FEATURE: My Top Ten Aquaracers by Jemagloh

Once again it's time to mull over the last twenty years of Aquaracers and pull ten magnificent examples out for inspection. This time our guest judge is C.O.C.O. and THF Forum member Jemagloh (otherwise known as Matt). Unfortunately Matt literally works 27 hours a day so commentary was never on the cards, so once again it falls on my to provide the same. 

#10. WAY108A.FT6141 - Quartz Night Diver

Not the first time we've seen the quartz Night Diver in one of these top tens and very possibly not the last either. I have often thought about buying this (it's been available at a decent price in the Bicester Village outlet for quite a while) but I always come back to the fact that it's too similar to my WAY208C which I wear on the same rubber strap. Still a great looking piece and an affordable alternative to the Calibre 5 version.

#9. WAY208F.BA0638 - Bamford Limited Edition

This the very last WAY series Aquaracer has also cropped up numerous times over the last ten months and it's easy to see why. Again this is another one that I have seriously considered buying but never quite taken the plunge. Partly I think because I fear that sandblasted finish might wear smooth over time; shame really because the dial looks great. A lot of these seem to be popping up on the pre-owned market lately, and at very good prices. Far from making me want to buy one though that just sets alarm bells ringing loud and clear...

#8. WBP201C.BA0632 - Silver Dial Calibre 5

Surely the best looking silver dial Aquaracer of all time, the WBP201C (or the 'Ice Diver', as a certain Mr Dollares calls it) is a majestic beast with a dial to die for, perfectly complimented by those small flashes of yellow. Again we're starting to see some extremely convincing fakes popping up so be careful if you're tempted to buy one of these pre-owned.

#7. WBP2115.BA0627 - Green Fume Dial Calibre 5

I've spoken at length about this one since I bought mine last year, and this is definitely in the hunt for the title of the 'Ultimate Aquaracer' appearing as it has multiple times already and in the process steadily picking up points. The dial is stunning, the polished clasp is stupid... but overall, it's pretty damned good.

#6. WBP208C.FT6201 - Tribute to 844 Limited Edition

You might remember this one featured in my 'Best of the Best 2020-2023' post a short time ago, but as I mentioned there this one seems to have lost a bit of traction in recent times. Definitely a bit of an oddity, sized for modern tastes but trying to appeal to the vintage market... and rather clumsily trying to fudge the lines between the 1000 Series and the Aquaracer models simply by dint of them both being 'dive watches' in the process. Despite all that, when I tried it on in Harrods it was a splendid looking watch.

#5. WAY201C.FC6395 - Calibre 5 Automatic

I always find it kind of interesting when people choose a fairly mainstream piece for their 'Top Ten' list. Usually I suspect this is because it's a watch that the person picking the watches owns or at some point wanted to own. But this isn't the first time the WAY201C has featured in one of these lists so there must be something a little special about it. I mean, it's nice... but I can think of dozens of watches I would shortlist before it.

#4. WBP201A.BA0632 - Calibre 5 Automatic

Same applies here really, although the universal 'Submarineresque' appeal of this one is fairly obvious. It's interesting how many current era Aquaracers have appeared in these polls. I'm not sure whether that's because these watches are more 'in the mind' or because they are genuinely at the top of the pile, but considering the pasting they got on release (especially for that cyclops) it seems that opinions have definitely changed.

#3. WAY201S.BA0927 - Calibre 5 Automatic

As everyone who reads my blog knows, I always wanted the original green Aquaracer, but when this one came out it was a hard no. I don't know why but I've simply never taken to this one, maybe it was partly just frustration with not being able to get what I want, but I still don't honestly think this one looks as good as the one with the steel bezel.

#2. WAY201F.BA0927 - Calibre 7 GMT Automatic

I'm a little surprised that the 'Pepsi' Aquaracer hasn't been chosen more, but perhaps the fact that it has an old school aluminium bezel insert (rather than the now de rigueur ceramic) goes against it? Particularly now that TAG Heuer have given us both Batman and Sprite options in the new 42mm range. Personally I'm yet to see a GMT Aquaracer that really convinces me (I haven't seen the Sprite yet) and it bugs me that they never seem to get the colour of the GMT hand quite right.

#1. WBP201F.BA0632 - Calibre 5 Automatic

Another win for the orange dial WBP201F, which puts it in a strong position as a contender for the ultimate prize. Personally I found the orange on this one a little pale and I wish they had edged the hands and hour markers in black, but given that's exactly what they did on the WAZ101A Formula 1 I guess they had to do something different. Still a cool looking piece, but I think the silver dial is still my favourite of this range.

Well there we have it, just two more 'TOP TEN AQUARACER' posts to go and then sometime towards the end of December I will reveal the ultimate 'TOP TEN'. For more 'Aquaracer@20' posts click the banner below.