You know, at the start of the year I really hoped to write a lot more posts about the 'History' of the Aquaracer, but unfortunately we're in June already and aside from the top tens this is the first one I've managed to find time to complete. The funny thing is that I made the header above months ago, and naturally I chose the WAJ that I owned to illustrate the series... but since then I've actually sold that one and now have an almost identical WAJ with an orange dial. Seeing it here it makes me miss it a little, probably the first time that's ever happened when I've sold a watch, but I really couldn't keep both no matter how cool the WAJ Aquaracers are.
WAJ2182.FT6015
And believe me they are pretty cool. Indeed, I never intended to sell my WAJ1111, but I did buy it a long time ago, before I really learned to hang on for the one I really wanted... and there were three that I really wanted more if I'm honest. The orange dial I eventually ended up with, the gold bezel/PVD coated case one that I still really like but know I would never wear and the limited edition Leonardo DiCaprio model with the blue patterned dial. Oh... and the all black one with the green highlights. Calibre 5 and Calibre 16.... so five then. Haha.
WAJ2116.FT6022
But as much as I love the WAJ Aquaracers I will concede they are probably not for everyone. There's no denying they are a chunk of steel on the wrist, with a 43mm dia, a thickness of 14mm and a lug to lug of 50mm. As a 500M diver they also have a helium escape valve, though this is quite well recessed and I barely notice it to be honest. The bezel insert on most models is some kind of black rubber, which is not fragile as such, but can be prone to damage in hard use (always the first thing to look out for when buying pre-owned). It looks damned cool though. There's also some Hublot-ish looking 'screws' in-between the 10 minute numerals, presumably these are to position the insert correctly, but I'm not 100% sure (they could just be decorative).
WAJ1113.BA0870
The dials are really nice with a vertical stripe finish on all but the LDC limited editions and the applied baton markers really stand out, outlined as they are with black. The hands are also outlined in black which makes this one of the most legible watches I've ever owned, and the lume is great too. Again not everyone will be on board with the 9 o'clock date but TAG Heuer really committed to the design, running the, er... what do I call that sort of 'plaque' thing with the 500M text on it, right up to the centre of the dial. It's very unusual and I kinda like it, but I'm sure it's not everyone's cup of tea.
WAJ2150.FT6015
To balance out the size and weight of the watch head you also need a solid bracelet and the WAJ Aquaracers certainly have one of those. The slightly raised centre links make it feel even more bulky and perhaps it's telling that when TAG Heuer issued the WAK series a couple of years after the WAJ first appeared they produced a much slimmer and easier to wear watch (notably without the raised centre link bracelet). But for me that one, while nice (and I must confess I once very nearly bought one), doesn't quite have the 'character' of the WAJ models, it just looks like any old Aquaracer that happens to have a helium escape valve.
WAK2110.BA0830
The clasp is a fairly standard two-button milled steel with a pressed steel dive extension. This has a fully brushed finish and a tasteful TAG Heuer logo etched lengthways across it. As yet I haven't owned a rubber strap for these but when I've tried them on I've liked them, albeit as always it feels like the clasp end might take some getting used to and perhaps some adjustment to stop it digging into your wrist.
WAJ2110.FT6015
One thing about these watches that is a little annoying is that I've never been able to get the back off either of the two that I've owned. This means when it needs a new battery it needs to go back to TAG Heuer, which is tedious since I can change batteries in most of my watches myself. I don't know if this is because of the 500M water rating, perhaps the watches are sealed 'tighter' somehow.
WAJ1110.BA0870
The other thing that does let the WAJ Aquaracer down slightly is the bezel action. For some reason the bezels on these are a bit vague and they do have a slight tendency to move without intention, which is a bit of a fail on a hardcore dive watch you might think? I don't understand why they didn't make the bezel 'push to turn' like on the 'Aquagraph' and peculiarly the 'Kirium'. But still, it's not a massive deal for me really.
Overall I really, really like the WAJ series watches and I certainly wouldn't be without one. I would love to own a bunch of them truth be told, in fact there isn't really one that I wouldn't be happy to wear. I think the WAJ2182 is my grail WAJ watch, I just know that beautiful solid gold bezel would worry the hell out of me. Watchfinder had one not so long ago and I looked at it time and time again until someone snapped it up. Oh well, maybe one day...
Okay, to round this up let's take a look at the complete range of Calibre 5 and Quartz WAJ and Calibre 16 CAJ watches.
WAJ2115 - Leonardo DiCaprio NRDC Limited Edition (1600pcs)
WAJ2116 - Leonardo DiCaprio Green Cross Limited Edition (1000pcs)
WAJ2117 - SAS New Zealand Limited Edition
WAJ2118 - Team USA Limited Edition
WAJ2119 - Team Defender Limited Edition
WAJ211A - Diver Edition
CAJ2111 - Team USA Limited Edition
CAJ2112 - Team Defender Limited Edition
CAJ2113 - Air-K Limited Edition (300pcs)
Well I think that just about wraps this post up, but don't forget to click on the link below and check out the other Aquaracer@20 posts... there'll be another 'My Top 10 Aquaracers' along in a couple of weeks and every month until the end of the year.
Proper cool watches
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