided not to go back down the Aquaracer rabbit-hole anymore though.

1. WAY218A.FC6362: 41mm, black dial, ceramic insert, coated titanium bezel/case, nylon strap: The first Aquaracer I ever owned. I love the finishing. The ceramic bezel. The way the number is etched in the bezel and not printed. Black dial with rather large marker and hands. Sold it to one of my best friends that be wore for his wedding day. Now he is divorced. But still keeping the watch...

2. WAY218B.FC6364: 41mm, grey dial, ceramic insert, coated titanium bezel/case, nylon strap: It used to be my choice on top of the WAY218A but it's not available in my country so I kinda missed out on this one, but kinda glad I did because in the end, I don't really enjoy "phantom" or "stealth" dial anymore.

3. WAY2015.BA0927: 43mm, green dial, steel bezel, case and bracelet: Another Aquaracer that I love but gone too fast too soon before it even arrived in my country. To be honest I don't like the "hulk" version (green dial green bezel). This steel bezel with green dial somehow made the perfect combination that I've seen in the long time of the Aquaracer line. Almost nobody I know owns this watch though, so I kinda think this is like a 'myth' watch.

4. CAY218A.FC6361: 43mm, black dial, ceramic insert, coated ti bezel/case, nylon strap: Always wanted to try a chronograph Aquaracer but never pulled the trigger. If I did try one though, this would be the one, no doubt.

5. WAY201F.BA0927: 43mm, black dial, red/blue insert, steel bezel, case and bracelet: The first dual color bezel that I owned and probably my first GMT watch too. It was great. I still regret the day I sold it for.....Longines Legend Diver. In the end I ended up not owning both of them. I sold the Legend Diver just 3 months after I bought it. Really wished I never sold my Aquaracer to fund the Longines in the first place.

6. WAY2013.BA0927: 43mm, white dial, steel bezel, case and bracelet. Love the white dial and the orange second hand. Between this and the full-lume white dial, I might prefer this one though it was a close call.

7. WBP1112.FT6199: 40mn, black dial, carbon insert, steel bezel and case, rubber strap: The Solargraph: I would like to try the solar movement Aquaracer. But for that price ? I am not so sure. Still one of the best Aquaracer model in my opinion...

Well, there we have it. Thanks to everyone who took part and isn't it interesting how many modern Aquaracers turned up in the list. Guess we can safely say the 2021 Aquaracer has overcome it's initial problems of acceptance, even if some people still don't really appreciate the round cyclops at the 6... I'm only surprised that nobody choose one of the new 40mm Aquaracers with the steel bezel.

Well, that seems to be have been an awful lot of posts about Aquaracers, next time something different, I promise!