FEATURE: My Top Ten Aquaracers

So finally it's my turn! I've been waiting all year to share with you my personal top ten and with so much time to deliberate inevitably the final positions have been shifted around time and time again. No joke, I think at least four or five different watches have been in pole position at different times throughout the year and I'm actually dreading having to finalize my choices because I know damn well they're going to change by tomorrow morning. Gah! 

Now obviously, having owned more than a few Aquaracers over the last few years, my list is going to feature my own watches quite heavily... well I guess that's only natural since I sought out the ones I really liked, so that's what you're going to get (plus one or two that slipped through my fingers). So I'm afraid my list isn't perhaps as unpredictable as I'd really like it to be. I did actually contemplate discounting my watches entirely, but that wouldn't really work either... so what I'll probably just do is add some 'honourable mentions' at the end instead.

It's been noticeable that many of the previous guests have chosen a lot of watches from the very recent past, and while I too have a couple of recent pieces included in my list I think I have selected fairly evenly across the Aquaracer's history, certainly from each decade of the model's production span. That's not to say I am right and they are wrong of course - many people believe the current Aquaracers are the best the brand has ever produced, but I am more of a 'historian' I suppose and I like quirky watches so that's probably why.

#10. WAF141X.BA0824  2011 Swiss Limited Edition Quartz

Given how many Aquaracers there are out there, it would take a special 'ladies' watch to make it into my top ten, wouldn't you think? Well this is one special watch... even without adding that it was the watch I bought my wife for our 25th wedding anniversary! The WAF141X is quite small (27mm) so you really need to take a photo to appreciate the amazing dial, which is festooned with the names of important Swiss towns. This watch was released in 2011 and has the engraving '2011 Swiss Edition' on the back, but we managed to find one in the Bicester Village outlet in 2018 and my wife instantly fell in love with it. Surprisingly this isn't the only ladies watch in my selection!

This one is also available in a larger size - WAP201X.BA0830

#9. WBP201C.BA0927   Calibre 5 'Ice Diver' Automatic

Next up we have the recently retired silver dial, 43mm, ceramic bezel WBP201C, or as my good friend Jim Dollares likes to call it 'The Ice Diver'. I didn't really appreciate this one fully until I met up with Jim in London last year and got to have a good look at it. Close up photos of the dial really sell this one and that yellow tip on the second hand is the perfect pop of colour to offset its inherent iciness. This one has popped up at Bicester Village in recent times, and while it is tempting to think about adding this to my collection with a nice discount, I really don't need another Aquaracer. 

#8. WAJ2182.FT6015  Calibre 5 Automatic

Well. I say I don't need another Aquaracer... but if I was going to buy another one, then potentially this could be it. Maybe. But it would need to be immaculate, because I don't want my solid gold bezel to be anything less than perfect. Which of course means I would never dare wear it. So you see perhaps why I didn't buy this from the outlet a few years back when I had the chance. And also... I'm not a big fan of the orange tipped second hand and how it looks against the rose gold bezel. It's not a deal breaker on it's own, but it's not ideal either.

#7. WAY1355.BH0716  Ladies Quartz

 

The second and final 'ladies' watch in my top ten, and while the first one was chosen purely for its aesthetically pleasing details, this is one that I genuinely wish I could wear myself. Sadly at 35mm it's too small for me, so I can only admire it when my wife wears it. If only they made it in a 42mm or something... but then it would be £5000. See you just can't win can you? And yeah, while on the face of it it does look kinda similar to the WAJ2182 above, the case is a whole lot slimmer, sleeker and made entirely of ceramic.

#6. CAF7013.BA0815  Calibre S Chronograph

So now we've got two of my wife's Aquaracers (she also has 2018 32mm model with the green dial and diamonds) and two that I'd like to own, we're pretty much left with the Aquaracers that I actually do own... and as I expected, it's quite hard to put these into a definitive order. Even now I'm second guessing whether this one should be down in 6th, because historically this one has been one of my favourite watches ever - so difficult this Aquaracer@20 lark! But I knew this would happen and in a month my choices will probably have switched around, so I'm just gonna have to roll with it. This one came from Watchfinder back in 2019 and I've loved it ever since. Super clever movement and a bright dial that never fails to make you smile. 

#5. WBP1112.FT6199  Solargraph Quartz 

The fact that I don't truly love this one as much as the Calibre S makes me wonder why I put it one step higher, but I'm thinking with my head on this occasion rather than my heart. The watch looks stunning and I absolutely love the lumed carbon bezel, but the 40mm size is my main issue here; I really would have preferred a 42/43mm because the black shrinks it on the wrist. I'm slowly getting used to it... but every time I put it on I'm like... why can't you be a little bit bigger? 

