The latest from TAG is a 200m depth rated Aquaracer. But should you splash out on the 300m instead? Hmm, tricky.

Here’s the word from TAG;

TAG Heuer returns to the reborn Aquaracer Professional Series with the Aquaracer Professional 200, a bold, stylish, all-terrain luxury tool watch that continues the rich legacy of the historic
Swiss Manufacture’s high-functioning sports watch, which began four decades ago.

The Aquaracer Professional 200 will be available with either a 40mm or 30mm stainless steel case. Every model will have a uni-directional rotating bezel with twelve facets, water resistance to 200 metres, and either an automatic mechanical or quartz
movement.

Comparing the Aquaracer Professional 200 and 300

The relationship between the Aquaracer Professional 200
and Aquaracer Professional 300 is easily defined. Both have the famous and now upgraded bezel with twelve facets first introduced in 1995; both feature a refined, repeating horizontal line dial decoration; both have sculpted, chamfered, shorter lugs with brushed and polished finishes; both are fitted with a three-link bracelet, and both have a screw-down crown with twelve facets and protection.

Closer inspection reveals a series of subtle, but definitive differences, all of which give the Aquaracer Professional
200 its unique character and versatility.

For example, the Aquaracer Professional 200 is appreciably more compact at 40mm (compared to 43mm), with the further option of a
smaller 30mm case. The bezel still features a diving scale, only now it’s engraved into a steel insert, rather than one in ceramic.

The central bracelet link is polished rather than brushed, lending the Aquaracer Professional 200 its more formal feel, intended to help it cross codes, from sea to mountain, via the office and a weekend hangout.

The differences continue in the display geometry. Where the Aquaracer Professional 300 has octagonal hour markers, an oversized hour hand, and yellow detailing, the Aquaracer Professional 200 adopts more classic sports watch codes with straight-edged, trapezoidal hour markers, sleeker sword-shaped hands, and crisp white detailing.

For dial legibility, the hour markers and hands are still coated with
Super-LumiNova, but to create a more sartorial look, no luminescent material has been applied to the bezel.

PRICES – WORTH THE EXTRA FOR THE PRO 300?

Prices? The Aquaracer 200 Pro Quartz mens model is £1600 in the UK and the 200m automatic is £2200. That isn’t outrageous compared to some Swiss watches, where we have seen some rapid price rises in the last year as the market has boomed during lockdowns.

Let’s be brutally honest, it’s an extra £50 for the Pro 300m automatic version, so yeah, why bother with the Pro 200?