FEATURE: My Top Ten Aquaracers by DTF

And so we come to our eleventh 'Top 10 Aquaracers', this time featuring the choices of THF Forum and C.O.C.O. member 'DTF'. This time our guest has provided his own commentary which means this is a nice easy post for me, thanks for that 'DTF'. 😊

I hope you enjoy his selections as much as I have and finally next month it will be my turn! I guess I need to make some tough decisions of my own between now and then, hey?

#10 - 'Aquasub' WAN2110.BA0822

DTF: This stands out as a subtle departure from the standard AR look, the round markers hint of 1000 series (if I’m being charitable to THs heritage) or generic Sub clone (if I’m not), it maintains the AR DNA but really jumped out from the display when I saw one in a boutique.

#9 - Yellow Calibre S - CAF7103.FT8011

DTF: Aquaracer with a bonkers Calibre S movement, plus the yellow dial makes it jump out on the wrist. This stands out from the crowd and its going to be a long time before TAG make anything this strange again.

#8 - Solargraph (Bead Blasted Ti) - WBP1180.BF0000

DTF: The Solargraph is the most exciting aquaracer TH have released in years, creating a genuinely useful adventure/tool watch, and theres a lot more chance the movement will still be working in a decades time than a calibre 5. It’s a tough choice between the PVD with its amazing carbon lume bezel and the raw titanium, but I have a LOT of PVD watches.

#7 - Calibre 72 Countdown Chrono - CAK211A.FT8019

DTF: The Calibre 72 is arguably the only legitimate Aquaracer chronograph – it’s a chrono designed for racing boats. This is a great looking watch (that might be useful if you sail dinghy’s or something) with a unique movement (for TH). I saw them when they were available in the outlets, but never quite pulled the trigger, maybe if one turns up NOS I’ll buy it.

#6 - 500m Orange Calibre 5 - WAJ1113.BA0870

DTF: I've always liked the 3-handler 500m Aquaracers, but none grabbed me and said ‘this one’…until Rob posted his orange dialled WAJ. This is clearly peak 500m - the left-hand date and chunky case scream ‘look at me’, so why not make it bright orange too?

#5 - Black Ceramic/Gold 35mm - WAY1355.BH0716

DTF: Rob recently shared a photo of his wife’s ceramic/gold WAY and it looked amazing! I’m not sure if I missed it entirely, or dismissed it because of some crazy pricing back when it was current*, but I had no idea it existed. I'm fairly sure this is going to be my wife’s next watch.

(*Quite possibly, this was 3450CHF back in 2018 and the TH website shows it still at £4350!)

#4 - 38mm Steel Quartz - WAF1110.BA0800

DTF: This was my first Aquaracer and the one that epitomises what an Aquaracer is to me: a tool watch. Equally at home in the ocean as a board room, you can dress it down with boardies, dress it up with a suit or use it to open beer bottles. It’s slim enough that it comfortably hides under a wetsuit sleeve (unlike any of my other watches) and I’m fairly sure its indestructible. It does seem a touch small today but arguably is the only watch I need.

#3 - 500m Full Black Chrono - CAJ2180.FT6023

DTF: The watch that got me into this absurd hobby, I wandered into a TAG outlet to ask about a battery change on my 300m quartz Aquaracer and spotted this while I was waiting. I really liked how it was the inverse of my WAF - big, attention grabbing, impractical. The overdone lume is a great contrast to the black case and bezel, and the dial detail adds depth that keeps you looking.

#2 - 41mm Calibre 5 'Beater' – WAY211A.FC6362

DTF: TAG describe this as ‘a high-performance diving instrument’. I am fairly sure this is incorrect, but it is a great daily beater. The 41mm steel case which feels a touch heavy compared to the titanium watches I often wear, but it is a good size on the wrist and is very comfortable on the nylon strap. The winding action is like trying to start a budget chainsaw, and I'm certain the stem is going to snap one day soon, but somehow it keeps on chugging.

#1 - 'Night Diver' Quartz – WAY108A.FT6141

DTF: The quartz 'Night Diver' is the Aquaracer that’s taken most of wrist time over the last few years; it’s got a strong monochromatic look and is a great summer watch, but dresses up surprisingly well with a shirt and jacket. It wears very well because its super-slim and lightweight and the PVD shrinks the 43mm case down a little. It’s tough to say a PVD watch is my favourite Aquaracer, because it’s unsuitable for most tool watch and dive watch activities…but it just looks so good.

Another great list! And thanks again to 'DTF' for his choices (and his entertaining comments), it's going to be interesting to see what comes out on top when I combine all these selections in December... and of course if you would like to check out the other posts made to celebrate this twentieth anniversary year for the Aquaracer, click on the banner below.