Today we are continuing our series dedicated to celebrating the wonderful TAG Heuer Aquaracer, and this time we have another COCO Council member (Abrod520/Adam) who has stepped up to the plate to declare his Top 10 Aquaracers. I was surprised to see that Adam didn't include the 'Tribute to 844' which I remembered him buying, but when I checked with him to see if he'd forgotten about it he said that he had sold it as the initial attraction wore off. Well, you know, it happens...
Here then is Adam's Top 10, sans the 'Tribute to 844'...
#10. WAY201F.BA0927 Calibre 7 GMT Automatic
Adam: "Just a good-looking watch. The colours are perfect and it looks nice with the octagonal bezel."
Surprisingly perhaps, Adam is the first of our contributors to choose the 'Pepsi' Aquaracer. But personally I can't help thinking this one hasn't aged particularly well. I remember when this came out everyone seemed to really love it, but I was never fully onboard the Pepsi train... I was Batman all the way (though I still didn't buy one).
#9. WBP208D.BF0631 W.O.S. L/E Calibre 5 Automatic
Adam: "Love the sandblasted titanium case and I think this design just works well."
A bit of a sleeper hit this one, I can imagine this being a minor collectible in the future - unfortunately at list it's a bit pricey, but pre-owned this could be a really nice Aquaracer to own. Feels great on the wrist and looks great too, could have lived without the faux-lume but you can't have everything.
#8. CAK211B.BA0833 Team USA Regatta Calibre 72 Chrono
Adam: "Again, great colours and a cool throwback to some of Heuer’s notable regatta chronos from the '70s."
Another good showing for the CAK211B, you may remember last time out Albert AMG picked this exact same watch and several other CAK models have made an appearance with no doubt more to come. With the red and blue highlights I can see why Albert and Adam settled on this particular reference and I can see why some would prefer these over the bulkier WAJ models.
#7. CAY218A.FC6361 Calibre 16 Chronograph
Adam: "Another one that just looks cool. I think an Aquaracer chrono with the Heuer-02 / TH30 with touches reminiscent of the Autavia divers (11063P, 11630 Diver 100) would be really cool."
The times I've nearly bought one of these... just about every time I visited the TAG Heuer outlet at Bicester village - haha, and they still turn up there. Looking at this makes me wonder if they've got one now, cos I was keeping my powder dry for the new 'Classic F1' and that really didn't work out so well!
#6. WAY208C.FC6383 - Calibre 5 Automatic
Adam: "Great colourway. Would probably have gone for this if it weren’t for the date magnifier."
The WAY208C seems to be one that just about everybody likes, and speaking as someone who went to a lot of trouble to hunt one down I can honestly say I've never regretted it. The textile strap is a bit strange, but on the ribbed rubber strap it works much better; still can't understand why TAG Heuer never offered it in that combination. Unfortunately there are a lot of fake WAY208Cs out there, so be careful!
#5. WBP1180.BF0000 'Solargraph' Titanium Quartz Watch
Adam: "Solargraph titanium - that sandblasted case! I’m not a quartz person so I won’t be buying one but I think it’s great."
Sometimes I wonder if I bought the 'wrong' Solargraph... I mean I like the original but this is also very cool. It was more the case that I got an amazing deal on mine and didn't really expect to see the same for this one. Oddly, I have... and I can't help wondering why these watches are popping up at such huge discounts on the pre-owned market.
#4. WBP201D.FT6197 'Night Diver' Calibre 5 Automatic
Adam. "Really cool use of the colourway. The 43mm case is great in DLC and the contrast with the dial is very cool."
Just about everyone so far has picked a 'Night Diver' of one description or another, but I'm slightly surprised that this Calibre 5 version isn't the obvious choice (with both this and the previous quartz version both being picked twice). I really wanted to like this, but those black octagons on the dial really rubbed me up the wrong way, so I too would probably choose the quartz version instead.
#3. 40mm Calibre 5 Automatics (Entire Range)
Adam: "IMO the best Aquaracer model line. Great proportions, great pricing, cool dials."
Adam is the first person to choose an entire range of watches as a pick... a bit of a strange choice perhaps, especially when the red one is so bloody odd looking, but still - Adam clearly makes his own rules! Haha. I must admit, I was a bit lukewarm on my green dial 40mm Aquaracer when I bought it, but it's really won me over and so I can see why Adam rates them so highly.
#2. WAY208F.BA0638 Bamford L/E Calibre 5 Auto
Adam: "Moved this to #2. Again with the sandblasted titanium that I love; again with the date magnifier that I hate. But every time one comes up for sale I find myself thinking very seriously about going for it."
The very last of the WAY series Aquaracers and one of the absolute coolest too. This has already appeared on Albert and Dominic's lists and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see it crop up again throughout the year. Of course since the release of the latest generation of Aquaracers we've got used to seeing titanium here there and everywhere, but when this came out it was a big deal. Unfortunately this is another one the fakers seem to be focussing on so make sure you buy from somewhere you trust.
#1. WBP201F.BA0632 Calibre 5 Automatic
Adam: "Orange diver - just all in all the best they’ve done. The trademark orange colour on the dial is the best match for the ‘teak’ slatted effect. The only Aquaracer on this list I’ve actually bought, it’s now sold because I only really wanted to wear it during summer vacations."
Another watch that has appeared before, and probably will again... thanks Adam, another fine list of wonderful Aquaracers there and don't forget you can catch up on all this year's 'Aquaracer@20' posts by clicking on the banner below.
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