But before I do, I'd like to take a moment to thank all the people who took part: BP Smith, Imagwai, Mrs Aquagraph, ThngzILikeToo, Shane Paradis, Jemagloh, Abrod 520, DTF, Rich T, Albert AMG and of course the patron saint of Aquaracers 'Jim Dollares'. Thanks to you all for your efforts, especially those of you who wrote your own commentary.
If I had to single out one 'Top 10' as the most interesting, I think I'd have to go with Shane Paradis. Shane shared his selection with us back in March and uniquely chose six quartz pieces, not to mention his number one pick was completely out of left field... I mean I don't think anyone else even looked at the Calibre S regatta timers as a pick, never mind a winner. I also liked that he chose watches from varied eras of the Aquaracer and Shane was also the only person to include a watch with an alarm in his list!
Shane Paradis' Top Pick, the CAF7113 Calibre S Regatta Timer
Okay, so for the sake of absolute transparency (you'll see why later...) for the scoring I decided to simply turn places into points, so 1st place scored 10pts, 2nd place 9 pts and so on, right down to 1 point for 10th place. In addition, as you will see, there was a three way tie for both ninth and sixth places, which I decided by looking at the number of first, second third, etc places - much like in Formula 1.
NB - Where a watch was available on more than one strap/bracelet, votes have been combined.
Right then, let's get on with it... the suspense is killing me!
#10 (18pts). WBP201D - Calibre 5 'Night Diver' 43mm
We start our ultimate top ten list with the WBP201D 'Night Diver'. This one has proven very popular on the THF forum and I must admit it is a nice looking watch. For me though, those octagonal hour markers look damned strange on most of the 43mm Aquaracers and they look all the worse here for being solid black. That being said this one seems to have a lot of fans and I actually expected it to place a little higher than 10th...
#9 (18pts). WBP2111 - Calibre 5 Blue Dial 40mm
In many ways, this is the quintessential Aquaracer with it's blue dial, calibre 5 movement and steel bezel. Nowadays of course the blue dial has a fumé finish, but the iconic slatted dial remains. For how much longer though? Come next year we might see new versions of these with those wavy dials you find on the new 42mm models. I really hope not, but that seems to be the way it's going...
#8 (19pts). WAJ1113 - Quartz Orange Dial 500M 43mm
I don't know whether I am blessed with impeccable taste or whether my constant wrist-shot posting has influenced the votes in this here poll, but this is the first of five watches in this top ten that I personally own! This was the most recent acquisition, so it's good to see that I haven't lost my touch when it comes to picking Aquaracers. This is a superb watch; big and heavy it surely is, but if you like big, heavy watches the WAJ series is the one to go for and you can't get better than the orange dial (which, for some reason was only available in quartz).
#7 (19pts). WAY108A - Quartz 'Night Diver' 43mm
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#6 (19pts). WBD2120 - Calibre 5 'The Douchebag' 43mm
Ah, 'The Douchebag'... as christened by our Swedish friend Jim Dollares. Jim recently bought this one pre-owned from an AD in Sweden, which is not something he's prone to doing as he doesn't generally like buying second hand stuff. But in the case of the WBD2120 he waited too long and then it was discontinued. Argh! Fortunately though, the watch had to go back under warranty to have the cyclops straightened (because... Swiss quality), which at least gave him some peace of mind as far as authenticity goes. If you want the whole story you can read all about Jim's 'Buying Experience' HERE.
#5 (24pts). CAF1010 - Ana-Digi 'Chronotimer' 43mm
Perhaps the biggest surprise on this whole list, and another one that I personally own. This is a stunning watch that this render does no favours. Originally I was attracted to this as an alternative to a Breitling Aerospace, but in time I've realised just what a killer piece it is and it's probably the Aquaracer I have worn the most of all of mine. This watch is the only one in the Top 10 that got votes for its bracelet and rubber strap variants and it is also the oldest watch on the list too, dating back to the 2007/2008 catalogue. You can easily pick these up for under £1000 and if you want to get into the Aquaracer game without spending a fortune I couldn't think of a better place to start.
#4 (29pts). WBP1112 - Solarquartz 'Gretagraph' Carbon Bezel 40mm
Another current model and the very first solar powered quartz (or 'Solargraph') TAG Heuer released back in 2022. Again this render absolutely sucks and anyone who has seen one in the flesh or in photos will know how gorgeous this one looks. I picked up mine from Watchfinder at a massive discount a few months ago and while I struggle slightly with the 40mm size, I love the overall aesthetic and the lumed carbon bezel in particular.
#3 (32pts). WBP201F - Calibre 5 Orange Dial 43mm
A very strong showing for this current orange dial model, which with its black bezel is a repetition of a proven winning formula. Unlike the old 500M version though, this one is available as an automatic. Will probably be available for a bit longer, but as the new 42mm wave dial models are rolled out I imagine this will be replaced at some point in the next 12-18 months.
#2 (39pts). WBP2115 - Calibre 5 Green Dial 40mm
The fourth of my five inclusions (which means, yes, I own the winner too!), and perhaps the least surprising of all. This green fumé dial model in the crowd pleasing 40mm size featured in half the Top 10's submitted, albeit it's best positions were two third places. But still, Keke Rosberg managed to win the Formula 1 world championship with just one race win... sometimes it's better to be consistently good rather than sporadically brilliant.
#1 (41pts). WAY208C - Calibre 5 2016 Novelty 43mm
And so we come to our winner, and my personal favourite of course. Forget this weird strap, it looks a million times better on the fluted rubber (FT6142) I ordered the minute I got mine way back in 2019. But that aside, you just can't fault this one. Yes, the cyclops is practically useless and too chunky, but the black, grey and sandy (sometimes slightly green in certain lights) accents work so well you just can't hold a grudge for long. This was a sod to find back in the day, but now of course they are ten a penny. Funny that. So if you're thinking of picking one up make sure you buy it from somewhere you can trust!
Well, there you have it guys. A fitting conclusion to our year long celebrations for the Aquaracer's 20th birthday and a massive validation of my personal collection to boot! 🤣 But I had to smile when I saw the results, because the only Aquaracer I own that didn't make it into the final list was the one I choose to illustrate the whole series! How typical is that?
Even so, I really didn't expect to have such a strong showing... I knew the carbon Solargraph and the green Calibre 5 would do well and the WAY208C always gets a lot of nice comments on the THF Forum... but the other two were a bit of a surprise. Not sure how to explain that really, since I'm hardly one to follow the herd.
Perhaps the fact that I tend to go for unusual watches played in my favour when you ask people to choose ten out of hundreds if not thousands of possible options? Or maybe the fact that I regular post in the 'What's On Your Wrist' thread has gradually ingrained my collection in people's minds?
No idea, but you can see why transparency from the start was important!
Okay, well that's it for this series, but don't forget you can check out all the posts in the 'Aquaracer@20' series by clicking the banner below.
Happy 20:th to the Aquaracer, the finest TAG Heuer line ever
ReplyDeleteAmen brother!
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