🤣

#4. WAJ1113.BA0870  Quartz 500M Diver

I picked this one up earlier in the year, and was one I'd always wanted... but I had the same watch in the grey dial variant. This one came up at a great price though and I just couldn't resist. I was going to keep both, but in the end sanity prevailed and I sold the grey one (for slightly more than I paid for this) which honestly was for the best. It's a cool watch but I definitely don't need two of them. Potentially this may be scoring a little higher than it should because it's still pretty fresh, but for now it's 4th and that's all there is to it.

#3. WBD2115.BA0927  Calibre 5 'Green Goblin' Automatic

It's entirely possible that this one could have been my number one pick, but somehow it's ended up down at number three. Don't know why, really... all I can say is that the other two just have that extra something, or perhaps less tiny imperfections. It's not so much the 40mm size with this one, it actually seems fine. It could be a little bigger, but it's not an issue like it is with the Solargraph, but I've never liked and will never like the flat bezel. To me it doesn't even really look like an Aquaracer; it looks way too sexy to be a 'tool watch'... but the dial and the way the hour markers and hands catch the light is quite magical. Just don't get me started on the polished clasp. Again. FFS.

#2. CAF1010.BA0821  'Chronotimer' Quartz Chronograph

This might come as a surprise to some, but maybe not. After all I'm far from the first person to chose the Ana-Digi 'Chronotimer' for their top ten, but I don't think anyone else had it this high up (to be fair that's probably because I'm the only one who actually owns one). Oddly this is probably the least likely of my six to come out on top and yet somehow it's still made it to number two. Strange that... but I've loved this one ever since I bought it. I rarely use the digital functions, but I love the overall look, especially the split bezel and the polished hands and batons make this feel very luxurious. 

#1. WAY208C.FC6383   Calibre 5 Automatic (2016 Novelty)

In the end, it came back to the WAY208C, how could it not? The only flaw with this watch is the strap that TAG Heuer decided to sell it on. I mean, it's fine, but it's just screaming out for a black rubber strap and that's exactly what mine sits on. Everything else about it is perfect. It's 43mm, which is the CORRECT size for an Aquaracer, the black coating looks awesome and the grey, sand and orange sets it off perfectly. It took an age to find mine and when I did I snapped it up immediately. 

This one has a lot of fans and it's appeared in several other people's top tens, which just goes to show that not only do I have great taste, but the people I asked to join in also have great taste. 🤣

But the question remains.... is this the greatest Aquaracer of all time?

Honourable Mentions

As I said at the start of my post, with me owning so many Aquaracers it kind of didn't leave me much room to include everything I'd really like to, so I'd like to add a few more Aquastunners that were so close to making the cut, but fell just a little short...

WAY208D.FC8221  Calibre 5 Automatic (2017 Novelty)

I can't tell you how many times I've tried this bloody watch on. I saw it when it was brand new, I saw it in the outlet (as low as £1500), I've seen it pre-owned... and now it's back in the outlet again (albeit at £1750), but I've still never actually bought one. The problem is you see, I hate fabric straps and there's no way I would wear this as it is. Which means buying another rubber strap... but then it will be too close to my WAY208C. And, actually... the last time I saw it the dial looked much greyer and less blue than I remembered it. Still cool as hell though... if only TAG Heuer still made things like this.

WAY1395.BH0716  Quartz Ladies Watch

Another ladies watch and another piece that I saw in the Bicester Village outlet. In person this is stunning and I really wish they made this in a proper men's size. It would be a tough call between this and the black/rose gold if they did, but I think this would come up slightly short - which is why the WAY1355 made it in to my list and this one didn't. Still a cracking looking watch though, and still available at the outlet last time I checked.

WAJ2116.FT6022  Leonardo DiCaprio NRDC 500M Automatic

I really don't care too much about Leonardo DiCaprio (or any brand ambassador come to that) and I'm not too sure what the NRDC is either, but this 500M diver looks great. Sure you can get a blue dial / blue bezel in the standard WAJ series, but the dial is flat and dull, this one is glossy with a cool 'globe' print on it. I've never seen one in person to be fair and it's possible that it might be disappointing in real life, but on paper at least this looks pretty rad. Just not rad enough to make the cut!

Well I hope you enjoyed that, it was certainly fun making my selections and refining the positions. This was the last 'Top Ten Aquaracers' for this anniversary year, but now that we have had twelve different Top 10's I feel like it's my duty to compile the results into an 'Ultimate Aquaracer' post, so look out for that sometime in December. 

And don't forget, if you want to read/re-read all the 'Aquaracer@20' posts that have been done this year, just click the banner below.